AP Government and Politics …the beginning…

AP Government & Politics 1.Why study government and politics? 2.Why do government and politics matter? 3.What has government done?

1. Why study government and politics? Learn what government is allowed to do Learn what government is not supposed to do Learn what has been done by government before Learn possibilities of what government can achieve Learn who leaders are and what they do Learn the process for gaining power Consider different theories of how it should work

2. Why do government and politics matter? Impacts our daily lives Our daily deaths Our money Our civil liberties Our civil rights Our happiness Our religions Our opinions of ourselves Our status in the world

3. What has government done? -- What has government achieved?

Why Government Matters: A Top Ten List 10.Promoted financial security in retirement 9.Reduced the federal budget deficit 8.Increased access to health care for older Americans 7.Strengthened the nation’s highway system 6.Ensured safe food and drinking water 5.Reduced workplace discrimination 4.Reduced disease 3.Promoted equal access to public accommodations 2.Expanded the right to vote 1.Rebuilt Europe after World War II

In order to achieve anything in government: People must have political power People must use their political power

Write a one page essay: Who has political power in America? Give at least 2 examples that illustrate that the person you cite has political power. Hints: Explain what this person has done that shows he or she has power. Use the individual name of the person and give the most specific examples possible.

Discuss: Who has political power? How do you know they have political power? What examples can you give that illustrate that they have power? What is political power?

Power: the ability of one person to cause another person to act in accordance with the first person’s intentions May be obvious: president sends soldiers into combat May be subtle: president’s junior speechwriters take a new tone when writing about a controversial issue

Textbook Treats Two Things Power as it is used to impact who will hold governmental office (ELECTIONS) and Power as it is used to impact how government will behave (PUBLIC POLICY DECISIONS)

Americans Agree: One thing American seem to agree on is that it is necessary for government to be in some sense “democratic” in the United States today in order to be perceived as legitimate. Was the power you are writing about based in democratic ideals?

democracy What is it? What are the different theories of democracy? How could this information be organized graphically?

Direct DemocracyRepresentative Democracy Participatory DemocracyRepublicanism Aristotelian “rule of the many”Elitist theory Greek city-state Schumpeter’s definition: acquisition of power by leaders via competitive elections New England town meeting where each individual votes Generally used as the American system of representative government Impractical because of time, expertise of citizens, etc. Hedges against the people making unwise, emotional decisions

Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others. –Winston Churchill

Direct Democracy Aristotelian “rule of the many” Fourth Century B.C.E. Greek city-state Practiced by free adult male property owners Currently, we look at the New England town meeting An egalitarian theory of democracy

Representative Democracy An elitist theory of democracy Defined by Schumpeter: acquisition of power by leaders via competitive elections

Democracy “A system of governing in which people acquire the power to make decisions by means of a free and competitive struggle for citizens’ votes.” –Joseph Schumpeter

The Framers’ justifications for representative democracy from a pluralist perspective: Government should mediate, not mirror, popular views Elected officials should represent, not register, majority sentiments Citizens do not have the time, information, interest, or expertise to make reasonable choices among competing policy decisions

…justifications continued: Even highly educated people could be manipulated by demagogic leaders (play on fears and prejudices) Pluralist representative democracy minimized chances that power would be abused (tyrannical popular majority or self-serving office holders)

Distribution of Power How is political power distributed in our current democracy? How are decisions made?

Wilson says, “In some cases, the leaders will be so sharply constrained by what most people want that the actions of officeholders will follow the preferences of citizens very closely.”

Majoritarian Politics DEFINITION: elected officials are the delegates of the people, acting as the people would act

If this is to work, the issues must be those that are sufficiently: important (to command the attention of most citizens) clear (to elicit an informed opinion from citizens) feasible to address (so that what citizens want done can, in fact, be done)

What if those situations don’t exist? Someobody will act Policymakers will learn about the issues and get actively involved A small, and maybe unrepresentative, minority will decide Decisions will be made by ELITES They may not know what the people want They may not care what the people want

Elites: DEFINITION: an identifiable group of persons who possess a disproportionate share of some valued resources like political power

Four schools of thought about elites Marxist Power elite Bureaucratic Pluralist View

Marxist: DEFINITION:Democracy is a reflection of economic forces capitalists, business owners, bourgeoise VERSUS workers, laborers, proletariat Whichever class dominates the economy, dominates the government

Power Elite View DEFINITION: American democracy is actually dominated by a few top leaders, most of whom are outside of government and enjoy great advantages in wealth, status, or organizational position.

C. Wright Mills (August 28, 1916 – March 20, 1962)

Power Elite View Corporate leaders Top military officials Handful of elected officials Modern day, we would add: –media chiefs –labor union officials –special interest leaders

Bureaucratic View DEFINITION: Power is mainly in the hands, not of American democracy’s elected representatives, but in those of its appointed officials, or career government workers

Max Weber (April 21, 1864 – June 14, 1920)

Bureaucratic View Marxist view or Political Elite view may happen, but either way politcs is dominated by bureaucrats who staff and operate government on a daily basis. Appointed officials and career government workers dominate because of their expertise and longevity These people decide how to translate public laws into administrative actions

Pluralist View No single intellectual parent DEFINITION: No single elite or group has monopoly on power Groups must bargain and compromise Groups must be responsive to followers Political resources are not distributed equally (i.e. not majoritarian distribution) There must be a competition and coalitions must be built

Pluralism Inequalities in democracy exist, but everything is so divided among different elites and levels of government control that no one elite group is in control “Not only are the elites divided, they are responsive to their followers’ interests, and thus they provide representation to almost all citizens affected by a policy.”

Pluralism The most reasonable and accurate description of how decisions are made

So what? Politicians and governmental leaders don’t just “do what the people want” Sometimes government can’t do what the people want because of the structure and process Sometimes politicians do what the people want and it turns out to be bad public policy Pluralism = What Madison was writing about when he wrote about factions? A healthy competition among different ideas with the best ideas or the largest coalitions winning?

Sounds like ideas that could show up in a United States Constitution…

Chapter Two The Constitution