American Government and Politics Today Chapter 1 The Democratic Republic

Politics and Government Key terms: Politics: “who gets what when and how” Institution: an ongoing organization that performs certain functions for society Government: institution in which decisions are made that resolve conflicts or allocate benefits and privileges

Why Is Government Necessary? – Order Maintaining peace and security by protecting members of society from violence and criminal activity is the oldest purpose of government.

Why is Government Necessary? – Liberty The greatest freedom of individuals that is consistent with the freedom of other individuals in the society; can be promoted by or invoked against government.

Why is Government Necessary? – Authority and Legitimacy authority: the right and power of a government or other entity to enforce its decisions and compel obedience. legitimacy is popular acceptance of the right and power of a government or other entity to exercise authority.

Forms of Government –Totalitarian Regime—government controls all aspects of the political and social life of a nation. –Authoritarianism—A type of regime in which only the government itself is fully controlled by the ruler. Social and economic institutions exist that are not under the government’s control. –Aristocracy—Rule by the “best”; in reality, rule by an upper class. –Democracy—A system of government in which political authority is vested in the people. Derived from the Greek words demos (“the people”) and kratos (“authority”).

Direct Democracy –Political decisions are made by the people directly, rather than by their elected representatives –Attained most easily in small political communities.

Direct Democracy Today – Initiative–a procedure by which voters can propose a law or a constitutional amendment – Referendum–an electoral device whereby legislative or constitutional measures are referred by the legislature to the voters for approval or disapproval; – Recall–a procedure allowing the people to vote to dismiss an elected official from state office before his or her term has expired

2006 Election A total of 204 ballot propositions went before the voters in 37 states on November 7, up from 162 propositions in November Voters approved 137 measures, rejected 65, and 2 remain to be decided. The approval rate of 68% is slightly higher than the 67% approval rate in November were initiatives (new laws qualified by petition), 4 were referendums (proposals to repeal existing laws), one was placed on the ballot by a commission, and the rest were legislative measures. The 78 initiatives for the year (including the three that were voted on in the summer) is the third largest total since the initiative process was first used in 1902,. For the year, voters approved 32 of 78 initiatives. The 41% approval rate is equal to the historical average.

Gay Marriage Seven states approved constitutional amendments that restrict marriage to a man and a woman (Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin), bringing the total number of states that have approved such an amendment to 23.

Abortion Referred Law 6 in South Dakota. In an effort to create a test case for the U. S. Supreme Court to reverse Roe v. Wade, the South Dakota legislature passed a law banning abortion in early Voters rejected Referred Law 6, in effect repealing the law banning abortion. One reason the law was repealed in traditionally pro-life South Dakota was the concern that it was too severe, lacking adequate exceptions for the health of the mother. Abortion rights activists were also able to defeat laws in California and Oregon that would have required notification of parents before a minor received an abortion.

Tobacco Health organizations qualified Initiatives in several states to increase taxes on tobacco products and ban smoking in public places. Tobacco companies dedicated a reported $100 million to fight these measures, and were successful in defeating tobacco tax increases in California and Missouri. Tobacco tax increases in Arizona and South Dakota that were not heavily contested were approved. Smoking bans were approved in all three states where they were on the ballot, Arizona, Nevada, and Ohio. Less restrictive smoking bans placed on the ballot by pro-tobacco groups failed in each of these states.

Is Direct Democracy Dangerous? While the founders believed in government based on the consent of the people, they were highly distrustful of anything that might look like “mob rule.” Therefore, they devised institutions to filter the popular will through elected elites.

A Democratic Republic Democratic republic and representative democracy really mean the same thing— government based on elected representatives—except for the historical quirk that a republic cannot have a vestigial king.

A Democratic Republic (cont) –Principles of Democratic Government universal suffrage, or the right of all adults to vote for their representatives majority rule, the greatest number of citizens in any political unit should select the officials and determine policies. –Constitutional Democracy. limited government, states the powers of government should be limited, usually by institutional checks. Without such limits, democracy could destroy itself.

Ideologies: Liberalism vs. Conservatism –Conservatives tend to favor limited governmental involvement in the economic sector. Economic freedom is seen as a necessity for the good of the society. On social issues, conservatives advocate governmental involvement to preserve traditional values and lifestyles. –Liberals tend to favor governmental regulation of the economy to benefit individuals within the society. On social issues, liberals advocate a limited governmental role. Social freedom is seen as a necessity for the good of the society.

Ideologies: The Traditional Political Spectrum socialism, a political ideology based on strong support for economic and social equality. Socialists traditionally envisioned a society in which major businesses were taken over by the government or by employee cooperatives. libertarianism, a political ideology based on skepticism or opposition toward almost all government activities.

Classical Liberalism – Liberal once meant limited government and no religion in politics. The term evolved into its modern American meaning along with the political evolution of the Democratic Party, which was once the party of limited government but has become the party of (relative) economic equality.

Table 1.1 The Traditional Political Spectrum A "hard-core liberal" would answer personal questions to minimize government involvement, but would answer economic questions to include government intervention. A "hard-core libertarian" would answer both personal and economic questions to minimize government involvement A "hard-core conservative" would answer personal questions to include government intervention, but would answer economic questions to minimize government involvement. A "hard-core populist/ socialist" would answer both personal and economic questions with proposals that include government intervention.

Figure 1-1 A Four-Cornered Ideological Grid

The Ideological Grid –We can break down the electorate into cultural and economic liberals, cultural and economic conservatives, cultural liberals/economic conservatives (libertarians), and cultural conservatives/economic liberals. Classifying the Voters. All four viewpoints have substantial support based on polling data. Conservative Popularity. However, the term conservative, as a self-applied label, is more popular than any other label except “moderate.”

Totalitarian Ideologies –The “ideologies of our enemies,” that is, our opponents in 20th and 21st century wars, cold or hot. Communism, revolutionary variant of socialism that favors a partisan (and often totalitarian) dictatorship, government control of all enterprises, and the replacement of free markets by central planning; and Fascism, a twentieth-century ideology—often totalitarian—that exalts the national collective united behind an absolute ruler, and rejects liberal individualism, values action over rational deliberation, and glorifies war.

Totalitarianism in the Islamic World While communism and fascism are the historical ideologies that totalitarianism was coined to describe, our current international problem is with radical Islamism as exemplified by Al Qaeda.

The Changing Face of America – Aging – Population Growth – Ethnic Change Changes in Hispanic Community – Women in the Workforce

Figure 1.2 The Aging of America