Course Conclusion Who Governs? To What Ends?

Who Governs?

THEME A - Distribution of Costs and Benefits - A Review Majoritiarian Politics - Social Security Act, Sherman Antitrust Act, Foreign Policy Interest Group Politics - Laws regulating labor- management relations Client Politics - dairy subsidies, "loopholes" in tax laws, licensing laws Entrepreneurial Politics - Regulation of drug industry, environmental policies. The media and courts play an important role in entrepreneurial politics

THEME B - Power in American Society - Marxist Theory, Elitist Theory, Bureaucratic Theory, Pluralist Theory Marxist Theory - consistent with client-serving policies

Elitist Theory - power of the courts and the way foreign policy is made

Bureaucratic Theory - applicable when the bureaucracy gains broad discretionary authority as in the case of weapons procurement, enforcement of civil rights laws, regulation of business..

Pluralist theory - description of interest group politics.

To What Ends?

THEME A - The Growth of Government The most striking change in American government in recent times has been the expansion of the scope of its activities.

For most of the history of the Republic, government has been very limited. The prevailing interpretation of the Constitution limited the federal government. Finally, the separation of powers, and other checks and balances made it difficult to enact policies.

Americans are particularly prone to define relationships in terms of rights. Elaborate procedures protect individuals from the arbitrary exercise of power and make it more difficult to make governmental decisions or manage large institutions.

Relaxing the Restraints –Changes in Constitutional interpretation Bill of Rights incorporated to the states Special protection of property rights reduced, business regulation increased Congress allowed to give broad discretionary powers to administrative agencies –Changes in public opinion Public demand for government action during Great Depression Opinions of political elites changed even faster Some programs have been popular with the masses –Changes in the distribution of political resources Number and variety of interest groups have increased Funds from organization pursuing causes have grown Greater access to the federal courts Technological advances have enhanced the power to communicate ideas The Old System v. the New System

As the government gets bigger, its members must devote more time to managing (and paying for) existing programs and less time debating new ideas.

THEME B - The Idea of "American Decline" This school of though says that the United States is facing a period of relative decline both domestically and internationally. Causes of this decline include public and private debt, poor leadership, entrenched interest groups and lack of saving.

Consequences of activist government –Need to assess costs and benefits of programs –General political consequences of the enlarged scope of activity Bureaucratization of all organizations Rise of competing policies Less control by the electorate through the decline of parties and turnout and of public confidence Greater risk of government failure

As we ask more of the government, the more we will be disappointed. Activist government must have some failures. A government that does nothing will never fail.

The influence of structure –Parliamentary model; if adopted here, would do the following: Fewer legislative restraints on the executive More bureaucratic centralization Less citizen participation to challenge or block policies Higher taxes and more secrecy –U.S. model More local authority Greater citizen participation

The influence of ideas –Preoccupation with rights Assumption that affected groups have a right to participate in policy formation Willingness to resort to courts –Effects of rights on government functions Harder to make government decisions More red tape –Elite opinion influences which rights have priority Favors freedom of expression over management of property Mass opinion less committed to freedom of expression –Freedom versus equality an enduring tension Advantages of freedom are remote Advantages of equality are obvious –Fragmentation of political system increases role of ideas Widespread enthusiasm for an idea can lead to rapid adoption of new programs Competing ideas make change difficult; change today may require the persuading of thousands of special interests Fundamental challenge: to restore confidence in the legitimacy of government itself

SELF TEST