1. Chapter 1 The Study of American Government

2. The nature of the American democracy
“The People”: a large and diverse population throughout history
People are motivated by self-interest.
Extreme emphasis on individual rights.
These three characteristics result in considerable and continuous conflict.
Politics is the process through which we resolve conflict.

3. What Is Political Power?
Power–the ability of one person to get another person to act in accordance with the first person’s intentions.
Authority–the right to use power.
Legitimacy–political authority conferred by law or by a state or national constitution.
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4. 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 speechwriters use a new tone when writing about a controversial issue.
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5. What Is Political Power?
How “powerful” is President Trump?
How can we measure his “power?”
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6. When Is Political Authority Legitimate?
Struggles over what makes authority legitimate constitute much of U.S. history.
Constitutional Convention – many felt a national government was not legitimate.
Civil War – was the federal union legitimate?
FDR’s New Deal programs
What is necessary for government to be perceived as legitimate?
It must be “democratic” in some sense.
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7. What Is Democracy? Democracy–the rule of many.
Direct or participatory democracy–government in which all or most citizens participate directly.
Representative democracy– a government in which leaders make decisions by winning a competitive struggle for the popular vote.
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8. What Type of Democracy is Best?
Aristotle defined democracy as rule of ordinary people, most of whom would be poor.
Fourth-century B.C.E. Greek city-states used direct democracy.
Practiced by free, adult male property owners.
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9. Direct Democracy Modern Examples New England town meetings
California initiatives and referenda
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10. Direct vs. Representative Democracy
DIRECT DEMOCRACY
All the citizens debate and vote directly on laws for society.
Based on the belief that the ordinary people can make good judgments.
Examples: Ancient Athens (Greece), New England town assemblies.
REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY
aka: republic, indirect democracy.
The people elect representatives to govern for them.
The people hold ultimate power, but the policy decisions are made by elected officials and those they appoint.
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11. Problems with democracy
“The evils we experience flow from the excess of democracy. The people do not want virtue, but are the dupes of pretended patriots.”
Elbridge Gerry
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12. Problems with democracy
“Democracy… while it lasts is more bloody than either aristocracy or monarchy. Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There was never a democracy yet that did not commit suicide."
John Adams
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13. Problems with democracy
Pure “democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.”
James Madison
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14. The Framers favored representative democracy.
Constitution does not contain word democracy but “republican form of government”
Government should mediate, not mirror, popular views.
Framers viewed people as lacking knowledge and susceptible to manipulation. (“confusion of the multitudes” Madison)
Framers’ goal: to minimize the abuse of power by a tyrannical majority or by officeholders.
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15. The Framers favored representative democracy.
Democracy is subject to decay into oligarchy (rule by the rich) or tyranny (rule by a despot).
Prevention of these extreme outcomes is achieved by fusing elements from democracy and oligarchy.
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16. A representative democracy requires certain conditions.
NEW!
Genuine competition for leadership.
Voters perceive a meaningful choice.
Individuals and parties have the opportunity to run for office.
Free communication (people, parties, media, candidates).
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17. Theories of Democracy: Majoritarian Theory
Majoritarianism: The tendency of the government to do what the majority of the people want.
Elected officials make the same decisions that the people would make if matters were put to a popular vote.
In order for majoritarian democracy to work:
Citizens must pay attention to issues.
Citizens must be informed about the issues.
What the people want must be feasible.

18. Theories of Democracy: Elite Theory
The “elite”: An identifiable group of people who possess a disproportionate share of some valued resource (i.e. political power).
Def. – A small, cohesive class of powerful people makes almost all of the important decisions for the nation.
Examples: business leaders, top military officers, top elected officials, media chiefs, heads of labor unions.
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19. Theories of Democracy: Pluralist Theory
There are many different groups competing for political influence.
Competition among all affected interests shapes government policy.
Acknowledges that elites wield the most political power.
BUT...
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20. Theories of Democracy: Pluralist Theory
Political resources (money, expertise, media access, etc.) are widely distributed within our society.
There are so many different government institutions (cities, states, congressmen, judges, bureaucrats, etc.) that no single group can dominate the political process.
Elites are divided and cannot form a single, dominant policy-making group.
Policy is made through compromise and deal-making among different groups.
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21. Theories of Democracy: Class Theory (aka Marxist Theory)
Power theory reflects underlying economic forces.
History is a struggle between two economic classes:
Capitalists (“bourgeoisie”) : own and control economic resources.
Workers (“proletariat”): use resources to create wealth for capitalists.
Workers can only improve their situation through revolution.
Whichever class controls the economy controls the government.
Modern Marxist view: Multinational corporations dominate the economy and thus control the government.
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22. Theories of Democracy: Class Theory (aka Marxist Theory)
NOT MUCH USED IN U.S. POLITICS
Americans do not have a high degree of “class consciousness” compared to European nations.
Most Americans see themselves as middle-class.
Americans value individual freedom over economic equality.
Politicians who try to exploit class consciousness have little success.
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23. The Nature of Politics
NEW!
Political scientists try to understand people’s preferences.
Understanding preferences is required in order to understand the dynamics of political power.
It is difficult to locate and quantify “power.” (ex.- the “Tea Party” movement)
In order to understand political power, we have to observe how institutions (Congress, parties, media) and interests (big business, minority groups) behave on a variety of issues (government regulation, social welfare, civil rights).
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