Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Over View for the Day Government Politics The Policymaking System Democracy The Scope of Government in America Summary

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Government Government makes public policies made for society. 4 Key institutions make policy at the national level… Congress, President, the Courts and the federal administrative To Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Regardless of how governments assumed power, all governments have certain functions in common Governments must perform five basic functions. Maintain a national defense. Provide public services. Preserve order. Socialize the young. Collect taxes.

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Politics Politics is the process by which we select our governmental leaders and what policies they pursue. Harold Lasswell defines politics as the struggle over who gets what, when, and how. The who of politics is the voters, candidates, parties, and groups The what is the benefits and burdens of government The how is the various ways in which people participate in politics. To Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Political Participation  Refers to the ways in which people get involved Single-issue groups  are interest group whose member will vote on a single issue, such as pro-life and pro- choice

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman The Policymaking System Policymaking system  Is the process by which policy comes into being and evolves overtime People Shape Policy Policies Impact People To Learning Objectives

LO 1.3 To Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman The Policymaking System People Shape Policy People have interests, problems, and concerns. In a democratic society, parties, election, interest groups and media are key linkage institutions between government’s policy agenda and the people The four linkage institutions are political parties, elections, mass media, and interest groups. People expect government officials to solve problems… this in turn influences the government’s policy agenda LO 1.3 To Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman The Policymaking System People Shape Policy (cont.) Policy agenda is the issues that attract the serious attention of public officials. The four policymaking institutions are the legislative branch, executive branch, judicial branch, and the bureaucracy. The end product of government politics is public policy LO 1.3 To Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman The Policymaking System Policies Impact People Public policy is a choice that government makes in response to a political issue. Many types of public policies  statues, presidential actions, court decisions, budgetary choice and regulation Policy impacts are the effects a policy has on people and problems. Translating people's desires into public policy is crucial to the workings of democracy LO 1.3 To Learning Objectives

LO 1.3 To Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Democracy Traditional Democratic Theory Three Contemporary Theories of American Democracy Challenges to Democracy American Political Culture and Democracy A Culture War? Preview Questions about Democracy To Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Democracy Traditional Democratic Theory Rests upon several principles that specify how a democratic government makes its decisions Democracy is a system in which policy represents and responds to the public’s preferences. Five components of Traditional Democratic Theory are equality in voting, effective participation, enlightened understanding, citizen control of the agenda, and inclusion. LO 1.4 To Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Democracy Three Contemporary Theories of American Democracy Pluralist Theory Is a theory of government and policies emphasizing that politics is mainly a competition among groups, each one pressing for its own preferred policies. Aka Groups compete with one another for control over public policy, with no one group or set of groups dominating. Bargaining and compromise are essential ingredients of our democracy. LO 1.4 To Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Democracy Three Contemporary Theories of American Democracy (cont.) Elite and Class Theory Contends that societies are divided along class lines and that an upper-class elite will rule. Big Business and it power is a the center of most elite and class theories Policies benefit those with money and power. LO 1.4 To Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Democracy Three Contemporary Theories of American Democracy (cont.) Hyperpluralism (pluralism gone sour) Is a theory of government and politics contending that groups are so strong that government is weakened. ( too many groups) Confusing and contradictory policies result from politicians trying to please every group. LO 1.4 To Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Democracy Challenges to Democracy Increased complexity of issues make it harder for citizens to make decisions. Limited participation in government, especially voting. Escalating campaign costs stop people from running for office. Diverse political interests result into policy gridlock. LO 1.4 To Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Democracy American Political Culture and Democracy Political culture is an overall set of values widely shared within a society. Five elements of American political culture are liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, laissez-faire, and populism. LO 1.4 To Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Five elements of political culture shape American democracy. Liberty: Inalienable rights and a cornerstone of the Bill of Rights Egalitarianism: Equality of opportunity, especially social equality. Individualism: American individualism developed in part from the western frontier and the immigrants’flight from government oppression. Laissez-faire economics: The American government taxes and regulates less than most countries at its equivalent level of development. Populism: The common, ordinary citizens are idealized in American politics.

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Democracy Preview Questions about Democracy Are people knowledgeable about matters of public policy? If there are choices, do the media help citizens understand them? Is Congress representative of American society, and is it capable of reacting to changing times? LO 1.4 To Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman The Scope of Government in America How Active Is American Government? Spends $3.8 trillion yearly. Employs 2.8 million civilians and 1.4 million in the military. It owns one-third of the land in the United States. It occupies 2.6 billion square feet of office space. National, state, and local governments in America collectively spend 29 percent of our gross domestic product (the value of all goods and services produced annually by the United States). LO 1.5 To Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman LO 1.1 Summary Describe the key functions of government and explain why they matter. All governments  include maintaining a national defense, providing public services, preserving order, socializing the young, and collecting taxes. These functions matter because they impact our lives. To Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Which of the following is an example of a public good? A.College education B.Automobile insurance C.Home ownership D.National defense LO 1.1 To Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Which of the following is an example of a public good? A.College education B.Automobile insurance C.Home ownership D.National defense LO 1.1 To Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman LO 1.2 Summary Define the various aspects of politics. Politics determines who our leaders are and what policies they pursue. The who of politics is the voters, candidates, parties, and groups; the what is the benefits and burdens of government; the how is the various ways in which people participate in politics. To Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Politics determines who we select as our governmental leaders and policies these leaders pursue. A.who B.what C.when D.how LO 1.2 To Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Politics determines who we select as our governmental leaders and policies these leaders pursue. A.who B.what C.when D.how LO 1.2 To Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman LO 1.3 Summary Assess how citizens can have an impact on public policy and how policies can impact people. Citizens’ interests and concerns are transmitted through linkage institutions to the policy agenda of the policymaking institutions. The policies that are made then influence peoples’ lives. To Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman All of the following are considered linkage institutions EXCEPT A.the media. B.interest groups. C.political parties. D.courts. E.elections. LO 1.3 To Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman All of the following are considered linkage institutions EXCEPT A.the media. B.interest groups. C.political parties. D.courts. E.elections. LO 1.3 To Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman LO 1.4 Summary List the key principles of democracy, theories regarding how it works in practice, and challenges it faces today. Key principles of democracy are equality in voting, effective participation, enlightened understanding, citizen control of the agenda, and inclusion. To Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman LO 1.4 Summary List the key principles of democracy, theories regarding how it works in practice, and challenges it faces today. The theories regarding how democracy works in practice are the pluralist theory, elitist and class theory, and hyperpluralist theory. To Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman LO 1.4 Summary List the key principles of democracy, theories regarding how it works in practice, and challenges it faces today. Challenges democracy faces today are complexity of issues today, citizens’ limited participation, escalating campaign costs, and the policy gridlock resulting from diverse political interests. To Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman According to Robert Dahl’s traditional democratic theory, an ideal democratic process should satisfy all of the following criteria EXCEPT A.equality in voting. B.effective participation. C.enlightened understanding. D.majority rule. LO 1.4 To Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman According to Robert Dahl’s traditional democratic theory, an ideal democratic process should satisfy all of the following criteria EXCEPT A.equality in voting. B.effective participation. C.enlightened understanding. D.majority rule. LO 1.4 To Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman LO 1.5 Summary Explain the debate in America over the proper scope of government. Politicians debate if the scope of government responsibilities is too vast, just about right, or not comprehensive enough. This debate concerns whether the goals that are agreed to be important are best achieved through government action or rather through means other than government. To Learning Objectives