Political Geography Day 1 Political Science AP HG Mr. Hensley SRMHS Goal 2 Day 2

Political Science vs. Sociology Political scientists look at politics from an applied perspective Sociologists take a more theoretical approach How did Trump get elected? (coalitions, compromises etc.) Versus what does Trump represent?

Power vs. Authority Power means getting people to follow your directions Authority means your power is accepted and respected Can have power with no authority (crime, force) Cannot have authority without power

Traditional Authority Authority has been made legitimate by long-standing custom History is on their side “Do what I say, not (necessarily) what I do” Examples: Royalty, hereditary rulers Everyday: mother or father Respect given not earned Only death ends it

Charismatic Authority Authority based on personal attributes and personal qualities Respect is earned, not given Conditional: authority is lost if personal qualities are discredited Can be good (Gandhi) or bad (Hitler)

Legal-Rational Authority Authority lies with the position, not with the person Authority is given by written document (Constitution or Employee Handbook) Can only be withdrawn if the person violates the rules of the position Ex: most government officials

Forms: Anarchy Anarchy is the absence of any government or authority Everyone is free to do whatever they want Modern anarchists want a very small gov’t limited to a civil court system Extreme libertarianism

Forms: Monarchy Power and authority are hereditary and belong to one family Rule can be unbounded (absolute) or bounded (constitutional monarchy) Trade-offs? Stability versus regression towards the mean Historically, the most common type of gov’t

Oligarchy Rule by a small elite Elite status not (necessarily) hereditary May occur because of military or economic success Russia is controlled by a small group of elites Is the US an “elected oligarchy”?

Democracy Goal is to give every citizen an equal share of power Pure democracies are those where (almost) all decisions are voted on Representative democracies elect leaders who then make decisions for us

Meet Hobbes English philosopher, his book is called Leviathan – it is about what made for the best government He believed all men were selfish (evil) and that without a strong government to keep them in line, life would be “nasty, brutish and short” Monarchy was best Born in 1588, Hobbes is influenced by the early empiricist Francis Bacon. Hobbes rejects the Aristotelian belief that man is naturally made to live cooperatively in a government. Hobbes believes that man is naturally solitary and predatory and that in a state of nature, there is a “war of every man against every man”. The only way to maintain peace is for a powerful sovereign to take over and enforce peace through threat of force. The king says: “If you submit, I will not kill you.” These ideas, set forth in his book Leviathan (1651), advocate for a strong monarchy as the best form of government. Hobbes supported Charles I but then switched to Cromwell, when Cromwell proved himself more powerful. When Charles II was restored, Hobbes stayed out of favor until his death.

Hobbes Quotes “The condition of man... is a condition of war of everyone against everyone. “ “During the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that conditions called war; and such a war, as if of every man, against every man. “ No arts; no letters; no society… continual fear, and danger of violent death: and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short."

Meet Locke Locke was also a philosopher – he believed people were born with natural rights Examples: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness People gave their consent to be governed in exchange for the governments promise to protect those rights In 1689 and 1690, Locke releases two Treatises on Government. In the first, he argues against the Divine Right of Kings, seen by many as a normal, reasonable position on the nature of government. The argument put forward was that monarchs were like fathers, who had the same power over their subjects as a father would have over his children. It was connected to religion by pointing out that such patriarchal power was first given by God to Adam. Locke attacked the hereditary aspect of monarchy, which again, is something we find repugnant today. But - are we being hypocrites?. We find hereditary power in government to be wrong-headed - but have no problem with hereditary power in business. Politically, we don’t let children inherit their parent’s power - but economically, we not only let it happen, we encourage it and think it normal.

Consent of the Governed Locke believed a representative government was best (elect representatives who make the decisions) He believed that if your government failed to protect your natural rights, then you could withdraw your consent Replace your government if it doesn’t do its job! Locke carries on the idea of the social contract from Hobbes. This is the belief that government exists because people have banded together and given up some of their own power and self-control to a government to improve their condition. For Hobbes, the people were giving up that power to a sovereign who had not taken part in this negotiation. So the king owed the people nothing and was not part of the contract. For Locke, the people gave their consent to be governed - and that consent could be withdrawn if the government failed to respect the rights of the people it governed. For Locke, this usually meant confiscation of property without permission. Locke believed that people were born with inherent natural rights that, contrasted with legal rights, could never be taken from them. The phrase “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” in the Declaration of Independence is taken from Locke’s ideas about natural rights.

Locke Quotes “The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom. For in all the states of created beings capable of law, where there is no law, there is no freedom.” “All mankind... being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions. “ “The reason why men enter into society is the preservation of their property. “

Philosophers: Rousseau In a state of nature, men are good – the noble savage Inequality comes from private property Government must reflect the general will of the people The type of gov’t always depends on size of state

Functionalist Perspective Government has 4 functions: Planning and directing society Providing for social welfare Maintaining internal law and order Managing relations with other countries How is gov’t similar to religion?

Conflict Perspective Power elites use gov’t to maintain their control over limited resources Marx: struggle between proletarian and bourgeoisie; between labor and capital Marx: over time, the proletarians are winning Huxley versus Orwell