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Politics and the EconomyPolitics and the Economy
Chapter 11 overview1
Power, Authority, and
Violence
Types of Government
The U.S. Political
System
Who Rules the United
States?
The Transformation of
Economic Systems
World Economic
Systems
Capitalism in a Global
Economy
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO GET ½ OF A CHAPTER?
TO EXIST: EVERY SOCIETY MUST HAVE A SYSTEM OF LEADERSHIP. SOME PEOPLE MUST HAVE POWER OVER
OTHERS.
Politics: Establishing Leadership
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Authority: Coercion:
Legitimate Power
Power that people accept as right
Illegitimate power
Power that people do not accept as just
Power, Authority and Violence3
By now… you should know the definition of power
For example: a mugger and a judge all have the power to take $250 from
you… what is the difference?
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Legitimate Force and the State
Weber: The government (also called the State) claims a monopoly on legitimate force or violence.
The State claims both the exclusive right to use violence and the right to punish everyone else who uses violence.
This is a critical point to understand
with politics. If someone owes you $ you
can’t take the money by force but the
State can.
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“VIOLENCE IS THE ULTIMATE FOUNDATION
OF ANY POLITICAL ORDER” (BERGER, 1963)
Quote of the Day:
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3 types of authority (legitimate power)
Traditional Authority –.
Rational-Legal Authority –
Charismatic Authority -
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Traditional Authority
Authority based on custom
We will always know who is next in line
Hallmark of tribal groups
Declines with industrialization (but never dies out)
“We’ve always done it this way”
Examples:
Parents exercise authority over their children
Birth into a particular family makes an individual Queen or King
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Rational –Legal Authority
Not based on custom but based on written rules
We may not know who is next in line, but we know how they will
be elected.
Matters that have been agreed to by reasonable people & written
into law.
Authority comes from the position someone holds not from the
person.
Examples:
Anything Bureaucratic
U.S. Presidents, Congress, Senate …
Catholic Church and the Pope
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Charismatic Authority
A person becomes an authority figure because of his/her
outstanding traits
Transfer of authority is problematic
2 ways authority can be transferred:
The authority figure can appoint someone
The authority figure can build an organization out of which comes rational-legal
authority; this is referred to as Routinization of Charisma
Charismatic leaders pose a threat to traditional
and rational-legal leaders
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Monarchies Dictatorships
King &
Queen
Early
societies were
smaller
City-state
Dictatorship= one person
Oligarchy= small group of people
E.g. Hitler
Types of Government10
Democracies
Derived from 2 Greek
words Demos= common people
Kratos = power
2 Types
o Direct
o Representative
o Idea of citizenship
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Democracies (note: we are skipping Monarchies)
Historically Athens and Greece practiced democracy
Direct Democracy- works well with small size everyone comes
together votes publically (think town hall meeting today)
Representative Democracy- You vote for electorates who cast a
ballot for President.
Citizenship- MVP: The idea that by virtue of birth and residence people have basic rights.
Universal Citizenship- everyone having the same basic rights by being born in a country
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Dictatorships and Oligarchies: 12
Characterized by a seizure of Power
Dictatorship – Rule by one Hitler or Saddam Hussein
Oligarchy – Rule by a fewo Military Coops or South Africa (Apartheid)
Dictatorships and Oligarchies are
examples of Totalitarianism
(total control of people by
the government)
REPUBLICANS
•OLDER
•MIDDLE TO UPPER
SOCIAL CLASSES
•CONSERVATIVE
•LESS
GOVERNMENT
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DEMOCRATES
Younger
Minority Groups
Women more than men
Liberal
Working classes
More government
After the founding of the U.S. many political parties emerged
(like the Federalist) however by the time of the Civil War only 2
political parties dominated.
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Political Parties and Values
Although Democrats and Republicans represent somewhat different philosophical principles, each party represents slightly different slices from the center.
Democrats and Republicans agree on fundamental matters: both support free public education (k-12), strong military, freedom of religion, speech, and assembly, and private ownership of property.
Also very few politicians from either party are advocating to overthrow the government.
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Voting Patterns: Who Votes?
