The American Political System PSCI 1101

1. The American Political System PSCI 1101 Dr. Vanessa A. Baird

2. Purpose of the Class • To prepare you to be good citizens • To understand the current American political system • To understand its history and goals, and to convince you to participate fully as a citizen

3. Purpose of the Class • To prepare you to be good citizens • To understand the current American political system • To understand its history and goals, and to convince you to participate fully as a citizen • To prevent you from being manipulated by elites (politicians, media pundits, idiot celebrities, business leaders, friends, that obnoxious kid in your dorm, etc.) • i.e. to teach you to “think critically”

4. Purpose of the Class • To prepare you to be good citizens • To understand the current American political system • To understand its history and goals, and to convince you to participate fully as a citizen • To prevent you from being completely controlled by elites (politicians, media pundits, idiot celebrities, business leaders, friends, that obnoxious kid in your dorm, etc.) • i.e. to teach you to “think critically” • To introduce you to the scientific study of American Politics

5. Class Website https://socsci.colorado.edu/~bairdv Class Email: Vanessa.Baird@Colorado.edu

6. Your Grade • 25% your participation grade • Yes, you are required to do the reading each day! • Each lecture is a unique and different from the book

7. Your Grade • 37.5% Exam 1 • 37.5 % Exam 2 • These are multiple choice and non-cumulative

8. What kind of language are YOU using? • “Normative” language • Interested in what “Should be” • “It’s not fair!” • “We want justice!” • “Positive” Language • Explains what “Is” • Not concerned with justice or fairness, simply “Why do things happen the way they do?”

9. What is Government? • Mancur Olson. 1993. “Dictatorship, Democracy, and Development.” The American Political Science Review (available on www.jstor.org) • Mancur Olson • Stationary Bandits vs. Roving Banditry • Life in the natural state of things is “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short” (Hobbes)

10. What is Government? • Mancur Olson • Government is the entity with the highest capacity for violence • We might add that government is the only entity that can “legitimately” use violence to force people to do things (or not do things)

11. What is Democracy? • Mancur Olson: The ruler and the ruled are one in the same. • Still an elite-based theory • Rulers are forced to share power • This keeps them honest • Because they don’t want to have to live under their own bad rules • The appeal is to the masses • But only to select different bandits • Democracy is shared power among thieves

12. Collective Action • The efforts of a group of people to reach a decision and implement it

13. Collective Action • Why is this sometimes easy and sometimes hard? • Easy: you and your roommates deciding where to eat • Hard: getting people to carpool to work

14. Today’s Participation • IF at least 60% of class “Gives,” • Those who “Keep” will keep their 1 point AND get the community points (2 more) for a total of 3 • Those who “Give,” will get the community points (2 points) but will lose the point they gave away

15. Today’s Participation 2) IF fewer than 60% give: • Those who “Keep” will keep their 1 point • Those who “Give” will get no participation credit for today (0)

16. Today’s Participation You will have 10 seconds to choose A) “Keep” = keep your participation credit for today B) “Give” = donate it to the community pot

17. Collective Action Problems • Factors that make collective action more difficult • Very large groups • Less trust, harder to monitor, easier to cheat • More differing preferences • Stronger preferences • People are not indifferent • Type of goods • Public versus private

18. Examples of Public Goods • National defense • Clean air • Public parks • Public highways • Participatory democracy • Member supported public radio • Etc.

19. Prisoner’s Dilemma

20. Prisoner’s Dilemma

21. Prisoner’s Dilemma

22. Prisoner’s Dilemma

23. Prisoner’s Dilemma

24. What is justice? • And yet rich men probably have a greater superiority in the science and practice of military qualities. •     And suppose that, before engaging, our citizens send an embassy to one of the two cities, telling them what is the truth: Silver and gold we neither have nor are permitted to have, but you may; do you therefore come and help us in war, and take the spoils of the other city: Who, on hearing these words, would choose to fight against lean wiry dogs, rather than, with the dogs on their side, against fat and tender sheep? •     That is not likely; and yet there might be a danger to the poor State if the wealth of many States were to be gathered into one. •     But how simple of you to use the term State at all of any but our own! •     Why so? •     You ought to speak of other States in the plural number; not one of them is a city, but many cities. For indeed any city, however small, is in fact divided into two, one the city of the poor, the other of the rich; these are at war with one another; and in either there are many smaller divisions, and you would be altogether beside the mark if you treated them all as a single State.

25. Excludability and joint supply Non-excludable, not of joint supply: Private property Excludable, not of joint supply A weak wireless connection in a busy password protected coffee shop Excludable, of joint supply: Madonna concert Non-excludable, of joint supply Public goods: common defense, clean air

26. Time to Start Packing! Clint Eastwood