Summary Slide

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Summary Slide

• Summary Slide

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Summary Slide

• Introduction to Government and Forms of Government

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Introduction to Government and Forms of Government

• a mind-blowing powerpoint of revolutionary
  proportions!!!

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Bellringer 1

• Brainstorm
• gtgtgta list of types of governments that you know
  or have heard of.
• Q Is there one form of government that is better
  than all others, or does it depend on the
  situation? (make an argument)

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What is government?

• Institution through which a society makes and
  enforces its public policies.
• Made up of people who exercise its power with
  authority and control over other people.

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What is the state in which a government exists?

• A body of people, living in a defined territory,
  organized politically.
• It has the power to make and enforce law without
  the consent of any higher authority.
• Must have (1) population, (2) territory, (3)
  sovereignty and a form of (4) government.

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What is political power?

• Power is the ability of one person to get another
  person to act in accordance with the first
  persons intentions.
• In this class we are concerned with power as it
  used to affect who will hold government office
  and how (American federal) government will
  behave.

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More about Political Power

• People who use political power may or may not
  have the authority to do so.
• Authority is the right to use power. Formal
  authority is the right to exercise power that is
  vested in a government office (i.e. president,
  senator, federal judge).
• Legitimacy is political
• authority conferred by law or
• by a state/national
• constitution (i.e. U.S. Constitution).

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3 Questions about Forms of Government

• (1) Who can participate in government?
• (2) Where is government power geographically
  located?
• (3) Who rules government?

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(1) Who Can Participate?

• 2 Basic Forms to consider
• Democracy
• Dictatorship

Is there any truth to this?
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• It has been said that democracy is the worst
  form of government except all the others that
  have been tried.
• Winston Churchill,
• Prime Minister and drunkard

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(a) Democrazy

• Supreme political authority lies with the people
  the people are sovereign
• Democracy is derived from the Greek words demos
  and kratia and literally translates as rule by
  the people
• 2 types
• Direct Democracy
• Representative Democracy (a.k.a. Republican,
  Indirect, some call it an elitist theory of
  democracy)

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Athenian Demokratis Peaks 400 BC

• All freedmen are citizens.
• Any citizens could attend Assembly, introduce
  laws, speak or vote (suffrage).
• Polis city state
• The Philosophers
• Socrates (469-399 BC)
• Plato (429-347 BC)
• Aristotle(384-322 BC)

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Roman Republic

• Best society promotes the common good.
• Common good achieved by good citizens.
• Citizens must share 3 characteristics
• 1) Civic virtue
• 2) public education
• 3)small,uniform communities
• Natural Rights necessary for citizens to govern
  themselves included right to vote freedom to
  assemble, and open debate.

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Roman Empire The Senate
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The Roman Republic 1st Senate!

• Open forum debate.
• Political Elite
• Council of 500
• US Senate patterned after this.
• Representative.
• Ben Franklin Gentlemen, we have ourselves a
  Republic.

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What kind of democracy did the Framers prefer?

• The Framers of the Constitution strongly favored
  a representative democracy over a direct
  democracy .Why? They thought most citizens did
  not have the time, information, interest, or
  expertise to make reasonable choices among
  competing policy positions!
• Even if a direct democracy
• was impractical in their time,
• is it impractical in ours?
• (larger population ,but internet)

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Other Questions About Democracy

• How is political power distributed in the U.S.s
  representative democracy?
• 4 Theories
• (a) Marxist View
• (b) Power Elitist View
• (c) Bureaucratic View
• (d) Pluralist View

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(a) Marxist View

• Even Democratic governments
• merely a reflects underlying economic
• forces.
• Capitalists (bourgeoise) and workers
  (proletariat like proles) contend for power.
• Who really rules? Capitalists - big business
  and multinational corporations

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Marxist View
What is this cartoon saying? What would Marxists
think about this cartoon?
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(b) Power Elite View

• Who really rules? A few top leaders, mostly
  outside of government and enjoy great advantages
  in wealth, status, or organizational position
  thus, corporate leaders, top military officials,
  handful of elected officials...

Sociologist C. Wright Mills
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(c) Bureaucratic View

• Who really rules? Appointed officials - career
  government workers (bureaucrats) exercise vast
  power by deciding how to translate public laws
  into administrative actions.
• Bureaucrats do not
• simply implement public policies, but
• they effectively make them as suits
• their own ideas and interests.
• Sociologist Max Weber

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(d) Pluralist View(No conspiracy, just
conflicting interests)

• While pluralist theorists do not go so far as to
  say that resources are distributed equally (on a
  majoritarian basis), but they do assert that
  competition among all affected interests shapes
  public policy.

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(b) Dictatorship

• Oldest, most common
• form of government
• Rulers are not held
• responsible to the will of the people
• Autocracy single person holds unlimited power
• Oligarchy the power to rule is held by a small,
  usually self-appointed elite
• Remember Goldsteins book The Theory and
  Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism
• Examples Fascist Italy (1922-1943), Nazi Germany
  (1933-1945), Soviet Union (1917-late 1980s),
  Peoples Republic of China (1949 to present)

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(2) Who has the power?

• Where is it located geographically?
• 3 basic forms of
• government
• (a) Unitary
• (b) Federal
• (c) Confederation

Why do people go to Washington D.C. to march?
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(a) Unitary Government Centrally Located

• Centralized Government all powers are held by
  government belong to single, central (national)
  agency
• Local units of government are only created at the
  convenience of the national government and lack
  real power
• Example Britains
• parliament!!!

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(b) Federal Government Divide it Up!
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(c) Confederate Government Totally Weak!

• Alliance of independent states
• Limited powers that states assign
• Rare today
• Kind of Example European Union (1993-present)
• - Free trade, common currency (except
• stubborn Brits), and attempts to coordinate
• members foreign and defense policies
• American Examples U.S. under the Articles of
• Confederation (1781-1789) and the Confederate
• States of America (1861-1865)

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(3) Who rules?

• Is it
• (a) the legislative (or parliamentary), or
• (b) the executive (or presidential)?

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(a) Presidential Government

• Separation of powers between the executive and
  legislative branches independent, coequal
• Chief executive (president) is chosen
  independently of legislature, holds office for
  fixed term, and has some independent powers
• Separation of powers usually spelled out in
  written constitution
• Branches can block other branches
• Example USA! USA! USA! ( we invented it in
  America!)

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(b) Parliamentary Government

• Executive branch is prime minister/premier and
  cabinet but they are members of the legislative
  branch (parliament)
• Prime minister is leader of the majority party
  and is thus chosen by the legislature, and
  subject to its direct control
• Executive remains in office as long as they have
  support of parliamentary majority
• Vote of no confidence causes prime minister to
  resign then a new government must be formed!
• Example Britain and most other democracies
• Advantages - Avoids conflict and deadlock of
  presidential governments

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FIN or The End