CHAPTER 1-3 REVIEW

THE GLOBALIZATION OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT  Concept of government has evolved  Initially territorial in nature  Idea of national sovereignty  Is U.S. sovereignty threatened by globalization?  International law via treaties  1982 Law of the Sea Treaty  World Court  World Trade Organization

PURPOSE OF GOVERNMENT Citizens must surrender some freedoms to be provided services by a government Government balances liberty and order Most willing to give up some freedoms for governmental benefits

 To maintain order  Hobbes – focused on peoples’ safety  Locke – wanted life, liberty, and property  Marx – believed the public should not own land or own businesses key to production of goods  To provide public goods  Usually for things not likely to be provided by individuals  Controversial as to what goods or services appropriate  And, more recently in the U.S., to promote equality  Some, but not all not all policies promoting equality redistribute income

ANALYZING GOVERNMENT  Majoritarian  Pluralism  Hyperpluralism  Elite Theory

FREEDOM  Two basic types of freedom:  Freedom of, or freedom to do things without constraints  Freedom from oppression or exploitation  These concepts also described as liberty and equality

ORDER  Can be viewed narrowly as preservation of life and protection of property or broadly as preserving social order  Social order generally held to be the traditional or accepted way of doing things  Protections via police powers  Balance between protections and civil liberties sometimes difficult to achieve

LIBERTY V. ORDER

CLASSIFICATION OF IDEOLOGY  Accurate classifications require looking at values of freedom, order, and equality  Libertarians value freedom more than order or equality  Liberals value freedom more than order, but not more than equality  Conservatives value freedom more than equality, but are willing to restrict it to preserve social order  Communitarians favor programs that support both order and equality

THE MODERN DILEMMA

POLITICAL AND SOCIAL EQUALITY  Basic definition of political equality is one person, one vote  Some expand definition to include social equality, or equality in wealth, education, and status  Equality of opportunity vs. equality of outcome

MODELS OF DEMOCRACY  Representative democracies must establish policies and procedures to turn public opinion into responsive public policy  Majoritarian model  Pluralist model

MAJORITARIAN MODEL TRUE DEMOCRACY OR A REPUBLIC?

MAJORITY RULE  Interprets “government by the people” as majority rule  Popular election of government officials  Decisions about government policies via initiative, referendum, and recall  Assumes voters are knowledgeable, interested, and rational  Framers feared majority rule-Mobocracy  “peasants with pitchforks”

PLURALISM  Interprets “government by the people” as people participating via interest groups  Two major mechanisms:  Interest groups-ideological groups oppose compromise  Decentralized government  Works well in U.S., but declining civic participation a concern

MAJORITARIAN V. PLURALISM  Majoritarian model requires citizens who understand government and are willing to participate  Cohesive elections, centralized government, political parties with well-defined programs needed Pluralism requires groups to have power and knowledge Interest group leaders must have specialized knowledge, and government is decentralized Essentially, minority rule

TWO OTHER THEORIES  Hyperpluralism-too many groups compete for a piece of the pie  Elite theory-Those with the most get the most

ARE WE PLURALIST OR MAJORITARIAN?  American pluralism flawed because poor less likely to join interest groups  U.S. political system not very majoritarian, but becoming more so because of increasing partisanship  Some argue that ideological activists have “hijacked” the two parties  Primary elections-only activists vote

WHAT IS CLASSICAL REPUBLICANISM AND CLASSICAL LIBERALISM  Classical Republicanism-Common good, civic virtue, moral education, ORDER  Natural Rights Philosophy-State of Nature, Natural inalienable rights-Life Liberty and Property, Social contract theory-purpose of government? LIBERTY

WHAT DID MIDDLE AGES GIVE US?  Magna Carta-Government by contract, consent of the governed, due process  Judeo-Christian values-Worth of the individual, individualism

ENGLISH TRADITIONS  Rights of Englishmen  Magna Carta  Petition of Rights  English Bill of Rights  Parliamentary supremacy  Common law

WHERE DID THE FRAMERS GET THEIR IDEAS?  Classical philosophers-Plato, Aristotle, Socrates  Natural Rights philosophers-Locke, Hobbes etc.  English Traditions-Magna Carta etc.  Colonial experience-Revolution fought over the issue of political authority or liberty

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE  Three Parts?

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION  Weaknesses?  What were the state constitutions like and why were they better than the Articles?  What was the event that made the Framers realize the Articles were a failure?

BELIEFS  Natural Rights Philosophy  Private domain  Property and Private Domain important  Constitution as a Higher Law  Rule of Law  Popular Sovereignty-majority rule with the protection of minority rights (pluralism?)  Limited Government  Republic Form of Government  Civic Virtue  Enlightened Self Interest-distrusted human nature

THE CONVENTION  Who is called the Father of our Constitution?  What was his plan called and what were the important parts?  How is a federal system different from a unitary system or a confederation?  What were the controversies at the Convention?  Why is the Constitution called a “bundle of compromises?”  What were the major arguments of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists?  Who is the Father of our Bill of Rights?

FEDERALISTS V. ANTI-FEDERALISTS  Anti-Federalists opposed ratification of the Constitution primarily because of the lack of a Bill of Rights  However some like Patrick Henry believed the Constitution was primarily an economic document that sustained the rule of the aristocracy in America  It was a document that would allow the government to become tyrannical through clauses such as the commerce clause, the necessary and proper clause and the supremacy clause.  Federalists supported the ratification of the Constitution  No Bill of Rights needed because all states already had them and the Constitution, with it’s checks and balances, separation of powers. This along with the size of the Republic would keep factions from controlling the government and oppressing the minority.