Power and Participation in Politics and the Economy
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Presentation Transcript
Chapter 14 Politics and the Economy
Chapter Outline • Political and Economic Institutions • Power and Political Institutions • Power and the State • Individual Participation in U.S. Government • Modern Economic Systems • The U.S. Economic System • Work in the United States
Two Kinds of Power • Coercion is power based on fear by using force and intimidation. • Authority is power based on socially accepted norms that maintain the right of some authority to wield power.
Three Types of Authority • Traditional authority is rooted in established roles, like father, elder, or king. • Charismatic authority arises from the exceptional personality that may sway and inspire others. • Rational-legal authority is based on formal regulations and laws.
Perceptions of Government Responsibilities: % Who Agree with the Statement:
Characteristics of The State • Jurisdiction - includes policing, armed forces, taxation, conflict resolution, relationships with other states, and resources for collective goals. • Coercion - monopolizing the use of physical force through police powers, taxation, and the maintenance of armed forces.
% Voting Democrat or Republican in 1996 Presidential Election
% Voting Democrat or Republican in 1996 Presidential Election
% Voting Democrat or Republican in 1996 Presidential Election
Social Factors and Political Participation • Social class - those who benefit most are most inclined to get involved in politics. • Age - 50% of U.S. voters are over 45 y.o. • Race and ethnicity - African-Americans are more inclined to political participation than in the past.
Social Factors and Political Participation • Differentials in office holding - about 1% of federal legislators are African-Americans and only 8 are women. • Party affiliation - Republicans have traditionally represented business while Democrats have been more supportive of the interests of workers and the disadvantaged.
Why Doesn’t the United States Have a Worker’s Party? • U.S. standard of living is sufficiently luxurious to lull many people into complacency. • American dream continues to influence people to think of individualistic over common goals.
Capitalism • Private ownership of the means of production - land, capital, and the labor of workers. • Encourages hard work and innovation toward maximizing competitive advantage. • Does not attend to distribution and does not provide for the public good.
Socialism • The means of production is owned by the workers and distribution is for the public good. • Creed of pure socialism: from each according to ability, to each according to need. • The key drawback of socialism is the absence of personal economic incentive.
Professions • Production of an unstandardized product. • High degree of personal involvement. • Wide knowledge of a specialized skill. • Sense of obligation to one's art. • Sense of group identity. • Significant service to society.
The Shifting Job Market: Projected Changes Between 2000 and 2010
The Downside of Technology • Deskilling of some jobs. • Displacements of the work force as some jobs vanish and new ones appear. • Big brother jitters and stress as computerized jobs also provide the means of constant worker monitoring by supervisors.
Using Public Policy to Protect U.S. Jobs • The conservative free market approach - proposes that the way to keep jobs in the U.S. is to reduce wages and benefits. • New industrial policies - government should restrict plant closings and support investments in local economies to provide more secure jobs.
Using Public Policy to Protect U.S. Jobs • Social welfare policies - helping people who are being thrown out of work through more generous unemployment benefits, paid leave for employees who are about to be laid off, and extensive job re-training programs.
