Pearson Education, Inc. © 2005 Democracy in the United States Chapter 1 Pearson Education, Inc. ©...

Pearson Education, Inc. © 2005

Democracy in the United States

Chapter 1Pearson Education, Inc. © 2005


Elections in America

• More than other democracies, politics here is driven by electoral influences.– The permanent campaign

• Elections are not always expressions of popular preferences.

• But they are a key ingredient in American government.


Half-a-Million Elected Officials

• More elections than other countries• 1 elected official for every 500 Americans• National elections

– held every two years

• State elections– choose governor, state legislature, and most also elect

lieutenant governor, treasurer, state’s attorney general, and many more

• Local elections – 3000 county sheriffs, 16,000 school boards


Nominating Candidates and Deciding Issues

• Primary election– Preliminary election that narrows the number of

candidates by determining who will be the nominees in the general election

• General election– Final election that selects the office holder

• Initiative– Proposed laws or state constitutional amendments

placed on the ballot via citizen petition


Nominating Candidates and Deciding Issues

• Referendum– Proposed laws or state constitutional

amendment that is proposed by a legislature or city council but does not go into effect unless the required majority of voters approve it

• Proposition– A shorthand reference to an initiative or a

referendum

• Responsible for American Exceptionalism?


Government and Politics

• Many Americans frustrated with government

• Healthy attitude?– Weber on government: that institution in

society that has a “monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force.”

– Because government has the ability to coerce, it is natural to distrust and fear it.

– So why have a government?


Government and Politics

• Governments are necessary because of people.– Madison: “If men were angels, no government

would be necessary.”– Government necessary because often people do

not agree and may not even get along.– Hobbes: A world without government would

be nothing less than “a war of all against all.”


Types of Government

• Government by One Person– monarchs and dictators

• Government by the Few– aristocracy: leaders chosen by birth– oligarchy: leaders chosen by virtue of wealth,

power or membership in political party


Types of Government

• Government by the Many– Democracy: system in which governmental power is widely

shared among the citizens, usually through free and open elections

– Direct democracy: type of democracy in which ordinary people are the government making all laws themselves

– Representative democracy: an indirect form of democracy in which the people choose representatives who determine what government does

– Popular model of democracy: type of representative democracy in which ordinary citizens participate actively and closely constrain the actions of public officials


The New American Democracy

• Trends over the course of two centuries:– more of the population has gained citizenship

and the rights that go with it– connection between representatives and the

public has become more direct– national institutions have become more open to

popular influence– number and frequency of elections have

increased.


The Permanent Campaign

• The new American democracy is marked by a permanent campaign.– The campaign literally NEVER ENDS.– Line between campaigning and governing has

disappeared.– Governing becomes a campaign strategy.


The Permanent Campaign

• Seven developments have contributed to the permanent campaign– Separation of elections– Decay of party organizations– Spread of primaries– Rise of mass communication– Profusion of interest groups– Proliferation of polls


Minorities and Elections

• American democracy may have moved in a popular direct, but majorities do not get their way constantly.

• Factors that give minorities an advantage:– Unequal participation– Nominating process– Unequal campaign processes

• Single issue voters: voter who cares deeply about some particular issue that a candidate’s position on this one issue determines his or her vote.

– Misinformed citizens


Majorities and Elections

• Although single-issue voters and other special interests may wield disproportionate influence at times, they lose when there is a clear majority on a subject.– Abortion

• Moderate views in general

• Congress of 1990-1994 did not pass the Freedom of Choice Act supported by pro-choice forces.

• Nor did recent Republican Congress adopt a constitutional amendment to outlaw abortion as pro-life forces wanted.


Majorities and Elections

• Majorities more likely to be powerful even when the public is uninformed about or unaware of the issue.

• Ordinarily, majorities rule not so much because they actively articulate their views. Rather it because public officials anticipate majority opinion long before it asserts itself.


Reform?

• Americans frustrated by nature of government, but should view proposals for radical reform cautiously.

• Examples- calls for– Direct democracy– More elections– More opportunities to exert popular pressure– Or more power for elected officials

• Such reforms overlook the tremendous popular pressure that political leaders are already under. That may be part of the problem, not the solution.


Benefits of an Electoral Democracy

• Irony: We have greater opportunity to influence government, but we are increasingly disappointed in it.

• But there is more right than wrong with the U.S.– Often critics apply unrealistic standards of evaluation.– Must have realistic standards for evaluation.– Compare to other countries.– Better in many areas, but not in everything.– Important to examine what works and what does not.

Particularly important to understand the effects of the permanent campaign.

Pearson Education, Inc. © 2005 Democracy in the United States Chapter 1 Pearson Education, Inc. ©...

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