Chapter 1 Vocabulary

1. Chapter 1 Vocabulary • Autocracy • Oligarchy • Confederation • Judicial powers • State • Presidential Government • Public Policies • Parliamentary government • Divine Right • Paradox of Democracy • Social Contract • Direct democracy • Sovereign • Evolutionary • Representative democracy • Unitary System • Constitution • Government • Democracy • Legislative Powers

2. What is Government? • Government: Institution that makes and enforces law and public policy for a territory. • Focus of all definitions: • POWER • AUTHORITY • LEGITIMACY

3. Public Policy – All the different things a government decides to do. (Defense, Education, Crime, Health Care, etc.) • Government Breakdown – • -Legislative Branch – To Make laws • -Executive Branch – To execute or enforce the laws • -Judicial Branch – To interpret the laws • *Constitution – A body of fundamental laws setting out the principles, structures, and processes of a government.

4. How important is the institution of Government? • Government is considered to be one of the four requirements of a state (state=dominant political unit in the world, the word nation is thought by some to have an ethnic component) • The other requirements? • Population • Territory • Sovereignty

5. Four Theories of Government • Evolutionary – government grew as society became more complicated (from family to clan, etc.) • Divine Right – rulers get the power to rule from God • Force – the strong conquer the weak • Social Contract – people give their consent to be governed in exchange for protection of their rights

6. The Founders • The most discussed political theory of the time was “social contract theory.” • The founders knew more about what they didn’t want in government than what they did want in government. James Madison – Father of our Constitution -

7. Locke (late 17c) • John Locke focused on the freedom of the individual and the use of reason. Locke stated that it is rational for subjects to protest against injustice in a ruler. • In Two Treatises Locke argues the natural reason of human beings allows them to choose to form government. The people give their consent (called popular consent). • Locke (like Rousseau later) uses the word “contract” to describe the relationship between ruler and ruled. • The people choose the government deemed the most appropriate. Laws must govern rulers as well as the ruled.

8. Preamble We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordainand establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

9. The Purpose of Government • To form a more perfect union – Articles of Confederation, Constitution. • Establish Justice - “Equal justice for all”, fair and impartial. • Insure Tranquility – Federalist papers #51 , “If men were angels, no government would be necessary”, -James Madison. • Provide Common Defense – Defend a nation against foreign enemies • Promote the General Welfare – Public Schools, water we drink, air we breathe. • Secure the blessing of Liberty – “God who gave us life also gave us liberty as well”. “Patriotism and eternal vigilance is the price of freedom”. – Thomas Jefferson

10. Classifying Governments • Classifying Governments – No two government models are exactly alike. We will look at 3 classifications to determine government type. • **Who can participate in the governing process. • The number of people that participate in the governing process. • *Examples: • Dictatorship-one person • Democracy – direct, indirect, • Representative – all accountable to its people.

11. So what are our choices in structuring our government? • Unitary System • All power comes from the central government – local government implements policy • All dictatorships are unitary • Many small countries are unitary • Confederal System • All power comes from regional/local governments – central government implements policy • Confederal governments fall apart • Federal System • All power comes from the people • Regional/local government and central government have separate areas of control • The U.S. was the first federal system

12. So what are our choices in structuring our government?

13. The geographic distribution of governmental power within the state. • Unitary Government – (Britain) All powers held by a single central agency (Parliament). • Federal Government – (U.S.) Powers of government are divided between central and several local governments. (Division of Power) on a geographic basis cannot be changed. • Confederation – An alliance of independent states. The central government is weaker than the separate states usually handling only defense and trade. (The confederate south) • The relationship between the legislative, executive branches. • Branches of government are separate, independent of one another, but co-equal. (Presidential Government)(U.S.)

14. Types of Governments

15. Concept of Government BIG QUESTION FOR GOVERNMENTS: How much order should the government provide and how much freedom should the people have? Autocracy Oligarchy Democracy No Freedom Lots of Freedom

16. Substantive View Procedural v. Substantive Democracy • Concerned with concepts of civil liberties, civil rights, social rights, and economic rights • A country is judged on what rights it affords its citizens Procedural View Concerned with three values: Universal participation: who should participate in decision-making? Political equality: how much should one’s vote count? Majority rule: how many votes are needed for a decision?

