The Nature of Power, Politics, and Government

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Chapter 1
The Nature of Power, Politics, and Government
Why should you care about power, politics, and
government?
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Preview
Follow these steps to complete a personal power
assessment.

1. Make a list of all the individuals, institutions,
   and circumstances that have power over you. For
   each item, briefly describe how it has power over
   you.
2. Now make a list of all the individuals,
   institutions, and circumstances in which you have
   power. For each item, briefly describe how you
   have power.
3. Create a simple illustration that represents you
   and how you feel about power in your life.
4. Below your illustration, summarize how you feel
   about power in your life.

Once you have completed the Preview, share your
responses with a partner or with the class.
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Preview
The assessments you created in the Preview reveal
some of your personal assumptions about
power. In the chapter, you will learn why you
should care about power and how it connects with
the study of politics and government. Throughout
this course, you will learn about power in the
American system of politics and government as
well as the power you have to influence and
participate in that system.
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Reading
Be sure you understand the Speaking of Politics
terms for this chapter. Use them in your answers
as you complete the Reading Notes.

• authority
• government
• power
• legitimacy
• public good
• nation-state
• sovereignty
• politics
• institution

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Reading
Consider possible answers to the Essential
Question Why should you care about power,
politics, and government?
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Reading
Read Section 1.1. Then, respond to these
questions

• What viewpoint did many colonial Americans hold
  about government?
• Does this attitude continue to be held by
  contemporary Americans?
• Why do you think there is a mistrust of
  government?
• Is government a necessary evil or even
  necessary at all?

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• Notes to teacher Do not project this slide.
• In this Experiential Exercise, students are going
  to play the Chip game.
• In this game, students trade colored chips.
• After each round of the game, the student with
  the highest point value is allowed to make a rule
  to govern the next round.
• Typically, this student will make a rule to stay
  in power so he or she can continue making the
  rules in future rounds.
• After two or more rounds, other students will
  likely pool their chips together to overthrow
  this student so they can make the rules.

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• Notes to teacher Do not project this slide.
• To prepare for the Chip game, do the following
• Prepare the chips by cutting 5 pink, 10 yellow,
  20 blue, and 25 white index cards in half. If you
  have more or fewer than 32 students, increase or
  reduce the number of each color of chip by one
  for every student.
• Mix up the chips in a large container or bag.
• Cut the six hint cards from Student Handout 1
  Hint Cards.

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The Chip Game You will be playing a game in which
you trade colored chips. Follow these rules to
play

1. For each round, you will have two minutes to
   trade your chips. All tradesincluding those in
   progressmust stop when the time is up.
2. After trading, the student with the most points
   will be asked to make a rule for the next round.
   That rule will apply only to the next round.

Your teacher will randomly give you some chips of
differing colors to play the chip game.
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Notes to teacher Do not project this
slide. Randomly distribute the chips to
students so that the distribution is uneven in
both color and amount. To make sure that only one
student will have the most points at the end of
the first round of trading, give three or four
pink chips to one student. Once the trading
begins, expect some confusion as students do not
know the point values of the chips and have not
been given any guidance on how to trade.
Encourage them to move around and trade with one
another in whatever way they think makes
sense. When you reveal the point values after
the first round of trading, expect students to be
surprised and frustrated when they realize the
point values of their chips. Very important - As
soon as you determine which student has the most
points at the end of Round 1, quietly give them
Hint Card 1 and have them quickly read it.
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The Chip Game Round 1 You may begin trading.
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The Chip Game Round 1 All trades must stop
now! Use these points to calculate the point
value of your chips White 10 points Blue 25
points Yellow 50 points Pink 100 points Who
has the most points? Now the student with the
most points will make a rule for the next round.
The new rule cannot end all trading and will
apply only to the next round of trading. The
teacher will write this new rule on the board so
everyone can see it. Remember, this new rule only
applies to the next round.
100 Points
50 Points
25 Points
10 Points
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• Notes to teacher Do not project this slide.
• Conduct at least two more rounds of trading. Make
  these adjustments
• At the beginning of Round 2, give Hint Card 2 to
  a student. This card encourages the student to
  build an alliance with the student who is making
  the rules.
• At the end of Round 2, Round 3 and any subsequent
  rounds, as soon as you determine which student
  has the most points, immediately give them a copy
  of Hint Card 1 and have them read it.
• At the beginning of Round 3, give Hint Cards 3
  and 4 to two other students. These cards suggest
  that students group together to overthrow the
  student who is making the rules.
• After each round, erase the previous rule and
  record the new one.
• End the game when a group of students has
  succeeded in overthrowing the student making the
  rules. Allow this group to make their own rule,
  and then announce that the game is over. If
  students do not group together by the middle of
  Round 4, give Hint Cards 5 and 6 to two
  additional students.
• Reuse the slide for Round 3 for any additional
  rounds.

