Policy Pardox-Deborah Stone PDF

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Chapter 1: The Market and the Polis Market - Defined as a social system in which individuals pursue their own welfare by exchanging things with others whenever trades are mutually beneficial Polis- a Greek word for City-State ● An entity small enough to have very simple forms of organization yet large enough to embody the essential elements of politics

Communities Public Policy is about communities trying to achieve something as communities. Membership is the primary political issue, for membership definitions and rules determine who is allowed to participate in community activities and who is governed by community rules and authority. Membership also defines social and economic rights as well as political rights. A model of the polis must: ● assume collective will and collective effort. ● Include a distinction between the political community and the cultural community. ○ Political community: is a group of people who live under the same political rules and structure of governance. ○ Cultural community: is a group of people who share a culture and draw their identities from a shared language, history, and traditions. Mutual Aid is a kind of social insurance. ● Market: insurance is a financial product that firms sell in order to make a profit and buyers buy in order to create economic security for themselves. ● Polis: a good that people create collectively in order to protect each other and their community.

Altruism Acting in order to benefit others rather than themselves. ● Examples: taking care of children, treating the sick, helping coworkers Paradox to Altruism: ● When people act to benefit others, they feel satisfaction, fulfillment, and a sense that helping others gives their lives meaning.

“Many modern social scientists believe that people’s actions don’t count as altruistic unless they receive absolutely no benefit themselves, or, to be even more stringent, unless they make some sacrifice or incur a loss when they act to help somebody else.” In polis, altruism can be just as fierce as self-interest. Without appreciation for altruism, we can’t fully understand how policy gets put into action at the public level, nor can we understand the currents of resistance and civil disobedience that make up the “moral underground”.

Public Interest Could be a series of individual interests that everyone wants for themselves or could be an individual’s goals for their community. ● Examples: good schools and clean air ● Contradiction: lower taxes Market: the public interest is the net result of all individuals pursuing their self interest. (the empty boc of public interest gets filled as an afterthought with the side effects of other activities) ● Example: a community starts with a fair income distribution and and has a well-functioning market, then whatever happens afterward is by definition the best result for society as a whole. Polis: people fill the box intentionally, with forethought, planning, and conscious effort Public interest can mean things that are good for the community. All communities have general interests in governance as well as settling disputes without violence.

Commons Problems (Collective Action Problems) Where self-interest and public interest work against each other ● Example: a factory owner gains private benefit by discharging industrial waste into a river because it is a cheap and profitable disposal method: but it ruins the water for everyone else Market: commons problems are thought to be the exception rather than the rule. Most actions in the market model do not have social consequences. Polis: commons problems are everything. (most significant policy problems are commons problems) ● Rare that the benefits and costs of an actions are entirely self-contained, affecting only one or two individuals, or that they are limited to immediate and direct effects.

Influence Our ideas about what we want and the choice we make are shaped by education, persuasion, and socialization. Action are influenced by others--by the choices other people have made and the ones we expect them to make, by what they want us to do, and by what we think they expect us to do. Example: a worker will go out on strike only if he/she thinks that enough of their fellow workers will join them. “Bandwagon effects” in elections happen when a candidate’s initial lead causes people to support him or her because they want to be on board with a winner. Influence can lead to coercion Liberals tend to see it in poverty Far Left tend to see it in any kind of need Conservatives tend to see it as any physical force and commands backed up by the threat of force Libertarians tend to see it as any government rule or regulation

Cooperation Polis: cooperation is just an important as competition 1) Politics involves seeking allies and cooperating with them in order to compete with opponents 2) It is essential to power Market: is pure competition, no cooperation between buyers and sellers

Loyalty Plays hand in hand with cooperation, and cooperation means alliances. Alliances are at least somewhat enduring. In Politics, relationships aren’t usually so fluid. They involve gifts, favors, support, and future obligations/commitments. In polis, there is the presumption of loyalty. People expect that others will normally stick by their friends and allies, and that it would take a major event to get them to switch their loyalties. Breaking alliances can be very, very risky.