17. Institutional Models of Democracy • Majoritarian: government by the majority of the people • Emphasizes elections as the primary part of democracy • Assumes public is knowledgeable enough to participate • Pluralist: government by people operating in competing groups • Emphasizes political parties, interest groups, etc. as primary part of democracy • Assumes public is able to deliberate and compromise • Elitist: government by a small group of people • Emphasizes that elections are irrelevant in democracy • Assumes a small group controls decision-making and that decisions benefit them primarily

18. What is Democracy? • Greek word • “Demos” meaning common people • “Kratos” meaning “power” • What constitutes a democracy? • First idea: democracy is a form of government (procedural democracy) • Second idea: democracy is about the substance of policies (substantive democracy)

19. So what are our two choices for distributing power? • Democracy = a form of government where leaders answer to the people since the people are the source of all political power. • Citizens in democracies generally have many rights and freedoms. • Most modern democracies have elections, constitutions and powerful courts and legislatures. • Dictatorship = an authoritarian form of government where leaders have absolute power and do not answer to the people. • Citizens in dictatorships generally have few rights and freedoms. • There may be no elections, nor constitution, nor meaningful courts and legislatures. Democracy Dictatorship

20. How does democracy work? • Democracy can be direct or indirect • In an indirect democracy there are elections. • Indirect democracy = representative democracy = republic • Popular consent is key to democracy – expressed through elections. • Democracies can be structured as presidential democracies or parliamentary democracies. • Democracies can be structured as either unity, confederal, or federal systems.

21. Types of democracy • In a presidential system, the legislative and executive branches are separate and coequal. • Legislative and executive branches are elected separately, generally by the people directly. • Checks and balances between the legislative and executive branches are common. • The U.S. has a presidential form of government. • In a parliamentary system the leader of the executive branch of government is also part of the legislative branch. • The legislative branch is generally elected by the people directly and is call a “parliament.” • The leader of the executive branch is the leader of the majority party in the legislature and is called a “prime minister.” • Some parliamentary democracies also have a president, but in these cases, the president generally performs more ceremonial duties. Presidential Parliamentary

22. VI. Paradox of Democracy Potential for conflict between individual freedom and majority rule. Solution: Constitutional government. *Constitution – A body of fundamental laws setting out the principles, structures, and processes of a government. VII. Types of democracy Direct – all members of the society vote on and participate in each issue. Representative democracy – a government rooted in the consent of the governed (we elect decision-makers)

23. Four descriptions of Democracy • Representatives are selected by vote of all the people. • Elections are open to competition. • Candidates and voters can freely express themselves. • Representatives are selected periodically.

24. Basic concepts of democracy • Worth of the individual • Equality of all persons • Majority rule, minority rights • Necessary compromise • Individual freedom

25. Foundations of Democracy • Foundations of Democracy • 1.A recognition of the fundamental worth and dignity of every person • 2.A respect of the equality of all persons • 3.A faith in majority rule and insistence upon minority rights • 4.An acceptance of the necessity of compromise • 5.An insistence upon the widest possible degree of freedom.

26. How does dictatorship work? • Dictators often take control through violence in the form of a coups d'état or overthrow. • Many dictators have military backgrounds or alliances with the military. • Dictators rule with absolute authority (power is NOT limited by a constitution nor any other means). • Most dictatorships are totalitarian in nature – the government exercises total control over all activities (entertainment, media, etc.). • Dictatorships may have elections, but they are not competitive nor free and fair. • Dictatorships may have branches of government, but the only branch with real power is the executive. • Dictatorship is the oldest form of government.

27. Types of dictatorship • Autocracy = government where one person holds unlimited political power. • Leadership is often hereditary. • Death of a leader can result in a power vacuum. • Oligarchy = government where a small elite group holds unlimited political power. • The group with power is usually self-appointed (they put themselves in the position of power). • If elections occur, they are generally within one political party. Often only one political party exists. • Communist countries are often oligarchies. North Korea China Autocracy Oligarchy

28. Democracy Illustration • Divide in Half. • The groups choose one person from group to represent the others up front. • What type of government are we illustrating?

29. Vote:Which School has a better football team? Vs.

30. The Vote:Which is a Better School ? VS.

31. What about Now? This is the best school and you have to agree.

32. Democracy activity Groups

33. Describe Democracy • 1. • 2. • 3. • 4.

34. Answer Four descriptions of Democracy • Representatives are selected by vote of all the people. • Elections are open to competition. • Candidates and voters can freely express themselves. • Representatives are selected periodically.

35. The 5 Concepts of democracy • 1. • 2. • 3. • 4. • 5.

36. Foundations of Democracy • Foundations of Democracy • 1.A recognition of the fundamental worth and dignity of every person • 2.A respect of the equality of all persons • 3.A faith in majority rule and insistence upon minority rights • 4.An acceptance of the necessity of compromise • 5.An insistence upon the widest possible degree of freedom.