Political Theory

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Political Theory

• AP Government
• Unit One

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Defining Politics and Political Science

• At its most basic level, politics is the struggle
  of "who gets what, when, how."
• Political scientists study such struggles, both
  small and large, in an effort to develop general
  principles or theories about the way the world of
  politics works.

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Political Theory

• Political Theory analyzes fundamental political
  concepts such as power and democracy and
  fundamental questions such as, "How should the
  individual and the state relate?
• Differing political theories have developed as a
  result of conflicting answers to this question

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Most political scientists agree that these
criteria should include the following rights and
freedoms for citizens

• Freedom to form and join organizations
• Freedom of expression
• Right to vote
• Eligibility for public office
• Right of political leaders to compete for support
  
• Right of political leaders to compete for votes
• Alternative sources of information
• Free and fair elections
• Institutions for making government policies
  depend on votes and other expressions of
  preference

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Political Efficacy

• Political efficacy The extent to which people
  feel they have an impact or exert some influence
  on public affairs.
• Internal efficacy beliefs about ones own
  competence to understand and participate in
  politics
• External efficacy beliefs about the
  responsiveness of governmental authorities and
  institutions to citizen demands

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Important Political Philosophers

• Plato
• Aristotle
• Machiavelli
• Hobbes
• Hume
• Locke
• Montesquieu
• Rousseau

• DeTocqueville
• Mill
• Marx
• Weber
• Mills

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Plato

• Ancient Greek philosopher
• Platos The Republic is one of the single most
  influential works in Western philosophy.
• It is an analogy of harmony in the State AND
  harmony in the individual
• Essentially, it deals with the central problem of
  how to live a good life this inquiry is shaped
  into the these questions
• what is justice in the State?
• what would an ideal State be like?
• what is a just individual?

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Platos Ideal State was an Aristocracy the rule
of the best

• However, he believed that aristocracies would
  eventually fall to a timocracy (ruled by the
  military)
• Military rule will eventually fall because
  society will drive them out.
• The next step was the "oligarchy"
• The rule of the few or of the wealthy
• According to Plato, people will also tire of
  oligarchies and toss them out.
• The resulting government will then be a democracy
  (rule of the people).
• But this will eventually fall to a tyranny
  (tyrannis, "tyranny," from tyrannos, "tyrant").

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Aristotle

• Aristotle (b. 384 - d. 322 BC), was a Greek
  philosopher, logician, and scientist.
• Along with his teacher Plato, Aristotle is
  generally regarded as one of the most influential
  ancient thinkers in a number of philosophical
  fields, including political theory.
• Aristotle saw politics as a science, and just as
  a physician would study the body, Aristotle
  sought to study the state.
• Once the nature of the state can be understood,
  the politician can begin to frame the
  constitution of the state in its laws, customs
  and institutions, and then to protect it through
  education and legislation.

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Machiavelli1469- 1527

• Webster's New World Dictionary defines the
  adjective Machiavellian as
• Of Machiavelli.
• Of, like, or characterized by his political
  principles and proposed methods of craftiness and
  duplicity crafty, deceitful, etc." the
  adjective is generally applied pejoratively

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The Prince

• Machiavelli's The Prince was written to serve as
  a guide to creating and holding on to a
  principality
• In ways that often benefited the people but
  sometimes only the prince himself
• The Prince was dedicated to Lorenzo de' Medici
• "il Maginifico"
• It is considered a political primer for
  princes- anywhereanytimeany place.

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Montesquieu, 1689-1755 (Baron de Montesquieu,
Charles-Louis de Secondat)

• Montesquieu was one of the great political
  philosophers of the Enlightenment (French)
• Montesquieu's most radical work divided French
  society into three classes the monarchy, the
  aristocracy, and the commons.
• This was radical because it completely eliminated
  the Three Estates structure of the French
  Monarchy the clergy, the aristocracy, and the
  people at large represented by the
  Estates-General, thereby erasing the last vestige
  of a feudalistic structure.

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Montesquieus Theory of The Separation of Powers

• Montesquieu was curious about how governments
  might be preserved from corruption.
• He saw despotism as a danger and argued that it
  could best be prevented by a system in which
  different branches had legislative, executive,
  and judicial power, and in which all those bodies
  were bound by the rule of law.
• This theory of the separation of powers had an
  enormous impact on liberal political theory, and
  on the framers of the constitution of the United
  States of America

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Jean-Jacques Rousseau1712-1778

• Rousseau believed that in the state of nature,
  man is prone to be in frequent competition with
  his fellow men.
• Rousseau claimed that the state of nature is
  violent and without law or morality, and that
  there are good men only a result of society's
  presence.
• Only by joining together through the Social
  Contract and abandoning their claims of natural
  right, individuals can both preserve themselves
  and remain free.
• Only then can we form the collective human
  presence known as "society."
• Rule by all - a complete democracy

Never exceed your rights, and  they will soon
become unlimited.
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Direct Democracies are Best

• Rousseau was bitterly opposed to the idea that
  the people should exercise sovereignty via a
  representative assembly.
• Rather, he believed that citizens should make the
  laws directly.
• He also argued that the goal of government should
  be to secure freedom, equality, and justice for
  all within the state, regardless of the will of
  the majority

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Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)

• British political philosopher
• Hobbes believed that society was obligated to an
  authority figure (King)
• Man is weak and self-centeredmust be looked
  after by a powerful leader
• Man is wicked at heartgovernment must be used to
  control him
• Hobbes Social Contract
• We should give our obedience to an unaccountable
  sovereign in exchange for being allowed to be
  part of society and the safety a sovereign brings
  to our lives.

