1. INTRODUCING GOVERNMENT IN AMERICA
CHAPTER 1

2. GOVERNMENT
Institutions that make authoritative public policies for society as a whole
Four key institutions at the national level (US):
Congress
President
Courts
Federal Agencies (bureaucracy)

3. WHAT DOES GOVERNMENT DO?
Maintain national defense
Provides public goods
Police powers to provide order
Provides public services
Collects taxes
Socialize the young

4. POLITICS
Whom we select as governmental leaders and what policies they pursue
Political participation
Ways in which people get involved
Single-issue groups
Interest groups whose members vote on a single issue and ignore all other aspects of a politicians agenda

5. THE POLICYMAKING SYSTEM
Set of institutions and activities that link government, politics, & public policy
Public Policy
Choice made by the government in response to it’s agenda
Policy Agenda
List of serious problems the people want solved
Policy Impacts
The effect a policy has on the people and society

6. THE POLICYMAKING SYSTEM
Linking Institutions
Political parties
Elections
Interest groups
Media
Policymaking Institutions
Established by Constitution
Congress
President
Courts

7. WESTERN PHILOSOPHERS THEORIES OF GOVT
Plato
Wrote The Republic
Final purpose of the state is justice
First purpose is power
All govts must maintain order
Aristotle
“Greatest happiness for the greatest number”
Believed all citizens should participate in govt
Karl Marx
Wrote Communist Manifesto
Believed govt is reflection of economic forces

8. WESTERN PHILOSOPHERS THEORIES OF GOVT
C. Wright Mills
Wrote The Power Elite
Believed the elite of the country should include generals and politicians
Max Weber
Created idea of bureaucracies/large govt
Montesquieu
Believed in separation of powers and checks and balances
Thomas Hobbes
Wrote The Leviathon
Believed humans are self-centered and society will be in chaos unless a master imposes his will by force

9. WESTERN PHILOSOPHERS THEORIES OF GOVT
John Locke
Wrote Second Treatises of Government
Human state of nature is freedom and equality
No need for absolute power or ruler
Believed people were naturally good
Niccolo Machiavelli
Wrote The Prince
Father of modern political science
Believed that men are ungrateful
Morality should never be a factor in leadership
It is better for leaders to be feared than loved
Fear is maintained by punishment
“The Ends justify the Means”

10. TYPES OF GOVERNMENT Monarchy Autocracy Oligarchy Constitutional
Hereditary Ruler having absolute power
Autocracy
Government controlled by single individual
Oligarchy
Govt controlled by small group of people
Constitutional
Govt limited by written document

11. TYPES OF GOVERNMENT Authoritarian Unitary Totalitarian Libertarian
Govt kept in check by other institutions
Unitary
All power belongs to a single central agency
Totalitarian
Government controls every aspect of society
Libertarian
Opposed to all govt action except when it is necessary to protect life and property
Anarchy
Opposed to all govt action in any form

12. COW THEORY OF GOVERNMENT
Socialism
You have 2 cows. Give one to your neighbor
Communism
You have 2 cows. The government take both & promises you the milk
Fascism
You have 2 cows. The government takes both and sells you the milk
Naziism
You have two cows. The government takes both and shoots you
Capitalism
You have two cows. Sell one and buy a bull
Bureaucratic
You have two cows. The government takes both, shoots one, milks the other, and pours the milk down the drain

13. DEMOCRACY Writers of the Constitution feared Democracy
Mob Rule
Republic-Representative Democracy
Govt gets its power indirectly from people, who elect those who will govern
Constitutional Democracy
recognized limits on those who govern and allows the voice of the people to be hears through free, fair & frequent elections
Lincoln defined Democracy
“Government of the people, by the people, and for the people”
Current Definition
Means of selecting policymakers and of organizing government so that policy represents and responds to the public’s preferences

14. TRADITIONAL DEMOCRATIC THEORY
Criteria essential for an ideal democratic process-Robert Dahl
Equality in voting
Effective participation
Enlightened understanding
Citizen control of the agenda
Inclusion
Majority Rule v. Minority rights

15. CONTEMPORY DEMOCRATIC THEORY
Pluralist Theory
Groups compete for control over public policy with no one group dominating
Multiple access points dispersed among the various branches and levels of government
Bargaining and Compromise
Majorities rarely rule-all groups can be heard
Evidence=increase interest group activity

16. CONTEMPORY DEMOCRATIC THEORY
Elite Theory
Upper class elite rules
Wealth is basis of class power
Big Business has huge governmental power

17. CONTEMPORY DEMOCRATIC THEORY
Hyperpluralism
Groups so strong that government is unable to act
Too many groups
Multiple ways to prevent policies and promote policies
When politicians try to make every group happy the result is confusing, contradictory policy or no policy at all

18. CHALLENGES TO DEMOCRACY
Increased Complexity of Issues
Limited Participation
Escalating Campaign Costs
Diverse political interests
Increased technology

19. SCOPE OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
Our national government
spends more than $3.8 trillion annually
employs nearly three million people (not including military=1.5 million)
owns one-third of the land in the US
Compared to other governments in similar countries, it does less and is smaller
Taxes it’s citizens less than other democratic nations

20. AMERICAN INDIVIDUALISM
Dominant theme in American political culture
Developed from immigrants desire to escape government oppression
Helped limit the scope of American government
Remains highly valued in the US which results in a strong preference for free markets and limited government