Introduction: Government & the People

Government, Politics, and Power Government: The rules of the game The institutions and processes that make the rules for society and possess the power to enforce them Ex.: Congress & the constitutional budget power Politics: The pursuit and exercise of power Harold Lasswell: “Who gets what, when, and how” Ex.: The deals & compromises that go into the budget

Constitutional Democracy Democracy: Government by the People Direct Democracy (e.g., ancient Greece, New England towns) Representative Democracy, or Republic Constitutional Democracy = Limited Gov’t Majority Rule and Minority Rights Plurality & parliamentary systems Equality Worth, if not ability

Interacting Values Personal Liberty Respect for the Individual Equality of Opportunity Popular Consent John Locke Values in Conflict

Political Processes Free and Fair Elections Freedom of Expression Right to Assemble and Protest New “direct democracy” in the states Initiative Referendum Recall

Conditions for Democracy? Education? Economics? Social Capital? Something else? Why promote democracies elsewhere?

Making Public Policy Policy: a course of action decided upon by a government that usually involves a choice among competing alternatives Laws, presidential orders or “doctrines” (e.g., Bush Doctrine) Implementation: actions taken by government to carry out a policy

Types of Policy Distributive Policies Redistributive Policies Distributing goods and services to projects or groups New bombers or a new park? Redistributive Policies Takes something from one person or group and gives it to another Tax brackets; earned-income credits