Principles of Politics Chapter 1

What Is Government and Why Is It Necessary? ► Government: formal institutions and procedures through which a land and its people are ruled.  Simple as a tribal council or as complex as the US Government. (Sometimes called “the state”)

Forms of Government ► Government forms vary in size structure and operation. How to determine differences?  Who governs?  How much government power is permitted? ► Autocracy – governing by a single individual – king or dictator ► Oligarchy – small group of individuals control most government decisions ► Democracy – more people participate, where the populace has some influence over decision making

Forms of Governments Continued ► How they govern? ► Constitutional – when governments are severely limited as to what they are permitted to control as well as how they go about it. (also known as liberal government); found in US and a few others. ► Authoritarian – the law does little to restrict government, but it is kept in check by other political and social institutions, which it cannot control – such as autonomous territories, an organized church, organized business groups or labor unions. (Europe, South America, Asia and Africa) ► Totalitarian – governments are free of legal limits, they seek to eliminate those organized groups that might challenge or limit their power. They seek to dominate every sphere of political, economic and social life. (Soviet Union under Stalin, Germany under Hitler, Japan and Italy)

Foundations of Government ► There are two basic components of any government. People in power must be able to secure obedience and ward off challengers, as well as collect revenue to support the running of the government.  A means of coercion: (such as an army or police force) government must have the power to order people around, get them to obey laws and punish them if they do not, otherwise chaos will reign. ► Conscription: government requires certain involuntary services of its citizens. (the draft, jury duty, file official reports, income taxes etc.)  Means of Collecting Revenue: government must have revenue to govern and run its programs and institutions

Why Is Government Necessary? ► Control is the basis for government, but what level of control is justifiable, and why? ► To maintain order: order can only come by controlling a territory and its people, so that all may live in peace.  Question arises: control implies a threat to freedom – but the other option is anarchy!  Thomas Hobbes ( ) says anarchy is worse than a tyrannical government. Anarchy is life of “continual fear, and danger of violent death, it is short, nasty, solitary and poor.” He says we need government to maintain order so that we can enjoy our freedom.

Why Is Government Necessary? Continued ► To protect property: after the protection of our lives comes the need to protect our property. This is a justifiable function of government. ► John Locke ( ) successor to Hobbes in political philosophy, stated that private property is useless unless it can be maintained and protected –by government.

Why Is Government Necessary? Continued ► To provide public goods: a benefit that cannot be kept from people enjoying once it has been provided by some entity (government). National defense is an example. ► Many try “free riding” – enjoy the benefits of some good or action while others bear the costs. (long term welfare recipients and illegal aliens)

Influencing the Government: Politics ► Not all government actions can be justified by the above. All government actions can be justified only by the people being governed. This is why politics is so important. Through politics the people have at least some method of influencing government actions. ► Politics refers to conflicts and struggles over the leadership, structure, and policies of government. ► The goal of politics: to have a share or a say in the composition of the government’s leadership, how the government is organized or what its policies are going to be. (Political power or influence)

Paradoxes of American Democracy ► Three problems of American democracy that are hard to solve:  Delegating authority in a representative democracy: As our “popular sovereignty” has expanded people in their busy lives have found it acceptable and convenient to delegate their political role to others. By either not registering or not voting you leave the decisions up to “special interest groups” who are highly motivated to make changes.  “Popular sovereignty is power if exercised”

Paradoxes Continued ► The Trade off between Freedom and Coercion. ► As the government works to protect our liberties – it must use coercion to accomplish this. Laws, regulations, rulings and taxes (labor income, gains on the value of capital, transmission of estates from one generation to another) all restrict our private property and constitute limits on our liberty. ► The catch is that liberty is one of the purposes for which coercion is necessary in the first place. So coercion is necessary – BUT – where to draw the line on coercion? (War on Terror – civil liberties; who is the best steward of your money – the government or yourself)

Paradoxes Continued ► The Instability of Majority Rule: involves the multitude of purposes pursued by different people. ► Majority rule is vulnerable to special interests that wield great influence (agenda setters, corporate CEO’s, union leaders, religious leaders, group leaders, etc.) ► All democracies must deal with the fact that outcomes, because they entail disproportionate influence by some, are not always fair.