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Unit V Influencing the American Political System Key Understandings: 1.Political Activity is Economic Activity. 2.There is a political invisible hand 3.Competition in politics is similar and different to that of competition in the economy. 4.Politics is the act of influencing government decisions. 2

Key Terms: Politics Political Parties Political Spectrum Conservative Moderate Liberal Statist/Populist Libertarian 3

Key Terms: Median Voter Theorem Special Interest Groups Lobbyist Political Action Committees Public Policy Campaign Finance Reform Capture Theory 4

Key Terms: Closed Primary Open Primary Party Platform Plank Propaganda Sound bites Polls Surveys 5

Key People/Groups: 6 Republicans Democrats

Important Documents and outside readings: The Public Choice School: Politics as a Business Websites: Republic website Democrat website Opensecrets.org 7

8 Politics as economy activity Political spectrum On the issues A different spectrum Why is the center under represented? Political parties Answer the question - deep pockets try to broaden base Interest group/lobbyist/pacs Capture theory Political invisible hand Answer the question- fringe organized not worth cost of fighting Money and elections Answer question Individual donations smaller than pacs Individuals cannot be organized - too diverse collective groups Campaign finance reform- capture - lowering the supply per donator not the demand per candidate Answer the question

9 Tv ads propaganda Money Answer question Election year event Median voter theorem and closed primary - answer question Electoral college party system - answer question 3rd party candidate and median voter therein - answer question Public choice theory foundations and questions

10 As Adam Smith wrote, in the economic market people who only intend to serve their self-interest are driven by an invisible hand to serve the public interest, which was no part of their original intention. Milton Friedman also explains that just like the economic market, there is an invisible hand in politics but it works in the opposite direction. “In the government sphere, as in the market, there seems to be an invisible hand, but it operates in precisely the opposite direction from Adam Smith’s: an individual who intends only to serve the public interest by fostering government intervention is ‘led by an invisible hand to promote’ private interests, which was no part of his intention.” Friedman explains why this happens, “As we have seen in case after case, the general interest is defused over millions of people, the special interest is concentrated.” If I decide to put this in unit 5 Remove from unit 3 page 238