Karen OConnor and Larry Sabato

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Karen OConnor and Larry Sabato

• American Government Continuity and Change

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Chapter 1

• The Political LandscapePresentation 1.1

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Presentation 1Where did the Ideas Come From?
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Presentation Outline

• From Aristotle to the Enlightenment
• The Idea of Popular Consent
• The Theory of Democratic Government
• Why a Capitalist System?

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From Aristotle to the Enlightenment

• The Greek origins of democracy
• Natural law as a basis for democratic governance
• Society should be run according to ethical
  principles

Aristotle, 384-322 B.C
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1a) The Greeks and Democratic Ideas

• Aristotle and Plato were critics of democracy
  (equated with mob rule)
• Polybius (203-120 B.C), a Greek hostage of the
  Romans, coined the term republic to describe
  the Roman system of government
• Today, republican government refers to a
  mixed system with democratic non-democratic
  features

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Aristotles Typology of Governments
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1b) Christianity and Democracy

• Christianitys ambiguous early stance toward
  political authority
• Constantines use of Christianity as a basis for
  political support during the later Roman empire
• Catholic support of divine right of kings

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Christianity cont.

• St. Thomas Aquinas revival of natural law
• The persistence of divine right of kings as the
  basis of political authority in Europe

St. Thomas Aquinas, 1225-1274
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Christianity and Democracy

• The importance of the Protestant Reformation
• Martin Luthers criticism of the Catholic Church
  excommunication
• Salvation as a matter of personal faith

Martin Luther, 1483-1546
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Christianity and Democracy

• Religious revolutions sparked political
  revolutions throughout the Protestant world
• Religious wars yielded to eventual tolerance of
  religious differences

Henry VIII, 1491-1547
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1c) The Enlightenment

• The Renaissance led to a period of great
  intellectual ferment in the 17th and 18th
  centuries
• Thinkers began challenging the moral and
  political absolutism of the Dark Ages
• The discovery of America created further
  incentives for discovery

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2) The Idea of Popular Consent

• The flowering of religious dissent in 16th
  century England
• Separatists belief in self-governing
  congregations
• Criticism of the Anglican Church as excessively
  Catholic
• The prevalence of corruption in Separatist
  criticisms

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The Pilgrims at Plymouth
The first sermon on the New England shore,
December 1620
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2a) The Role of Political TheoriesThe Idea of
the Social Contract

• Philosophers advanced theories based on many of
  the assumptions guiding political movements of
  the times.
• The State of Nature what was human existence
  like before the creation of governments?

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Thomas Hobbes Justification for Absolute Rule

• Humanitys natural state war of all against all
• To escape the state of nature, people agree to
  surrender most rights to an absolute sovereign
• People retain the right of self-preservation

Thomas Hobbes, 1588-1679
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John Lockes More Optimistic View

• Humans are naturally sociable
• Anti-social individuals disrupt natural
  communities, and necessitate govt.
• The primary purpose of govt. protect of private
  property

John Locke1632-1704
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Overview of Social Contract Theory

• Authority originates from agreement between
  governors and the governed
• Government limits the scope of freedom in order
  to offer security
• The governed retain the right of rebellion
• The language of John Locke is implicit in the
  Declaration of Independence

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3) The Theory of Democratic Government

• Colonists quickly began to establish
  participatory forms of government
• The absence of established political norms as an
  important basis for democracy
• As direct democracy proved unworkable, colonies
  began to establish indirect systems of democratic
  governance

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3a) Distinction Direct vs. Indirect Democracy

• Direct
• Only workable in very small communities
• Usually establish exclusive forms of citizenship
• All members make decisions (usually by consensus)

• Indirect
• Enables the creation of larger political systems
• Facilitates expanded citizenship
• Majority rule as the basic decision rule

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3b) A Democracy? or a Republic?

• Colonists were suspicious of democracy (recall
  the Greek understanding mob rule)
• Preferred to call their governments republics
• Republic meant limited government with an active
  citizenry

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4) Why a Capitalist System?

• Colonists addressing the role of the government
  in the economy
• The predominance of mercantilist economic
  arrangements in Europe
• Mercantilism as a Kings economy

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4a) Key Tenets of Mercantilism

• Economic transactions as a zero-sum
  relationship a gain for a foreign trader is
  perceived as a loss for the domestic economy
• The goal of mercantilism is self-sufficiency
  create dependent colonies with which to trade
• American colonies served such a purpose for the
  British Crown

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4b) The Colonists as Would-Be Capitalists

• Key tenets of capitalism were being advanced
  around the time of the American Revolution
• Adam Smiths defense of free trade

Adam Smith, 1723-1790
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4c) Key Assumptions of Capitalism

• Smith Self-interest is the most reliable basis
  for economic transactions (e.g. the invisible
  hand of the marketplace)
• Two basic characteristics of capitalism a)
  private ownership of property and b) minimal
  regulation of market interactions
• The U.S. as a laissez faire state from 1787-1932

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4d) From the Laissez Faire to the Welfare State

• The Great Depression fundamentally challenged
  basic capitalist assumptions
• Franklin Roosevelts institution of the New Deal
  fundamentally altered the relationship between
  government and economy
• Instituted the welfare state through the New Deal

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4e) Welfarism in a Nutshell

• Accepts the basic equity of most market
  interactions
• However, welfare is based on the notion that
  society is not innately fair
• John Rawls societys should be judged by how
  they treat their most vulnerable members (e.g.
  the poor, the very young and old, the sick)

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4f) Other Economic SystemsSocialism

• Rejects the equity and utility of capitalism
• Proudhon Property is theft!
• Socialists advocate public (e.g. government)
  ownership of all property
• Believe that communities could cooperatively
  produce enough for all

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Other Systems cont. Communism

• A revolutionary variant of socialism espoused
  most famously by Karl Marx
• Marx hypothesized the history evolved by stages
• The highest stage of human evolution would be
  communism govt. would be unnecessary

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Other Systems cont. Totalitarianism

• An extreme manifestation of authoritarian govt.
• Govt. assumes total authority over citizens
  through the use of secret police, terror,
  propaganda, and the rejection of civil liberties
• One figure usually assumes absolute leadership
  (e.g. Hitler, Stalin, Saddam Hussein)

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Totalitarianism cont.

• Came to leadership of the Soviet Union after the
  death of Lenin
• Killed millions of his own subjects
• Used as a model for ruling by Saddam Hussein

Josef Stalin, 1879-1953