-
Scope of Gov
- Who governs? To what
- ends/means? (Scope of Gov), (Nat defense, Provide shared pub goods (vs.
- private), Keep order, Taxes, socialize the young)
-
Linkage institutions
- Linkage institutions (people – parties, interest groups, media, elections
- – gov’t policies)
- A. Constantly
- changing. Good news is no news – what can we do better
- B. Transfer ppls ideas
- to the gov
-
5 types of public policies
- Legislative
- statute
- – (NCLB /
- Patriot Act): mandates = subset of this, issue when mandated, but not until
- then
- B. Executive action
- (Truman integrates military)
- C. Judicial ruling
- (integrate schools)
- D. Budget choices (all
- 3 levels)
- E. Regulations (USDA
- and approval of new drugs)
-
Traditional
democratic theory
- (1). Equality in voting (majority rule)
- (2). Effective participation (minority
- rights))
- (3). Enlightened understanding
- (representation), free press/free speech
- (4). Citizen control of the agenda (we don’t
- do)
- (5). Inclusion: gov must include/extend rights
- to all
- (6). Ex: Thomas Jefferson. “mob rule”
-
Pluralist theory
- A. Groups with shared
- interests influence public policy (NRA, NOW)
- B. Groups of
- minorities working together for common cause (civil rights)
- C. Use any of the 3
- branches (leg, exec didn’t help civil rights, tried judicial)
- D. Does increased tech
- make us more “self-defined” and in need of fewer groups?
- E. Ex: James Madison
- F. needs checks and
- balances. Need of fewer groups?
-
. Elite and class theory
- A. Answers Q who gets more unlike pluralist where all get some
- B. 1% of population
- holds 33% of wealth
- C. Don’t influence
- policy makers because they are the policy makers. How? $ donated, influence
- D. Dominance of big
- business
- E. ex: Gore/Bush
- 2000: Gore wants to tax rich who are the
- minority (Gore loses)
- F. Enron Scandal –
- corporate leaders got rich at expense of ordinary
- workers/shareholders/consumers.
-
Hyperpluralism
- A. Too many groups which are
- too strong making for a weak government,
- B. gov giving in to too
- many single interest groups
- C. Pluralism getting
- worse – change in system is needed
- D. Overlapping
- jurisdictions of branches and levels = gridlock = groups in control
- E. Powerful groups
- divide the government and its authority
- F. like Elite and
- Class theory, they suggest that pub interest rarely
→ pub policy - G. ex: env issues
- delay construction, business fight regs, labor unions fight policies that might
- cost jobs
-
Challenges to democracy
- A. How to stay informed if
- not technically experienced
- B. Decreased participation in gov’t
- C. Increased campaign costs (PAC
- influence; can only rich run now?)
- D. Increasingly diverse groups =
- increasing gridlock
-
5 aspect of American political culture
- A. Liberty
- B. Egalitarianism
- (equality of opportunity, not condition)
- C. Individualism (frontier
- allowed space – today?)
- D. Laissez-faire
- (gov’t keeps hands off business)
- E. Populism (rights of
- the average citizen)
- (1). Used by both liberals and conservatives
- (2). Liberals protect from big business
- (3). Conservatives protect from big government
-
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