POLS 1337 Chapter 1 - Lecture notes 1 PDF

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Name of teacher: J. Bryan Cole ...

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Chapter 1 Public Policy: the laws that regulate the American economy, social issues, and even political participation; the actions by government to achieve a goal. Democracy/Self-Government: Rule by the people.   

In years before independence, majority rule was not favored. It was associated with mob rule, no liberty, safety, and no order. Rule of Law: Legal system with known rules that are enforced equally against all people. Ancient British legal principle. Constitutional System: System of government in which people set up and agree on the basic rules and procedures that will govern them. Sets to protect both liberty and order.

Framers: The people who were involved in writing the Constitution. Founders: People who were involved in establishing the US.  

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The Founders saw the relationship between the government and the governed as a social contract. When trying to establish the US, they didn’t really have any examples in other nations except for Athens who had a direct democracy. Athens did not compare because the US had more people and a direct democracy would be impractical. Instead formed a representative democracy, the people elect representatives who govern in their name. Republic: form of government in which power derives from the citizens, but their representatives make policy and govern according to existing law. Factions: Defined by Madison as any group that places its own interests above the aggregate interests of society. Civic Interest: Concern for the well-being of society and the nation as a whole. Constitution divides power both horizontally and vertically. Horizontal division is the separation of powers where each branch has some power over the other two in a system known as checks and balances. Vertical division is federalism where sovereignty is constitutionally divided between national and state governments.

Politics: The process by which competing interests determine who gets what, when, and how. 

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Political Ideology: Set of coherent political beliefs that offers a philosophy for thinking about the scope of government. Party Identification: Psychological attachment to a political party; partisanship. More personal than philosophical. Moderates: Those who are in the middle of the ideological spectrum. Libertarians: those who believe that government should not interfere in either economic or social matters. Populist: oppose concentrated wealth and adhering to traditional moral values. Capitalism: an economic system in which business enterprises and key industries are privately owned. Socialism: owned by government. Egalitarianism: Belief in human equality that disdains inherited titles of nobility and inherited wealth. Power Elite: Small handful of decision makers who hold authority over a large set of issues. These elite would represent only their interests and would not be civic-minded.

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Pluralists: opposite of the power elite in that the authority would be held by different groups in different areas.

Responsiveness and equality: it the government responsive to our needs and does everyone have an equal chance to voice their concerns?   

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Monarchy Autocracy: the power to govern is concentrated in the hands of an individual ruler. Oligarchy: the power to govern is concentrated in the hands of a powerful few, usually wealthy. All three are undemocratic since these rulers have little reason to be responsive to the people. Rulers are generally wealthy while the people are poor. In a democracy the government pursues public goods that are goods or benefits that everyone benefits from and no one can be excluded. Examples are clean air. Private goods can be extended to some, but not others. An example would be money! Democracy required political equality and political equality requires democracy. Equality of opportunity: Citizens may not be discriminated against on account or race, gender, or national background and every citizen should have an equal chance to succeed in life.

Why we must be involved  

Self-interest: We want government to serve our needs that are shaped by our life, circumstances, and values. Civic-interest: to be part of the voluntary organizations that make up the civil society that enable communities to flourish. Help advance equality. Millennials (1982-2003) tend to be more civic-minded than other generations.

Concerns that the nation faces  

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Educational opportunity: Cost of college education continues to rise. Students are taking in more debt that causes financial burden. Economic opportunity: Linked to educational opportunity. Rising national debt so government has less funding and limited flexibility for investing in programs that might create economic opportunity. Participation Opportunity: Learn about the issues you find important and vote or participate to advance this self-interest....