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Leviathan

• The frontispiece to the first edition of
  Leviathan, which Hobbes helped design, portrays
  the commonwealth as a gigantic human form built
  out of the bodies of its citizens, the sovereign
  as its head.
• Hobbes calls this figure the "Leviathan," a word
  derived from the Hebrew for "sea monster" and the
  name of a monstrous sea creature appearing in the
  Bible the image constitutes the definitive
  metaphor for Hobbes's perfect government.
• His text attempts to prove the necessity of the
  Leviathan for preserving peace and preventing
  civil war.

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John Locke
1632, d. 1704

• British political philosopher
• Locke wrote and developed the philosophy that
  there was no legitimate government under the
  divine right of kings theory.
• His ideas were greatly admired by the Founding
  Fathers

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Natural Rights

• Locke thought that the purpose of government was
  to protect the natural rights of its citizens.
• He said that natural rights were life, liberty
  and property, and that all people automatically
  earned these simply by being born.
• Lockes Contract
• When a government did not protect those rights,
  the citizens had the right and maybe even the
  obligation of overthrowing the government.

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David Hume 1711-1776

• One of the greatest philosophers in Western
  history, as well as an accomplished historian,
  economist, perennial skeptic and delightful
  fellow. 
• David Hume was one of the most prominent figures
  of the Scottish Enlightenment and a close friend
  of Adam Smith.
• Hume was NOT a believer of the "natural law" or
  "social contract" theories popular with other
  philosophers.

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David Hume 1711-1776

• Many regard David Hume as a political
  conservative, sometimes calling him the first
  conservative philosopher
• He was a thorough empiricist (belief that
  knowledge comes from experience) in both his
  political and philosophical work. 
• His central concern was the importance of the
  rule of law, and moderation in politics
• Believed that human nature was evil without
  society making us peaceful and sociable
• The result would be a happy citizenry
• He promoted the idea of a unions and republics.

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Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859)

• French Historian and Political Philosopher
• Born in Paris into aristocracy.
• Tocqueville deepest commitment was to human
  freedom
• Spent two years (1831-1832) roaming about the
  newly formed United States and wrote about our
  form of democracy.
• He analyzed the American attempt to have both
  liberty and equality in terms of what lessons
  Europe could learn from American successes and
  failures
• He believed that political democracy and social
  equality would, inevitably, replace the
  aristocratic institutions of Europe.

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De Tocquevilles Theory

• Democracy Worked Well in America Because
• Lots of land!! (Fertile land)
• No feudal aristocracy here
• Small, independent farmers make up a great deal
  of the population (No great number of landless
  peasants like in Europe.)
• American culture and ideals- He called them,
  Moral and intellectual characteristics

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John Stuart Mill

• American political philosopher- On Liberty
• We should have freedom of thought and discussion
  (listen to other viewpoints)
• His ideas were uplifting and noble
• The purpose of morality is to make the world a
  better place.
• Morality is about producing good consequences,
  not having good intentions
• We should do whatever will bring the most benefit
  (i.e., intrinsic value) to all of humanity.
• He believed that one of our responsibilities as
  humans was to maximize utility, not to do the
  minimum
• In other words, set aside our personal interests
  for humanity.

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How is Political Power Distributed in a
Democracy??

• Majoritarian theory
• Leaders follow the wishes of the people closely
• Does anyone believe this???
• Applies when issues are clear
• When is THIS???
• Elitism theories
• Marx
• Mills
• Weber
• Pluralism

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Karl Marx1818-1883

• German Author
• Wrote The Communist Manifesto with partner,
  Frederick Engels
• Believed government is controlled by one dominant
  social class
• Theory that power is a reflection of underlying
  economic forces

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Max Weber1864-1920

• German political theorist
• The political process is controlled by political
  elites in the bureaucracy
• Expert knowledge and competence will (and should)
  dominate
• Weber theorized about why some people work hard
  and some dont in his essay The Protestant Ethic
  and the Spirit of Capitalism
• Work, save money, and you will be successful
• Similar to Puritan work ethic

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C. Wright Mills1916-1962

• The Power Elite Theory
• The power elite control politics
• They include
• Military leaders
• Key corporate leaders
• Political leaders in and out of office

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The Pluralist Theory of Power

• The pluralist theory of power is that no one
  elite person or group dominates politics
• No monopoly of power
• The different players must bargain and compromise
  and be responsive to followers
• (i.e. voters)