1. Introduction to Government

2. What is a State?

3. What is a government? Central Message:
Government is the institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policy.
Public policy is all of the goals a government sets and the various courses of action it pursues as it attempts to realize these goals.
Our institutions are Congress, the president, the courts, and federal agencies
AKA “the Bureaucracy”
What is a government?

4. Three types of power Central Message:
Legislative Power: the power to make laws
Executive Power: the power to enforce laws
Judicial Power: the power to interpret laws
Three types of power

5. Characteristics of a State
Central Message:
Population
A state is a body of people living in a defined territory who have a government with the power to make and enforce law without the consent of any higher authority.
Territory
Government
Characteristics of a State
Sovereignty

6. Origins of the State Central Message: Force Theory Evolutionary Theory
Divine Right Theory
Social Contract Theory
Thomas Hobbes
John Locke
Origins of the State

7. Origins of the State The Force Theory The Force Theory
The force theory states that one person or a small group took control of an area and forced all within it to submit to that person’s or group’s rule.
The Evolutionary Theory
The evolutionary theory argues that the state evolved naturally out of the early family.
The Divine Right Theory
The theory of divine right holds that God created the state and that God gives those of royal birth a “divine right” to rule.
The Social Contract Theory
The social contract theory argues that the state arose out of a voluntary act of free people.

8. Preamble to the Constitution
Central Message:
Form a more perfect union.
Establish justice.
Insure domestic tranquility.
Provide for the common defense.
Promote the general welfare.
Secure the blessings of liberty.
Purpose of Government
Preamble to the Constitution

9. 5 Functions of a National Government
Maintain a National Defense
Govt. protects its national sovereignty, usually by maintaining armed services
Nuclear age has sophisticated weapons
U.S. spends over $300 billion/year on defense

10. Government 2. Provide public services
Aka public goods (goods that everyone shares)
Schools, libraries, highways, public parks, clean air and water
Provided for those not able to access privately owned services (i.e. private schools)

11. Government 3. Preserve Order
Govt. may resort to extreme measures to restore order when people protest in large numbers
1970: Kent State
1992: LA Riots

12. Government 4. Socialize the Young
Most modern govts. pay for education and use it to instill values among the young
5. Collect Taxes
Used to pay for the public goods and services
Approx. 1 out of every 3 dollars earned by American citizen is used to pay for national, state, and local taxes

13. Government Govt. functions = weighty decisions by political leaders
How much should we spend on national defense as opposed to education?
How high should taxes for Medicare and SS be?
The way we answer those questions is through politics

14. Classification by Geographic Distribution of Power
Unitary Government
A unitary government has all powers held by a single, central agency.
Confederate Government
A confederation is an alliance of independent states.
Federal Government
A federal government is one in which the powers of government are divided between a central government and several local governments.
An authority superior to both the central and local governments makes this division of power on a geographic basis.

15. Government Government Types 1. Autocracy
Absolute Monarchy, Constitutional Monarchy, Dictatorship
Unitary System
Queen, King, Dictator, King or Queen w/leg.body
AM: Saudi Arabia, Qutar, Bhutan, Swaziland
CM: England, Netherlands, Denmark, Nepal, Sweden
Dict: Cuba, North Korea

16. Government Absolute Monarch: Constitutional Monarch:
Has complete and unlimited power to rule
King Fahd
(Saudi Arabia)
Constitutional Monarch:
Shares govt. powers with elected legislatures or serve as ceremonial leaders
Queen Elizabeth II
(Great Britain)

17. Government
Dictators
Govt. not responsible to the people and people lack the power to limit their rulers
Fidel Castro
(Cuba)
Kim Jong
(N.Korea)

18. Government Government Types Oligarchy Unitary Small group rules
Membership based on wealth, lineage, military power, religion
China

19. Government Government Types 3. Democracy Federal
Direct Democracy – people rule directly
Citizens come together to discuss and pass laws, and select rulers (most turn to mob rule)
Indirect Democracy (Representative) – people rule through elected representatives
Aka republic
DD: Switzerland has mixture of DD and ID
ID: U.S., Canada, Australia, Italy

20. What is the difference between Presidential and Parliamentary Governments?

22. Democracy

23. Democracy
Word comes from two Greek words – Demos (people) and Kratos (authority of the people)
Supreme political authority rests with the people
Government is only conducted w/ people’s consent

24. Basic Concepts of Democracy
(What is necessary for the establishment and maintenance of a Democracy?)
Individual Liberty (Effective Participation)
Citizens must be as free as possible to develop and express their preferences through the decision-making process

25. Democracy 2. Majority Rule with Minority Rights 3. Free Elections
Govt. decisions must be based on the will of the majority (over half the voters)
Will of minority always heard and protected
Interest groups protect minority rights and promote minority opinion
3. Free Elections
People have chance to choose their leaders and voice opinions on issues
Every vote carries same weight
Citizens free to support issue or help candidates get elected
Racial, ethnic, religious tests cannot restrict voting
Citizens vote by secret ballot w/out fear of punishment for their vote

26. Democracy 4. Competing Political Parties 5. Education
Voters must have access to competing ideas
Democrats and Republicans (2 major U.S. parties)
5. Education
Voting makes little sense unless a large number of voters can read and write to express their interests and opinions

27. Democracy 6. Equal Distribution of Wealth
Relatively prosperous nation with equitable distribution of wealth
Extreme amount of wealth or poverty lessens possibility of healthy democracy

28. Democracy
7. Inclusion
Citizenship open to all if Democratic

29. The American concept of democracy rests on these basic notions:
(1) A recognition of the fundamental worth and dignity of every person;
(2) A respect for the equality of all persons;
(3) A faith in majority rule and an insistence upon minority rights;
(4) An acceptance of the necessity of compromise; and
(5) An insistence upon the widest possible degree of individual freedom.

30. Democracy and the Free Enterprise System
Free enterprise system is an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods; investments that are determined by private decision rather than by state control; and determined in a free market.
Decisions in a free enterprise system are determined by the law of supply and demand.
An economy in which private enterprise exists in combination with a considerable amount of government regulation and promotion is called a mixed economy.