Chapter 1: Freedom, Order, or Equality Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning Why Is Government...
-
Upload
charlotte-porter -
Category
Documents
-
view
221 -
download
0
Transcript of Chapter 1: Freedom, Order, or Equality Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning Why Is Government...
Chapter 1: Freedom, Chapter 1: Freedom, Order, or EqualityOrder, or Equality
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning
Why Is Government Necessary?
• Order
• Liberty
• Authority and Legitimacy
2
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning
Forms of Government
• Totalitarian
• Authoritarianism
• Aristocracy
• Democracy• Derived from the Greek words demos (“the
people”) and kratos (“authority”)• Political authority comes from citizens
3
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning
Direct Democracy
• Political decisions are made by the people directly, rather than by elected representatives
• Attained most easily in small communities
4
Voter registration in ChicagoAP Photo/Nam Y. Huh
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning
Representative Democracy
• Constitution established a representative democracy
• Framers called this a Republic• Experimental• Power (votes) resides with citizens• Representatives make policy and law
5
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning
Direct Democracy Today
• Initiative: voters can propose a law or a constitutional amendment
• Referendum: referred by the legislature to the voters for approval/ disapproval
• Recall: allows voters to dismiss an elected official from office before term expires
6
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning
Is Direct Democracy Dangerous?
• Founders believed in government based on the consent of the people, but were highly distrustful of anything that might look like “mob rule.” • Feared tyranny of majority over rights of the
minority.• Believed “masses” were too uneducated to make
informed decisions.• Devised institutions to filter the popular will through
elected elites.
7
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning
A Democratic Republic
Democratic republic and representative democracy really mean the same thing—government based on elected representatives—except for the historical quirk that a republic cannot have a vestigial king.
8
National Portrait Gallery
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning
A Democratic Republic (cont.)
• Principles of Democratic Government• Universal suffrage• Majority rule
• Constitutional Democracy• Limited government• Usually includes constitutional checks• Multiple points of access to power
9
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning
What Kind of Democracy Do We Have?
• Majoritarianism• Government ought to do what majority of people
desire
• Elite theory• Society is ruled by small group who wish to further
their own self-interests
• Pluralism• Views politics as a conflict among interest groups,
with decision-making characterized by bargaining and compromise
10
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning
Fundamental Values
• Political Socialization
• Liberty versus Order
• Equality versus Liberty• Economic Equality• Property Rights• Capitalism
11
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning
Tensions Over Big Government
• How much power should the American government have and what role should it play in the lives of citizens? • Gulf oil spill and cleanup• Mining safety regulations• Recalls (auto, food, pharmaceutical)• Taxes• National security policies
12
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning
Ideologies:Liberalism versus Conservatism
• Conservatives • Favor limited government involvement in economy• Often favor government involvement in social issues
to preserve traditional values
• Liberals • Favor government regulation of economy to benefit
society• On social issues, prefer limited government role
13
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning
A Four-Cornered Ideological GridIn this grid, the colored squares represent four different political ideologies.
• The vertical choices range from cultural order to cultural liberty.
• The horizontal choices range from economic equality to economic liberty.
14
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning
Ideologies:The Traditional Political Spectrum
• Socialism: strong support for economic and social equality
• Libertarianism: skepticism toward government
15
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning
Classical Liberalism
• Liberal once meant limited government and no religion in politics. • Liberal evolved into its modern American meaning
along with the political evolution of the Democratic Party, once the party of limited government, but now the party of (relative) economic equality.
16
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning
The Traditional Political Spectrum
17
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning
Other Ideologies
• Communism: a revolutionary variant of socialism• Government control of all enterprises• Partisan dictatorship• No free markets
• Fascism: often totalitarian • Absolute ruler • Rejection of individualism
18
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning
Ideologies in the Islamic World
• While communism and fascism are the historical ideologies that totalitarianism was coined to describe, our current international concern is with the radical and fundamentalist interpretation of Islam known as Islamism.• Islamism rejects Western democratic values• Desires worldwide Islamic political order
19
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning
A Demographic Profile of America
“Here is not merely a nation but a teeming Nation of nations”
Walt Whitman
20
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning
Obama Election Night
A news story showing brief clips of Obama speaking in Chicago’s Grant Park after his election win was confirmed.
Air Date: 11/5/2008
21
Click the icon to open the movieVideo Supplied by Motion Gallery
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning
Video Questions
1. Was Obama’s election a direct result of the changing demographic breakdown in the U.S.?
2. After this election, did ethnic background become more or less important for future candidates?
3. Where does Obama fall on the ideological grid? Has this changed since his election?
22
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning
Religious Diversity
• Although a large majority (83%) of Americans still identify as Christians, Americans now claim affiliation with 1600 different religious affiliations and denominations.• About 16% are not religiously affiliated.
23
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning
The Changing Face of America
• Aging
• Population Growth
• Ethnic Change• Changes in Hispanic community
• Women• In the workforce• In Congress and state government
24
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning
Illegal Immigrants
25
SOURCE: Washington Post, National Weekly Edition, May 29–June 4, 2006, 8.
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning
The U.S. Population
26
Click here to go to the U.S. POPClock Projection
© The New Yorker Collection 1992. J.B. Handelsman from cartoonbank.com. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning
The Aging of America
27
*Data for 2025 and 2050 are projections.Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census.
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning
Changing U.S. Population
28
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning
Questions for Critical Thinking
1. Do you think a direct democracy is a rational option for governing in the United States?
2. Describe the forms of direct democracy that exist. Discuss the pros and cons of these mechanisms.
2929
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning
Questions for Critical Thinking
3. Do some Americans equate security and order with protection against fellow citizens who are racially, culturally, or economically different?
4. Is protection against discrimination an important issue today? Which groups in American society most need protection?
3030
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning
Web Links
• U.S. Census Bureau
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
31