Happy reminder: Sociologist don’t care about personal politics… the look at LARGE
groups of people and demographic trends.
By Race:Non-Hispanic Whites & African Americans Most Likely to Vote
Latinos Least Likely to Vote
By Education: College graduates are almost twice as likely to vote has high
school graduates
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Voting Patterns: Who Votes?
By Gender: Women are slightly more likely to vote than Men
By Social Class
The poor are least likely to vote
Greater social integration = more likely to vote
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Who Votes for
President?
Pg 290-291
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Voting Patterns:
Who do people vote for?
By Gender: Political Gender Gap Men are more likely to favor Republican
Women are more likely to vote Democratic
By Race: (in 2004)
African Americans = 90% Democrat and 10% Republican
Whites = 42% Democrat and 58% Republican
Latinos = 58% Democrat and 42% Republican
Asian Americans = 77% Democrat and 23% Republican
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Who
votes for
which
Party?
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Voting Patterns by Region of U.S.20
See page 289
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Voting Patters: In Conclusion
Voting Patterns reflect life experiences (especially people’s economic conditions)
Looking at the big picture- people are fairly consistent
The more people feel they have a stake in the system, the more
likely they are to vote
Voter Apathy = Indifference to voting is present in the U.S
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Lobbyist and Special Interest Groups
Special Interest Groups:
People Who Think Alike on a Particular Issue and Mobilize
for Political Action
Lobbyists:
People Paid to Influence Legislation who work for Special
Interest groups Often times, lobbyists are people who are retired from the government
The main criticism of Special Interest groups and
Lobbyists = THEY BUY VOTES
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Political Action Committees (PAC’s)
Organizations that solicit contributions from many
donors- each contribution being within the legal limit
PAC’s are formed to solicited contributions from many
and then use that large amount of $$$ to influence
legislation
Most PACs Stand for Financial Interests of Specific
Groups
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Take a look at how Lobbyists & PAC’s Work
Top 100 Companies and Organizations for Lobbying
Altria Group
Video Clips Thank you for smoking
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BACK TO OUR 3 THEORIES
AND SOME DEAD WHITE DUDES…
So… who actually rules the U.S.?
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Functional Analysis
Pluralism = Diffusion of power among many
Prevents any group from gaining too much control
Government (or State) was created out of the basic needs
of the social group
Believes that the U.S. is ruled by many different groups
There is a check and balance between the main branches
of the government: Legislative, Judicial, and Executive (school house rock video clip)
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Conflict Theory
The Power Elite (C. Wright Mills) rule the government
The Power Elite are made up of top governmental
officials, heads of the military, and CEO’s of large
corporations
Information gets passed along to the members of this
group
No major decisions get made without their approval
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Remember my crazy
glasses from last week?
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W A R A N D T E R R O R I S M A R E T O O L S U S E D T O T R Y A N D A C C O M P L I S H P O L I T I C A L G O A L S
A N E S S E N T I A L C H A R A C T E R I S T I C O F T H E
S T A T E I S T H A T I T C L A I M S A M O N O P O L Y O N V I O L E N C E .
“V IOLENCE IS THE U LTIMATE F OU NDATION OF ANY POLITICAL
OR D ER ” (BER GER , 1963)
War
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War and Terrorism
Three Essential Conditions of War (Nicholas Timasheff)
1. Antagonistic Situation – Two or more states confront
incompatible objectives
2. Cultural Tradition of War – Leaders of a group see war as
an option for dealing with serious disputes with other
nations
3. Fuel – Heats the antagonistic situation to a boiling point
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Why do Nations Go to War?
1.Revenge
2.Power
3.Prestige
4.Unity
5.Position
6.Ethnicity
7.Beliefs
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Cost of War and Terrorism
Cost of War
Moral Cost
Breeds Callousness and Cruelty
Neutralization Techniques:
Characterization of Struggle Between Good and Evil
Dehumanization- the process of reducing people to objects that do
not deserve to be treated as humans
Terrorism - Use of Violence to create fear in an effort to
bring about political objectives
Most often used by weaker groups to attack more powerful groups
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Suicide Terrorist
We hold assumptions about people who are suicide bombers. Common stereotypes include: poverty, loners/ have no family and uneducated.
