Title | 5 Principles of Politics |
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Course | U.S. Government and Politics |
Institution | West Chester University of Pennsylvania |
Pages | 4 |
File Size | 132.6 KB |
File Type | |
Total Downloads | 8 |
Total Views | 159 |
Introduction...
Chapter 1 5 Principles of Politics What is Government? The Institutions & procedures through which a land and its people are ruled - Can be simple or complex 2 Questions - Who governs? - How much government control is allowed? Forms of Government: Who Governs Autocracy: A single individual rules Oligarchy: A small group of landowners, military officers, or wealthy merchants rule Democracy: A system of rules that permits citizens to play a significant part in the governmental process o Elect officials o Make petitions o Organize rallies o Lobby Forms of Government: Limits on Government Control Totalitarian: No formal or effective limits on government’s power of any kind Authoritarian: No formal limits placed on government, but government may be effectively limited by other social institutions o Usually limited by religions, military, etc. Constitutional: Formal and effective limits are placed on the powers of government o Limits are effective because there are ways to enforce them What is Politics? The conflict, struggle, cooperation, and collaboration over the leadership, structure, and policies of government o Struggle over “who gets what, when, how” – Harold Lasswell Can take many forms: Voting, running for office, joining groups, political parties, lobbying, etc.
Making Sense of Government & Politics The goal of political scientists is to answer two fundamental questions about government and politics o What do we observe in government & politics? (Empirical question) o Why are we observing the behavior we are observing? (A fundamental question of science – requires building of a theory around principles) A Third question… o What is ideal? or What should we observe? This is called a normative question The 5 Principles of Politics 1. All political behavior has a purpose o Rationality Principle o Rational decision making 2. Institutions structure politics o Institution Principle o The rules that we use to govern us matter to structure the behavior of individuals in our government 3. All politics in collective action o Collective Principle o There is more than one decision maker involved o Need to get people to work together 4. Political outcomes are the products of individual preferences, institutional procedures and collective action o Policy Principle o Policy that we see is a natural outgrowth of the first three principles 5. How we got here matters o History Principle o When we cant follow the first four principles, history is the reason o Learn from history to know what to do in the future
1. Rationality principle All political behavior has a purpose Political behavior is instrumental o Done with purpose o Calculated decision o Done with forethought Political actors pursue policy preferences, reelection, power, maximize agency budgets, etc. This is not a judgment, but a principle to help us understand why political actors do what they do EXAMPLE: Primary Goal of a member of Congress? To get reelected o They can’t pass good policy that they care about unless they have their job. They need to get reelected What types of services do members of Congress supply to help achieve those goals? o Anything that will get voters out to the polls
2. Institution Principle Institutions structure politics Institutions are the rules and procedures that provide incentives for political behavior o Establish routinized, structures relations o Can discourage conflict, encourage coordination, enable bargaining, thereby facilitating decision making and cooperation Remember that institutions themselves are not necessarily permanently fixed. Rules may change; they just don’t change easily.
3. Collective Action Principle All politics is collective action Collective action is the pooling of resources and the coordination of effort and activity by a group of people to achieve common goals. Collective action is difficult and the difficulty mounts as the number of people and interests involved grows. Incentives are often needed to induce large groups of individuals with different preferences and goal to make decisions.
Collective Action & Public Goals o Collective action is needed to overcome the free rider problem Individuals who enjoy the benefits of some good or action while letting others bear the costs Leadership structure and decision making procedures must be in place to exert pressure on the individuals who free ride off the work of the group o A public good is a benefit or good that others cannot be denied once it has been provided o Collective action is difficult and institutions are often the solution
4. Policy Principle Political outcomes are the product of individual preferences and institutional procedures The Policy Principle is the logical combination of the first three principles Political outcomes are frequently ‘messy’ because we have a system where personal ambition mixes with a decentralized political system
5. History Principle How we got here matters: Path Dependency o The idea that certain possibilities are made more or less likely because of the historical path already taken Rules & Procedures Loyalties & Alliances Historically conditioned point of view...