Groups Important in three ways: 1- People belong to institutions and orgs, even when they aren’t formal members 2- Policy making isn’t only about solving public problems but about how groups are formed, split, re-formed, to achieve public purposes. 3- Groups are important because decisions of the polis are collective

Information In the ideal market, news and info is accurate and up to date. According to polis tho, it is ambiguous, inaccurate, withheld from the public, and wrong. Much of what we “know” is what we believe or perceive to be true. What we believe depends on who tells us. Political actors look to control the news, because politics is driven by how people interpret information. Information is never complete. It is always ongoing as developments are made.

Power Derives from all other elements, a resource that obeys the laws of passion rather than the laws of matter. Change occurs through the interaction of mutually defining ideas and alliances. Ideas about politics shapes alliances. People fight about ideas and fight with ideas as well.

Chapter One · M  odel of political society – a model of the simplest version of society that retains the essential elements of politics

o Polis Market Model: · M  arket– a social system in which individuals pursue their own welfare by exchanging things with others whenever trades are mutually beneficial · R  obinson Crusoe society– Trade to make each other better off, but since each person always has the option of producing everything for himself, trading is never an absolute necessity for either of them. · P  articipants in the market are in competition with each other for scarce resources; each person tries to acquire things at the least possible cost, and to convert raw materials into more valuable things that can be sold at the highest possible price. · I n the market model, individuals act only to maximize their own self-interests o “Self-interests” means their own welfare; however they define that for themselves § Well-being of family and friends o Competitive drive stimulates people to be resourceful, creative, clever, and productive, raises level of economic well-being for society Community: § Public policy is about communities trying to achieve something as communities o True even though there is almost always conflict within a community over what its goals should be and who its members are § Assume collective will and collective effort unlike market § Consensus is a feeling of collective will § Membership:

o Primary political issue o Determines who is allowed to participate in community activities, who is governed by community rules and authority o Political Community–  A group of people who live under the same political rules and structure of governance and share status as citizens o Cultural Community– A group of people who share a culture and draw their identities from a common language, history, and traditions o Mutual aid among members also defines a community § Establish mutual aid societies to pool their resources (immigrants) § Insurance is a characteristic feature of a community § Mutual aid is a good in itself that people crate, collectively, in order to foster and protect a community Public Interest: § Individual interests held in common (high standard of living) o Individual goals for the community (good schools/clean air but also lower taxes and right to burn their trash) o Private side – self-interest, public spirited side – public desires o Goals on which there is a consensus § Programs and policies favored by a majority of citizens would compromise the public interest o Much of politics is people fighting over what the public interest is and trying to realize their own definitions of it § Public interest is to the polis what self-interest is to the market

Commons Problems: § Situations where self-interest and public interest work against each other § Two Types: o Actions with private benefits entail social costs § Discharging industrial wastes into a lake for a cheap method of disposal for a factory owner but ruins the water for everyone o Social benefits necessitate private sacrifices § Maintaining a school system requires individual tax payments o Note: Any situation can be described both ways § Point of view § In the market theory commons problems are thought to be the exception rather than the rule o Most actions in the market model do not have social consequences o Policy problems are common problems (in polis)

Chapter 2- Equity The dimension of Equality: the most famous definition of political science says it is the study of “who gets what, when and how.” Distributions: are the heart of public policy controversies. It is important to keep in mind from the start that equity is the goal for all sides in a distribution of whatever the issue is. Issues: distributive conflicts in which equality is the goal. All sides seeks equality. ⭐Chocolate Cake Example: 1. Equal slices, but unequal invitations 2. Unequal slices for unequal merit, but equal slices for equal merit 3. Unequal slices for unequal ranks, but equal slices for equal ranks 4. Unequal slices, but equal social blocs a. Redefine recipients 5. Unequal slices, but equal meals