Using CIA data Marc Sageman found these are not true. Many are middle/upper class, 90% with families, 73% married, and 63% had gone to college.
Four steps that many terrorist went through: Moral outrage
Ideology (interpreted moral outrage with radical militant interpretation of Islamic teaching
Shared outrage and ideology (like-minded people)
Group decision
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ECONOMY – OUR SYSTEM OF PRODUCING AND DISTRIBUTING
GOODS AND SERVICES.
HOW DOES THE BIG PICTURE AFFECT YOUR CHANCES TO GET
A JOB?
Economy34
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A little History: Transformation of Economic Systems
Preindustrial Societies: Birth of Inequality
Industrial Societies: Birth of the Machine
Post industrial societies: Birth of Information Age
Biotech Societies: Merger of Biology and Economics
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Preindustrial and Industrial Societies
Preindustrial = Subsistence Economy
Hunting and Gathering Societies
Pastoral and Horticultural Societies
Agricultural Societies
Industrial Societies: Birth of the Machine
Brought Previously Unseen Surpluses
Factories Exploited Labor
More Efficient Machines Led to Conspicuous Consumption
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Postindustrial and Biotech
Postindustrial Societies: Birth of Information Age Service Sector Vast Surplus of Goods Extensive Trade among Nations Wider Variety and Quantity of Goods Information Explosion
Biotech: Marriage of biology and economics Deciphering of human genome Genetically engineered crops Greater inequality between rich and poor nations
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Figure 11.3 The Revolutionary Change in the U.S. Workforce
How stuff
has
changed ?
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World Economic Systems
Capitalism: Three components Private Ownership of Means of Production Market Competition Pursuit of Profit
Laissez-Faire Capitalism – Government is not involved in decision making
Welfare or State Capitalism – Individuals have certain rights but are overseen by the government –this is the U.S. economy
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World Economic Systems
Socialism - Three components:Public Ownership of Means of ProductionCentral PlanningDistribution of Goods without Profit Motive
Needs are Decided by Central CommitteeDesigned to Eliminate Competition Everyone Works for the Government
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Capitalist Socialist
Market forces should determine both products and prices
Profits are good for humanity
Believe socialist violate basic human right of freedom of decision and opportunity
Profit is immoral
Marx- item’s value is based on the work that goes into it-only way to have profit is to pay the worker less than the value of their labor
Believe capitalist violate basic human right of freedom from poverty.
Compare Ideologies (Belief Systems)41
Capitalism Socialism
Leads to Social Inequality
Tiny Top Layer Exploits
Vast Bottom Layer
Few Who Own the Means
of Production Reap Huge
Profits
Does not Respect
Individual Rights
Others Control People’s
Lives
Give Everyone an Equal
Chance to be Poor
Criticisms 42
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Convergence of Capitalism & Socialism
Capitalism and socialism are growing similar
As nations industrialize they start to look very similar.
For example China (where making a profit used to be illegal). “Capunism” = capitalist joined with the Community party
Changed in capitalism also support this idea: Unemployment benefits, subsidized housing, minimum wage,
social security
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Capitalism in a Global Economy
Corporation – is a business that is treated legally as a
person.
A corporation can make contracts, incur debt, sue, and be sued
Corporate Capitalism – a term that indicates how
corporations have come to dominate the economy
Multinational corporations- corporations that operate
across national boarders.
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Characteristics of Corporate Capitalism
Separation of Ownership and Management
Corporations have Outgrown National Boundaries
Corporations have become More Detached from Interests and
Values of Country of Origin
Corporations have Become a Powerful Political Force
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Globalization of Capitalism is bringing many changes:
Stagnant Paychecks – The U.S. worker is making more
today but because of inflation he/she is taking less home
Jobs have been outsourced outside of the U.S. and many
U.S. workers have lost their jobs
Global superclass- leaders of top multi-national
corporations have extreme wealth and power
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Ominous Trends in the U.S.
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Figure 11.4: Stagnant Pay
CheckAverage Hourly
Earnings of U.S. Workers in Current and
Constant Dollars