Chapter One: The Study of American Government

 Who governs?  Personality and beliefs of our leaders effect us in a real way.  To what ends?  How will they govern  Hot button issues  Approach to these issues

 Power is the ability of one person to get another person to act in accordance with the first person’s intentions.  Our govt has the power to tell us to do certain things  Not speed, pay taxes, not steal, etc.  However, power not always used rightfully.  I.e.- Yertle the Turtle

 Authority is the right to use power.  We are more likely to accept decisions of higher- ups if those higher-ups have the right to use their power.  Formal authority is the right to exercise power within a government office.  In US, this means being elected by the people.  Exact discretionary power of our leaders is still hotly debated.

 Legitimacy- political authority that is derived from law, political opinion, and/or constitution.  Electoral College  Election of senators, representatives, mayors, and governors  Appointment of judges and bureaucrats  Authority derived from the Constitution  Power can come from many different rightful sources.

 Aristotle = “the rule of many.”  Direct democracy- all or most citizens participate directly in holding office and making policy.  Greece 4 th century BC, New England town meetings  Representative democracy- leaders get their powers by being elected. See Schumpeter definition from p 6.  Our Founding Fathers picked this form.

 knowledge, time, info, interest crucial to making policy decisions.  Jersey Shore  Direct democracy is more vulnerable to fleeting passions, selfishness, and/or persuasion by fringe groups and/or trendy viewpoints.  “will of the people” ≠ public good.

 Varying degrees of political power can be granted to our elected leaders:  Majoritarian politics- leaders mostly constrained by the will of the people ▪ Results will be similar to a popular vote ▪ Only crucial issues considered  Elitist politics- leaders make most decisions based on what they- not the public- think is best. ▪ “political elite” hold all power and make the decisions that suit them.  In reality, most representative democracies lie somewhere between these two extremes.

 Marxist- the government mirrors the economy with capitalist (bourgeoisie) imposing their will on the workers (proletariat) in a magnificent class-war.  C Wright Mills- a few non-governmental elite from the worlds of business, the military, and elsewhere work together to achieve their own self-interest.  Max Weber- appointed officials (bureaucrats) exercise their expertise to wield power, leading to more rational decisions.  Pluralist- resources are so dispersed that no one group holds substantial control.

 Sometimes, what is good for those in charge is clearly and plainly at odds with what is good for society.  Oftentimes, decisions are made that do not effect those in charge either way.  Other times, public officials simply rise above selfishness because they know it is the right thing to do.

 Who governs changes often  Groups with influence also change  Prevailing public opinion shifts  Pre WWI isolationism led to Open Door Policy in  FDR’s New Deal led to expanding federal govt.  Reagan administration reverted back to smaller govt involvement.  Modern-day federal govt quite active in both domestic and international issues.  Political conflict between competing viewpoints serves to define the political landscape of the day.

 Outcome of power is easy to see, but who actually made that outcome happen is somewhat less clear.  Although major leaders are elected or appointed, those who influence the actions of our decision makers are not always known.  As a result, the question of “who governs” is not an easy one to answer.

 Who governs, how they govern, and the overall political landscape of the day determine which issues are important and how these issues will be addressed by those in power.  Thus, some pretty major changes can happen without any real changes to our written law.  Who governs changes  The way people govern changes  The people who influence us changes  Prevailing beliefs/opinions change often