The American Government

1. The American Government

2. Why to study how the government works- • Who Governs? • Who really has the power, who gets to use it? • To What Ends? • How do the decisions of those with power affect the rest of us?

3. What is power? • The ability of one person to get another to act in accordance with the first person’s intentions. • For this class- how does power affect those who hold government office, and how do they behave? • Who has the power to deny you what you want in life? Should the government be involved in issues that used to be considered private?

4. Authority- You can’t tell me what to do!! Yes. . . Yes. I can !! • The right to use power • Examples • Your parents have authority over you. • I get to have authority over you in my classroom. • The principal has authority over me. • WPD have the authority to give you a traffic ticket for doing something illegal. • The President has authority over the Army. • How does each example establish their legitimacy for the use of power?

5. Questions of Authority v. Legitimacy • Your parents get to have authority over you, if you are a minor, If you’re 18, they don’t have as much, but then they can legally kick you out of their house as well. • I get to have authority over you due to a legal idea called- in loco parentis, Latin for "in the place of a parent“. • The Principal has authority over me as my Boss. • WPD can give you a ticket- as representative of the city of Woodland- they can regulate behaviors and enforce order within its territory- specifically public welfare, security, morality, and safety. • The President has authority over the Army, because the U.S. Constitution has outlined the specific powers of the President.

6. You still can’t tell me what to do, this is a Democracy !! • Well. . . Not really. . . . • In a true or “direct” democracy- every citizen would actively participate in the government. • That type of system only works in small groups, or in places where everyone had a common goal in mind.

7. What do we have? • A representative democracy • What does this mean? • We vote (this is the democratic part) for people to represent us in government. • Basically we choose the best people (theoretically) to make important decisions for us, because we don’t have the time or experience to do it ourselves.

8. What are the problems with Representative Democracy • Honest competition • An uninformed electorate • A lack of variety of choices. • Too many offices • Rotating political door- go from one office to another, lack of new names. • People vote for themselves, not for what is necessarily good for others.

9. Power Holders and Users • Majoritarian Politics- officials acting as the majority of people would act. • Do current leaders actually act with the majority in mind, or their own groups political interests? • Elite- an identifiable group of persons who possess a disproportionate share of political power

10. Theories of Elite Influence • Marx- the government reflects the economic forces of a nation. A struggle between capitalists and workers • Mills- Three groups in power- corporate leaders, military leaders, and political leaders • Bureaucratic- The power lies within the bureaucracy, the people who actually run the day to day activities of the government • Pluralist- No single group or groups in charge, many different groups all trying to get their part of the political power pie. • Regardless of your own feelings, all of these theories allow people who are into conspiracy theories to thrive!

11. Self- Interest v. Public Good • People do vote in self-interest • People act in the public good- marches, speeches, etc. . . • And even sometimes, people vote for the public good. • Civil Rights • Seniors voting for school reform • Fire fighters taking a pay cut so other fire fighters keep their jobs.

12. Political Change • The Federal government has increased its power over our daily lives since the Great Depression. • Social Security • Welfare • NCLB • National debates over abortion.