CH 1: The Study of American Government

1. CH 1: The Study of American Government Ms. Bittman’s AP Government and Politics

2. Does the government do what we want it to? We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessing of liberty on ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America.

3. What does the government do?

4. What is political power? • Power: the ability of one person to get another person to act in accordance with the first person’s intentions. • Can be obvious (Bombs), subtle (price controls) • Political Authority • People using pwr have authority (the right to use power) • Formal Authoritypwr vested in a gov office. • Political Legitimacy • Recognition by the governed of the government’s right to rule. • Constitutional Convention 1787-> more powerful federal gov

5. What is democracy? • Direct Democracy: • Rule of the many. • PPL-> Policy • Greek City States • Still used in New England Town Meetings. See FL Constitution. • Representative Democracy: (b) Joseph Schumpter “ the democratic method is that institutional arrangement for arriving at political decisions in which individuals (leaders) acquire the power to decide by means of a competitive struggle for the people’s vote”. • PPL-> leader-> policy • Why is this better? What do you need?

6. Policy Making Process • People… • Interest, problems, concerns. • Linkage institutions… • Parties, elections, media, IGs. • Policy agendas… • Political issues • Policy making institutions… • Legis, exec, courts, bureaucracy. • Policy… • Taxes, regs, laws, decisions • People. • Impact on policies.

7. How is power distributed in a dem? • How far do elected leaders get to stretch from their base? • Majoritarian Politics: leaders constrained by what ppl want that their actions will follow what the people want. • Characteristics • Issues must be important to the ppl • Clear to get an informed opinion • Feasible to enact. • Circumstances may prevent clear knowledge of public opinion • Allows for active participation from interested parties (political elites) • Elite: an identifiable group of person who possess a disproportionate share of some valued resource (i.e. political power)

8. Four Theories of Elite Influence 1. Marxist: Karl Marx; government is a reflection of underlying economic forces, primarily pattern of ownership of production. • Societies divided into classes. • Modern Society 2 fight for power • Capitalists vs. Workers • Whichever class dominates the other… they control the gov. • Economic elite • Leads to dictatorship of the proletariat

9. Four Theories of Elite Influence 2. Power Elite Theory: by Wright Mills argues that nongovernmental elite makes most of the major decisions but that this elite is not composed exclusively of corporate leaders. • Corporate leaders • Top military officers • Key political leaders. *Some add communication media, labor leaders, and special interest groups.

10. 4 Theories of Elite Influence 3. Bureaucrats: appointed officials who operate governmental agencies from day to day have the real power. Max Weber  w/ Marx • govand nongov are controlled by large expert specialized bureaucracies that had become a necessity. • Rational decision making.

11. 4 Theories of Elite Influence 4. Pluralist View: Political resources ($, expertise, access to media) are everywhere, no single elite has control. • Too many gov org to dominate • Also, to many different elites have some control over process. • Hyperpluralism: too many groups. • Confusing/conflicting policies. • Cross-cutting vs. cumulative cleavages • Cross-cutting: groups share a common interest on one issue, but differ on another. • Cumulative (reinforcing) cleavages: social and econ differences on issues coincide and amplify differences.