Introduction to Government

What is a State?

What is a government? Central Message: Government is the institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policy. Public policy is all of the goals a government sets and the various courses of action it pursues as it attempts to realize these goals. Our institutions are Congress, the president, the courts, and federal agencies AKA “the Bureaucracy” What is a government?

Three types of power Central Message: Legislative Power: the power to make laws Executive Power: the power to enforce laws Judicial Power: the power to interpret laws Three types of power

Characteristics of a State Central Message: Population A state is a body of people living in a defined territory who have a government with the power to make and enforce law without the consent of any higher authority. Territory Government Characteristics of a State Sovereignty

Origins of the State Central Message: Force Theory Evolutionary Theory Divine Right Theory Social Contract Theory Thomas Hobbes John Locke Origins of the State

Origins of the State The Force Theory The Force Theory The force theory states that one person or a small group took control of an area and forced all within it to submit to that person’s or group’s rule. The Evolutionary Theory The evolutionary theory argues that the state evolved naturally out of the early family. The Divine Right Theory The theory of divine right holds that God created the state and that God gives those of royal birth a “divine right” to rule. The Social Contract Theory The social contract theory argues that the state arose out of a voluntary act of free people.

Preamble to the Constitution Central Message: Form a more perfect union. Establish justice. Insure domestic tranquility. Provide for the common defense. Promote the general welfare. Secure the blessings of liberty. Purpose of Government Preamble to the Constitution

5 Functions of a National Government Maintain a National Defense Govt. protects its national sovereignty, usually by maintaining armed services Nuclear age has sophisticated weapons U.S. spends over $300 billion/year on defense

Government 2. Provide public services Aka public goods (goods that everyone shares) Schools, libraries, highways, public parks, clean air and water Provided for those not able to access privately owned services (i.e. private schools)

Government 3. Preserve Order Govt. may resort to extreme measures to restore order when people protest in large numbers 1970: Kent State 1992: LA Riots

Government 4. Socialize the Young Most modern govts. pay for education and use it to instill values among the young 5. Collect Taxes Used to pay for the public goods and services Approx. 1 out of every 3 dollars earned by American citizen is used to pay for national, state, and local taxes

Government Govt. functions = weighty decisions by political leaders How much should we spend on national defense as opposed to education? How high should taxes for Medicare and SS be? The way we answer those questions is through politics

Classification by Geographic Distribution of Power Unitary Government A unitary government has all powers held by a single, central agency. Confederate Government A confederation is an alliance of independent states. Federal Government A federal government is one in which the powers of government are divided between a central government and several local governments. An authority superior to both the central and local governments makes this division of power on a geographic basis.

Government Government Types 1. Autocracy Absolute Monarchy, Constitutional Monarchy, Dictatorship Unitary System Queen, King, Dictator, King or Queen w/leg.body AM: Saudi Arabia, Qutar, Bhutan, Swaziland CM: England, Netherlands, Denmark, Nepal, Sweden Dict: Cuba, North Korea

Government Absolute Monarch: Constitutional Monarch: Has complete and unlimited power to rule King Fahd (Saudi Arabia) Constitutional Monarch: Shares govt. powers with elected legislatures or serve as ceremonial leaders Queen Elizabeth II (Great Britain)

Government Dictators Govt. not responsible to the people and people lack the power to limit their rulers Fidel Castro (Cuba) Kim Jong (N.Korea)

Government Government Types Oligarchy Unitary Small group rules Membership based on wealth, lineage, military power, religion China

Government Government Types 3. Democracy Federal Direct Democracy – people rule directly Citizens come together to discuss and pass laws, and select rulers (most turn to mob rule) Indirect Democracy (Representative) – people rule through elected representatives Aka republic DD: Switzerland has mixture of DD and ID ID: U.S., Canada, Australia, Italy

What is the difference between Presidential and Parliamentary Governments?

Democracy

Democracy Word comes from two Greek words – Demos (people) and Kratos (authority of the people) Supreme political authority rests with the people Government is only conducted w/ people’s consent

Basic Concepts of Democracy (What is necessary for the establishment and maintenance of a Democracy?) Individual Liberty (Effective Participation) Citizens must be as free as possible to develop and express their preferences through the decision-making process

Democracy 2. Majority Rule with Minority Rights 3. Free Elections Govt. decisions must be based on the will of the majority (over half the voters) Will of minority always heard and protected Interest groups protect minority rights and promote minority opinion 3. Free Elections People have chance to choose their leaders and voice opinions on issues Every vote carries same weight Citizens free to support issue or help candidates get elected Racial, ethnic, religious tests cannot restrict voting Citizens vote by secret ballot w/out fear of punishment for their vote

Democracy 4. Competing Political Parties 5. Education Voters must have access to competing ideas Democrats and Republicans (2 major U.S. parties) 5. Education Voting makes little sense unless a large number of voters can read and write to express their interests and opinions

Democracy 6. Equal Distribution of Wealth Relatively prosperous nation with equitable distribution of wealth Extreme amount of wealth or poverty lessens possibility of healthy democracy

Democracy 7. Inclusion Citizenship open to all if Democratic

The American concept of democracy rests on these basic notions: (1) A recognition of the fundamental worth and dignity of every person; (2) A respect for the equality of all persons; (3) A faith in majority rule and an insistence upon minority rights; (4) An acceptance of the necessity of compromise; and (5) An insistence upon the widest possible degree of individual freedom.

Democracy and the Free Enterprise System Free enterprise system is an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods; investments that are determined by private decision rather than by state control; and determined in a free market. Decisions in a free enterprise system are determined by the law of supply and demand. An economy in which private enterprise exists in combination with a considerable amount of government regulation and promotion is called a mixed economy.