6. Unequal slices, but equal value to recipients a. Redefine the item being distributed 7. Unequal slices, but fair competition with equal starting resources 8. Unequal slices, but equal statistical chances of winning cake 9. Unequal slices, but equal votes a. Focus on the process of distribution ➡Equality often means inequality, and equal treatment often means unequal treatment Dimensions of Equality: 1. Membership 2. Merit 3. Rank a. Horizontal: equal treatment of people in the same rank b. Vertical: unequal treatment of people in different ranks c. Equity: assume to correlate with Merit 4. Group based distribution: should be used only as a tool to correct deviation from merit-based selection 5. Need: redefines the boundary of the item (Cake vs Meal) 6. Value: standardized vale vs customized value 7. Competition, Lotteries & Elections: process of distribution Inequality: few people would say life distributions (chance & well-being) are fair, but people don’t agree on whether and why these inequalities should be lessened. ● Inequality on the community ● Inequality on democracy ○ Destroys communities ○ Money influences voting and democracy ■ Elected officials are more responsive to the wealthy

Chapter 3: Efficiency Getting the most for the least// achieving an objective for the lowest cost Efficiency: the comparative ratio between input and output, effort and results, expenditure and income, or cost and benefit. ● Like the equal slices of cake, no one is opposed to efficiency

Conflicts arise over three questions: 1. Who gets the benefits and who bears the burdens of a policy? 2. How should we assess the values and costs of a policy? 3. What mode of organizing human activity is likely to yield the most efficient results? Diagram Efficiency & The Market ● The basic theory of the market: voluntary exchanges are the best way to achieve efficiency ● Getting more for less; concerned with own growth ● Rule: Markets are governed by contracts ● Rules of ownership: ownership is a right to use and trade something backed up by the state. The legal rules of ownership in society serve to define what we are permitted to own, by whom, and how ● Societies ensure that the rules of ownership are enforced ● Rules are made to be broken: ○ Weapon/illegal drug possession ○ Exceeding speed limits ● People make exchanges based on information ○ Objective: price and quality ○ Subjective: needs, desires, and preferences ● Capitalism vs markets and efficiency: where does the government interject? Diagram Equality vs Efficiency: Trade-Off ● Longest running policy argument against redistribution ● Equality and efficiency are fundamentally incompatible goals ● Unequal rewards motivate people to be productive ● Redistribution (equality) wastes money ● The argument doesn’t hold up against evidence from other nations Diagram Equality vs Efficiency tradeoff is not a natural law. It is the way political leaders choose to promote economic growth in different ways and to distribute fruits of the economy in different ways.

Efficiency & Education: ● Best teachers for the lowest cost ● 100% graduation rates- more teacher equates to smaller class size-is this efficient or inefficient-based on values? ● Instructional methodologies-lecture vs. cooperative learning (time teachers spend on planning) ● Collaborative team teaching-efficient for whom? Students? Teachers?

Chapter 4: Security Rationale model: the minimum requirements (needs) for biological survival ● These values change based on the market view and the polis view Valuation of Resources: ○ Needs are determined politically, not biologically ○ Education Example: ■ Is there a standard for needs determination that provides security for ALL students? ● Eg. test taking & modifications/accommodations provided for students with IEPs, 504 plans, and ELL‟s ○ Standard assessment for ALL, however, the administration of the test is NOT the same for ALL students (testing modifications: time, setting, format, repeated readings, etc.) Standard of Comparison: ● Should we measure needs based on a fixed standard or a relative one? Should a person‟s relational status be considered based on other members of the community? ○ Eg. You own a Hyundai and live in a poor neighborhood; neighbors have dysfunctional vehicles, or none at all- therefore, you feel comfortable with your situation b/c your needs are being met, and they exceed the current standard. ○ Eg. You live in an affluent community, neighbors own high-end vehicles, Mercedes, Lexus, Volvo, you may feel bad that you are driving a Hyundai b/c the basic need of getting from point A to B is being met, however, your „comparison‟ need is not. ● Education example: Should we measure needs based on a fixed standard or a relative one? Should a student, school, or district‟s relational status be considered based on other members of the group, school, county, state, country, and the world? ○ A school district is surrounded by very high-functioning districts that score mostly level 3‟s and 4‟s on the NYS 3-8 ELA & Math exams. The relational status impacts the principal‟s decision to allocate resources (AIS, extra help,

