What is politics Think Pair Share With a partner discuss what the word power means to you Word Association What words come to mind when you hear the word politics Does the word have a more positive or negative connotation ID: 656552
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Slide1
Constitutional Underpinnings
What is politics?Slide2
Think Pair Share
With a partner discuss what the word power means to you.Slide3
Word Association
What words come to mind when you hear the word “politics”?
Does the word have a more positive or negative connotation?Slide4
Politics
With a partner discuss your definition of politics.
Definition:
The ability of one person to get to another person to act in accordance with the first person’s intentionsSlide5
A neutral view of politics
All of us are political, we’re just not used to calling it that. You don’t have to take a class to get politics. Aristotle was correct when he wrote, “Man is by nature a political animal.”Slide6
Machiavelli
Machiavelli’s name is synonymous with tough and dirty politics
Author of
The Prince
. One of history’s first political scientists.Slide7
Machiavelli Quotes
“The ends justify the means.”
“It is better to be feared than loved.”
“By no means can a prudent ruler keep his word. Because all men are bad and do not keep promises to you, you likewise do not have to keep your promises to them.” Slide8
Can we be hopeful about politics?
Republican
DemocraticSlide9
Political Power
Authority – right to use power
Legitimacy – political authority conferred by law or constitution Slide10
Absolute power corrupts absolutelySlide11
Social Contract Theory
“The only valid government is one based on the consent of the governed.” - Locke
Rulers and citizens enter into an agreement, or a
social contract
Government by the people, massesSlide12
Locke’s influence on the US
“
A state also of equality, wherein all the power and jurisdiction is reciprocal, no one having more than another… - John Locke,
of Civil Government
“We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal.” - Thomas Jefferson,
Declaration of IndependenceSlide13
Social Contract Theory
Movie “Lord of the Flies”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipkF3xkP63M&index=2&list=PLZbXA4lyCtqptiihsVR1gHImfGMpeKUNP
How does the video clip show Locke’s ideas?Slide14
How is Political power distributed?
Theories of American Representative Government.Slide15
Can uneducated/poor people be trusted?
Direct Democracy – citizens create/vote on laws
New England Town Meeting
Aristotle’s view
Problems
1. Impractical for reasons of time, expertise
How do you get 300 million people to vote multiple times per day on issues they no nothing about?
2. Masses of people make unwise decisions based on emotions (Hitler was elected)
“The masses are turbulent and changing and seldom judge or determine right.” -Alexander HamiltonSlide16
Representative Democracy (Republic)
Citizens elect representatives through competitive elections
Gov’t MEDIATES
popular views
“Will of the people”
≠ “Common interest”
EX. Lower gas prices, minority rights
Reps are educated on issues at hand
6 phone calls will get a Congressman’s attention
Prevents fast, sweeping change
Minority rights more likely to be protectedSlide17
Theories explaining how democracies ACTUALLY function
Majoritarian Theory
= leaders are forced to follow the wishes of the people because majority rules
3. Elite Theory
= groups or people who possess the most more power (money or influence) dominate gov’t
4. Bureaucratic Theory
= appointed officials dominate the gov’t through unelected jobs
2. Pluralist Theory
= groups compete and compromise with each other to get the gov’t to do what they wantSlide18
Pluralism
Modern society consists of many groups (ex. Economic, religious, cultural, ethnic.) that compete with each other to achieve goals
Groups that influence gov’t, work hard, and have largest membership get what they want
Even if the average citizen does not keep up with politics, their interests will be protected by their group.
Groups must COMPROMISE to achieve goalsSlide19
Arguments for and against the Pluralist view
Relatively low numbers of people join interest groups.
Poor citizens have less opportunity to join interest groups or contribute to them.
One can’t assume that group decisions are always in the best interest of the nation.
There is no unified majority in the US that always acts together.
Gov’t leaders must please groups to gain votes and money to be reelected.
Groups must compete for gov’t services and favorable laws.
FOR
AGAINSTSlide20
The Elite
When circumstances don’t permit majoritarian decision making, then a group of officials will have to act without knowing and perhaps not caring about what the people want.
Views will be of the people shaping the policy not necessarily what the people want.Slide21
The actual distribution of political power will depend on the political elite who are actually involved in the policy making.
By elite we mean an identifiable group of persons who possess a disproportionate share of some valued resourceSlide22
Marxist Theory (Elite)
Control the economic system = control the political system.
Politicians require massive funding to win elections, and rely on corporations to supply them.Slide23
Class View
Class View
Based on Karl Marx’s idea that government is merely a reflection of underlying economic forces, primarily the pattern of ownership of the means of production
Government is controlled by business owners(bourgeoisie) until a revolution replaces them with the laborers(proletariat).
Today based on “the rich” or the leaders of multinational corporationsSlide24
The Power Elite View
The Power Elite View
American democracy is dominated by a few top leaders, many of them wealthy or privately powerful, and not in office
Examples would be business leaders, military officials, labor union leaders, mass media executives, and heads of a few special interest groupsSlide25
Bureaucratic
View
Bureaucratic View
Created by Max Weber
In order to become successful a government puts its affairs in the hands of appointed bureaucrats whose competence is essential to the management of complex affairs
These appointed bureaucrats are invisible and behind the scenes, but actually make policySlide26
A Reminder…
These are only theories. They are people’s perception of our democracy and the way it functions.
Which theory is correct???
Pluralist – most popular today
Majoritarian – popular pre-1950’s
Elite – rising since the 80’s
Bureaucratic – gov’t spending more than ever before just to run itself