Constitutional Underpinnings Defining Government & The Purpose of Politics.
Constitutional Underpinnings of the United States Government Understanding American Politics...
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Transcript of Constitutional Underpinnings of the United States Government Understanding American Politics...
Mr. Woods - A.P. Government and Politics
Constitutional Underpinnings of the
United States GovernmentUnderstanding American
Politics
A. Functions of Government
B. Policy Making System
C. American Political Culture
Discussion Questions1. How knowledgeable are people in America about matters of public
policy (if so do they apply that knowledge to their voting choices)?
2. How are American elections designed to facilitate public participation? What improvements can be made to our election system to ensure more public participation?
3. Do political parties provide voters with clear choices, or do they intentionally obscure their stands on issues in order to get as many votes as possible?
4. What role does the media have in providing voters with clear choices? Does the media help citizens understand the choices that they have as voters?
5. Is Congress representative of American society, and is it capable of solving societies problems?
Mr. Woods - A.P. Government and Politics
Functions of GovernmentUnderstanding American Politics
Four Key Institutions
Historical Purposes of Government
Common Functions of Government
Provide Order - Hobbes
• Hobbes argued that people needed an absolute monarchy. Without government, there would be no laws-people could do whatever they wanted. Even if people tried to develop informal rules, there would be no way to guarantee that these rules would be enforced. This crucial governmental role was noted by the Founders in the preamble to the Constitution.
Provide Order - Madison
• Without government, we would quickly be headed toward Hobbes’s nasty and brutish state of nature. Madison’s view of human nature might sound pessimistic, but it is also realistic. He assumes that people are self-interested: we want what is best for ourselves and our families, and to satisfy those interests, we tend to form groups (factions) with like-minded people.
Promoting the General Welfare - Hume
• It is easy for two people to tackle a common problem without the help of government, but a thousand people, to say nothing of the more than 300 million in the United States today, would suffer from the free rider problem: because it is in everyone’s interest to “lay the whole burden on others,” and because everyone thinks this way, the meadow would never be drained. Hume notes, “political society” – government – can “remedy those inconveniences” by draining the meadow and providing the desired public good.
Mr. Woods - A.P. Government and Politics
Policymaking SystemUnderstanding American Politics
Two Dilemmas of Government
Policymaking
Mr. Woods - A.P. Government and Politics
American Political CultureUnderstanding American Politics
5 Elements of American Political Culture
Democracy
• A Culture War?– James Q. Wilson believes that America is
a more polarized nation today than at any time in living memory.
– Other scholars believe that there is relatively little evidence of a so-called culture war going on among ordinary American citizens.
How Active Is American Government?
– Spends $3.8 trillion yearly
– Employs 2.8 million civilians and 1.4 million in the military
– It owns one-third of the land in the United States
– It occupies 2.6 billion square feet of office space
Political Ideologies
Center
ConservativesRepublicans
LiberalsDemocrats
Socialist Tea PartyCommunist FascistsNeo-Nazi
United Kingdom
United States
Cuba, China, &Vietnam
Hitler’s Nazi-Germany &Mussolini’s Italy
North Korea?
Political Ideologies
For Social Intervention
Against EconomicIntervention
For Economic Intervention
Against Social Intervention
Political Attitudes