technology, tutoring, smaller class size) to ensure that students earn similar scores to these high performing districts, which they are being compared. Less funding for enrichment programs and advanced level courses. ○ A school district is surrounded by low-functioning districts that score is and 2‟s on the NYS 3-8 ELA & Math exams. The relational status impacts the principal‟s decision to allocate resources for ELA & Math in order to sustain Level 3‟s & 4‟s, thus leading to less funding for science, technology, enrichment programs, and advanced level courses. Purposes of Resources: ● Should we provide resources that meet immediate needs for survival, or resources that allow for future needs as well (Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.) ○ Education Example: ■ Language immersion programs-Spanish, French, Chinese, Japanese, etc. ■ Advanced placement course ■ Electives at the high school (College Essay, Creative Writing, Ethics & Values) ■ Science and technology courses (Marine Biology, Forensics, Astronomy, Environmental science ) ■ American Sign Language (ASL) ■ Business courses (Fashion Marketing, Entrepreneurship) Time: ● Should society secure only current needs or also provide protection against future needs and risks of harm? ○ Eg. Military-Protects the entire country Unit of Analysis: ● Should society secure only the needs of people as individuals or also people‟s relational needs? (dignity, sense of belonging, trust, and community) ○ Eg. Churches, temples, clubs, organizations, teams

Chapter 5: Liberty ● Polis viewpoint: polis is a community with some collective public interest. The liberty in a community is limited to obligations in the community. ● Liberty- “People should be free to do what they want unless their activity harms others.” ● Material harms: categorized as examples of bodily injury, loss of income, loss of property value, higher taxes ● Amenity harms: aesthetic, environmental, quality-of-life (satellite dish, loud music, public smoking)

● Emotional and physical harms: distress, loss of self-esteem, anxiety, depression ● Spiritual and oral harms: behavior that offends religious or moral beliefs (homosexuality) ● What harms to communities, organizations, groups, should trigger restraints on liberty? Effects on the ability to function as a community. Public vs. private schools. Cost of taxpayers to support private and charter school amenities. ● Accumulative harms: activities that are harmful only if a lot of people do them (waste disposal, sewage disposal, not obeying recycling laws) ● Harms to a group caused by harms to one of its members. (Job rejection based on basis of gender, race, and age is more than simply the loss of a job.) ● Harms to society or community caused by individual failure to undertake helpful actions. “Being a good Samaritan” ● Whose liberty should be curtailed or defined? ● When the activities of several different groups, organizations contribute to causing harms, whose activity should be restrained? Who should bear the burden of change? When “corporate actors” cause harm should their actions be restrained? In what ways? How? Churches, franchises, and political parties are corporate actors that people affiliate with by choice. There are paradoxes within these groups regarding decisions of working conditions, charitable donations, and social capital. ● Is there a liberty security trade-off? (see chart page 127) ○ Stone contends that the “YES” column is the market view. Eg. Security creates dependence on the provider of security. Mentally disabled citizens and young children are dependent on others which foster agencies (CPS and Advocacy agencies). Security is necessary for liberty, however it undermines it. ○ People have different talents, skills, and abilities to secure their valued resources. Skills and talents are not equitable.

Part III: Problems Chapter 6: Symbols Words used to represent things…sometimes used to provide explanations of how the world works Narrative Stories-description of the problem translated into a parable or tale so people have a reference to relate to…used as a tool to appeal to the audience ● Types ○ Stories of Decline ○ Stories of Control ○ Conspiracy ○ Blame the V...