Introduction Political Science 565

Poli Sci 565 Office hours: MW, 1:20-2:20, North Hall 401 Course website: adamgomez.wordpress.com/teaching/polisci5 65 2

Big Questions What is the appropriate balance between state and federal power? Is the United States a single nation or a confederation of states? Who is, and who can be, an American? What is an American? How can the legacies of slavery be addressed? What does it mean to be free? What does it mean to be equal? What counts as power? 3

Two Kinds of Liberty Ideal types, almost never encountered in pure form Negative – Liberty is having no masters Absence of constraint Positive – Liberty is being your own master Constraint can be used to help you act as you would if you had better understanding 4

Telos The end of a thing as a part of that thing – Example: acorns & oak trees Teleology (teleological) – Understanding a thing with its telos in mind – Linear movement toward the telos of a thing 5

Ideas Have Power Two major political philosophies inform the structure of American government – liberalism & republicanism 6

Liberalism Emphases: – Primacy of reason – Reason vs. passion, interest – Universal rights – Negative liberty – The market – Individuals 7

Republicanism Emphases – Value of citizenship – Ties that bind citizens to state and vice versa – Community & communal identity – Positive liberty – Virtue and corruption (faction, interest) – Classicalist 8