What is government and politics?

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What is government and politics?

• Government is the institution in which decisions
  are made to resolve conflicts and allocate
  benefits in society.
• Politics is the process of resolving conflicts
  and deciding, who gets what, when, and how.
  Harold Laswell

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Why Government?(in Preamble to the Constitution)

• Create a union of states
• Establish justice with fair laws
• Insure domestic tranquility
• Provide for common defense
• Promote general welfare services
• Secure blessings of liberty, individual freedoms

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Anarchism

• Anarchism is the political theory of abolishing
  governments. Anarchists believe that compulsory
  government or the state is unnecessary and
  destructive and should be done away with.
• What do you think would happen if we abolished
  our national government?

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Monarchy

• A monarchy is a government ruled by king or queen
• Monarchs inherit their throne from their parents
  and pass it along to their children
• An absolute monarch is when a king or queen have
  complete power
• A limited monarchy is a government in which a
  monarch must share power

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Dictatorship

• A government ruled by a single all powerful ruler
• Although similar to an absolute monarch, a
  dictator does not inherit power
• A dictator takes power through force or
  persuasion (e.g. Hitler)

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Democracy

• Democracy - rule by the people
• Direct democracy
• citizens vote on each decision. This form began
  in Greece
• 2. A representative democracy is called a
  Republic
• People vote for representatives who vote on key
  issues
• Democratic countries have a written set of laws
  called a constitution

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Key terms connected with democracy

• Popular Sovereignty- ultimate political power
  rest with the people
• Respect for individual rights. States serves
  individual and not the other way around
• Liberty- freedom
• Equality of opportunity, not necessarily results
• Free enterprise (capitalism) with some government
  regulation

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More Terms

• Autocracy is rule by one including
• Monarchy - rule by king or queen
• Dictatorship -
• Oligarchy - rule by few
• Aristocracy rule by elite
• Theocracy rule by religious leaders

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Theories of government

• Majoritarian consent of the governed through
  representatives, majority rules
• Pluralist theory- interest groups compete to make
  policy
• Hyperpluralist- There are so many competing
  interest groups within society that government
  cannot get things done. Gridlock is the result.

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• Elitist theory - small powerful elite rules (e.g.
  corporate leaders, military officers, or
  political leaders) C. Wright Mills or the Marxist
  notion of rule by the bourgeoisie
• Bureaucratic theory - govt. bureaucrats follow a
  set of rules determine policy - Max Weber
• Which theory do you think best describes our
  current governmental system? What evidence would
  you cite?

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Origins of the Political Spectrum

• Taken from French Revolution. The Left opposed
  the monarchy, the right supported King Louis XVI
  and the center believed in a constitutional
  monarchy.

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On the Left of the Political spectrum

• A radical (on the far left) favors rapid or
  fundamental change. This may involve violence or
  non-violent means of change.
• A liberal believes that government should take
  action to change unfair policies, including the
  regulation of business. Liberals are strong
  advocates of individual civil liberties and more
  likely to be in the Democratic Party.

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On the Rightof the political spectrum

• A reactionary (on the far right) wants to restore
  society to an earlier era. May seek change
  through violent or non-violent methods.
• A conservative favors a limited role for
  government in the economy (laissez faire).
  However, conservatives often favor a strong
  military. Many conservatives are in the
  Republican Party.

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In the Center of the Political Spectrum

• A moderate holds beliefs that fall between
  liberal and conservative views, usually including
  some of both.
• A moderate may be an independent or either a
  Democrat or Republican.

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Classic liberalism versus liberalism today

• Classic liberals in the time of the American
  Revolution believed in free trade and individual
  liberties (e.g. Adam Smith)
• The definition of liberalism changed with the New
  Deal of FDR. Now it typically refers to
  government intervention in the economy and is
  associated with the Democratic Party.

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Conservatism

• US Conservatism has been defined domestically as
  small government, with few regulations on
  business
• Ronald Reagan is typically seen as the key
  President in the conservative movement, focusing
  on cutting domestic spending and taxes, but
  believing in a very strong military.
• Conservatives during the 1930s had a more
  isolationist foreign policy, but since the Cold
  War conservatives have supported military
  intervention against our enemies (e.g. Iraq and
  Afghanistan)