Introducing Government in America Edwards, Wattenberg, and Lineberry Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy Fourteenth Edition Chapter 1 Introducing Government in America Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. 1

Theories of Gov’t Force Evolution Divine Social Contract

5 Functions of Gov’t Order Public Goods Defense Taxes Socialize the young

Definitions Government - institutions through which policy is made Politics - activities that influence policy

When Creating a New Government? Who gets to participate? Who should govern? Where should government authority be located? How much should government do?

Government Type Power Distribution Branch Relationship Anarchy None Autocracy – Dictatorship Unitary – state governed by a single power where the central gov’t is supreme Presidential Autocracy – Monarchy Federal - system of gov’t in where several states form a unity but remain independent in internal affairs Parliamentary Oligarchy – Dictatorship Confederation – organization that consists of a number of parties or groups united in an alliance or league Democracy – Direct Democracy – Representative

US vs European Democracy Police and schools Political parties “Broad tent” or “big tent” Nature of voters Rise of “independent voters” Separation of power Divided government Gridlock Efficiency Taxes Safety net Influence of economy

Direct vs Represent Democracy in the U.S. Direct Democracy Republic Initiatives Issues Referendums Public opinion is fickle Recall elections Time Compromise Polling

Conditions Required for Democracy to Exist Equal right to vote Opportunities for effective political participation Enlightened understanding Citizen control of the agenda Social inclusion Respect for the rights of others Respect for the rule of law

How much should government do? Ideology Basic framework Liberalism Conservatism Libertarianism Populism

Models of American Democracy Majoritarianism – The majority is entitled to a degree of primacy, including making decisions that affect the society Negatives Assumes people can control government with adequate mechanisms to participate Assumes people are knowledgeable Assumes people want to participate Assumes people are rational

Models of American Democracy Pluralism – groups w/ shared interests influence policy by pressing their concerns through organized effort – policy making is open to all and no group dominates Negatives Citizens don’t need to be knowledgeable, only leaders do Assumes that all groups are equal Assumes that people want to join groups Can get conflicting policies

Models of American Democracy Hyperpluralism Competing groups are so strong gov’t is weakened Negatives Undemocratic Conflicting policies Elitism Upper-class elites hold the power and make policy Do elections really matter?