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The Chip Game Round 2 Lets play another round
of trading. You may begin trading. All trades
must stop now! Calculate your points. Who has the
most points? Now the student with the most points
will make a rule for the next round. The new rule
cannot end all trading and will apply only to the
next round of trading. The teacher will write
this new rule on the board so everyone can see
it. Remember, this new rule only applies to the
next round.
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The Chip Game Round 3 Lets play another round
of trading. You may begin trading. All trades
must stop now! Calculate your points. Who has the
most points? Now the student with the most points
will make a rule for the next round. The new rule
cannot end all trading and will apply only to the
next round of trading. The teacher will write
this new rule on the board so everyone can see
it. Remember, this new rule only applies to the
next round.
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Experiential Exercise
When called on by the teacher, share your
response to these questions

• What happened to you during the game?
• What happened in the class during the game?
• What do you think this game was about?
• Based on this experience, how would you define
  power?
• Why might power be related to a course on
  American politics and government?

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Reading
Read Sections 1.2 to 1.4 and follow the
directions in Notebook Guide 1 to complete the
Reading Notes.
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Reading
Read Section 1.5, and follow the directions in
Notebook Guide 1 to complete the Reading Notes.
Horse Trading
Horse Trading is when you
An historic example of Horse Trading is
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Power, Politics, and You
Read the Power, Politics and You section of the
chapter. Then, be prepared to respond to the
following questions

• According to Alvin Toffler, what are the three
  kinds of power? Give an example of each.
• Which of these three kinds is the highest quality
  of power?
• Why should you care about knowledge as a kind of
  power?

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Processing
Read the quotations about power on Notebook
Handout 1. Assign each quotation a truth
ranking from 1 to 5 (1 never true, 5 always
true)
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Processing

Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual
power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.

Martin Luther King Jr. Strength to Love, 1963
The quote above is
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5

Never True Seldom True Sometimes
True Often True Always True

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Processing

Power tends to corrupt, andabsolute power
corrupts absolutely.

Lord Acton Letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton,
1887
The quote above is
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5

Never True Seldom True Sometimes
True Often True Always True

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Processing

It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of
losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear
of the scourge of power corrupts those who are
subject to it.

Aung San Suu Kyi Freedom from fear speech, 1990
The quote above is
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Never True Seldom True Sometimes
True Often True Always True

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Processing


Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.
Mao Zedong
The quote above is
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5

Never True Seldom True Sometimes
True Often True Always True

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Processing

Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or
no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so
formidable as the will and moral courage of free
men and women.

Ronald Reagan First Inaugural Address, 1981
The quote above is
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Never True Seldom True Sometimes
True Often True Always True

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Processing

When I despair, I remember that all through
historythe ways of truth and love have always
won. Therehave been tyrants, and murderers, and
for a time theycan seem invincible, but in the
end they always fail.

Mohandas Gandhi
The quote above is
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Never True Seldom True Sometimes
True Often True Always True

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Processing

When the power of love overcomes the love of
power, the world will know peace.

Jimi Hendrix
The quote above is
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Never True Seldom True Sometimes
True Often True Always True

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Processing

This country has been strip-mined by rich and
powerful interests. If you dont like what
theyre doing, dont just sit there.

Ralph Nader 1992
The quote above is
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Never True Seldom True Sometimes
True Often True Always True

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Processing

The men who create power make an indispensable
contribution to the Nations greatness, but the
men who question power make a contribution just
as indispensable.

John F. Kennedy Speech at Amherst College, 1963
The quote above is
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Never True Seldom True Sometimes
True Often True Always True

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Processing
Write a brief response to each of the following
questions in your notebook. Support your answers
with evidence from your own experiences and your
knowledge of historic and current events.

1. Which of the quotations do you think is the most
   true about power?
2. Which of the quotations do you think is the most
   true about politics?
3. Which of the quotations do you think is the most
   true about your own life?

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