Political Science 1 - Introduction To Political Science - Power Point #3

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Political Science 1 - Introduction To Political Science - Spring 2013 - Power Point Presentation #3 - © 2013 Tabakian, Inc.

Transcript of Political Science 1 - Introduction To Political Science - Power Point #3

  • 1.Dr. Tabakians Political Science 1US Government Spring 2013Power Point Presentation #3

2. COURSE LECTURE TOPICS The Irony Of Democracy Elites and Masses Democracy and the Survival of Democracy Elitism Being The Most Realistic Elite Theory Supporting Upward Mobility Defining The Elite Consensus Elitism And Public Policy Mass Behavior And Mass Threats Pluralism In A Democracy Elitism Versus Pluralism 3. ELITISM Elitism does not promote elite rule The rules of a society obstruct social progress of masses Elites are needed due mass ignorance and apathy Elites have two main goals Preserve and enhance their positions of power Masses open to demagogues When the economy is doing poorly The country is fighting a war that it is losing Demagogues come from the far left or far right The Founding Fathers were against national referenda 4. ELITISM SUMMARIZED - 11. Society is divided between the powerful few and the majority weak.2. Governing few are not typical of the governed masses. Elites are not drawn mostly from the upper class socioeconomic section of society.3. Non-elites have to be given the opportunity to rise up to elite positions. The masses have to believe that the process is continuous or revolution may occur. Barriers prevent finite elite positions from being overtaken by unqualified individuals. This is a rat and cheese scenario. Sufficient CheeseSufficient Cheese Lack Of Cheese 5. ELITISM SUMMARIZED - 21. Elites share a common belief on the basic values of the elite. Any change of public policy will be incrementally slow rather than revolutionary.2. Elites may base their actions either on narrow, self- serving motives and risk undermining mass support, or they may initiate reforms, curb abuse, and undertake public-regarding programs to preserve the system.3. Active elites are not typically influenced from apathetic masses. Elites influence masses more than the masses influence elites. 6. ELITISM SUMMARIZED - 3 7. ELITISM / INFORMATION FLOW - 1 Information flows from opinion elites down to opinionleaders who are looked to the public for information News is first created by opinion elites and then sent toopinion leaders to help disseminate the information Those at the very top of the elite network decide whatinformation is deemed as necessary to offer society These elites may be news makers themselves or in chargeof large media corporations Opinion leaders may be thought of as journalists, newsanchors, expert pundits or even celebrities who possesslegitimacy among those in society. 8. ELITISM INFORMATION FLOW 9. MANIPULATION EXAMPLEHow can weprotectourselves against the threatsof germs and toxins? ColdWar America gears up tofendoff threatsfromunconventional bioweapons.This is another example ofhow propaganda is utilized tofoster fear within society.Enjoy the video. 10. MIRROR MYTH 1 News media outlets decide what willbe decided Bias is exhibited throughout themainstream and nontraditional newssources The news media stress that they arenonbiased since they only reflectreality 11. MIRROR MYTH 2 Their choice of newssubjects proves their bias All news is biased 12. CINEMOCRACYVarious forms of propaganda havebeen utilized to drum up masssupport to better assure elitelegitimacy.Cinemocracy, therelationship betweenmotionpictures and government is one waygovernmental elites sell theiragenda. Enjoy this classic cartoonwhere Popeye The Sailor Manbattles the Nazis. 13. PROPAGANDA CITIZEN BASEDTechnological advancements haveempowered common citizens withcreative minds to produce theirown propaganda. The War OnTerror sparked a great deal ofmedia distributed via the Internet.Elites no longer maintain totalcontrol over distribution. Manycitizens may deem these video asoffensive. Keep in mind thatpropaganda is meant to producean Us versus Them mindset.Does this video have any impactover your belief system? 14. PLURALISM & SPHERES 1 Pluralism insures that groups are restricted from singlehandedly influencing public policy cross-cutting cleavages would form, as groups seekcompromise with others to build coalitions that wouldsucceed in affecting change Minorities are protected from an overwhelming majority Majority power-holders are essentially checked Cross-cutting cleavages balance against overwhelming forces 15. PLURALISM & SPHERES 2 Pluralism insures that groups are restricted from singlehandedly influencing public policy cross-cutting cleavages would form, as groups seekcompromise with others to build coalitions that wouldsucceed in affecting change Minorities are protected from an overwhelming majority Majority power-holders are essentially checked Cross-cutting cleavages balance against overwhelming forces 16. PLURALISM & SPHERES 3 17. PLURALISM SUMMARIZED 11. Society is divided into numerous groups with all making demands on government while none of the participants are able to dominate all decision-making.2. Citizens do not directly participate in decision-making, but they are able to vote for leaders to make decisions through a process of bargaining, accommodation, and compromise. 18. PLURALISM SUMMARIZED 23. Competition among leadership groups helps protect individuals interests. Countervailing centers of power for example, competition among business leaders, labor leaders and government leaders can check one another and keep each interest from abusing its power and oppressing the individual. Each of these individual spheres of influence allies themselves with other spheres that possess similar goals. See Spheres Of Influence.4. Individuals may not participate directly in decision-making, but they can exert influence through active participation in organized groups, political parties and elections. 19. PLURALISM SUMMARIZED 35. Leadership groups are open; new groups can form and gain access to the political system.6. Political influence in society is unequally distributed, but power is widely dispersed. Access to decision making is often determined by how much interest people have in a particular decision. Because leadership is fluid and mobile, power depends on ones interest in public affairs, skills in leadership, information about issues, knowledge of democratic processes, and skill in organization and public relations. 20. PLURALISM SUMMARIZED 47. Multiple leadership groups operate within society. Those who exercise power in one kind of decision do not necessarily exercise power in others. No single elite dominates decision making in all issues.8. Public policy does not necessarily reflect majority preference, but is an equilibrium of interest interaction competing interest group influences are more or less balanced, and the resulting policy is therefore a reasonable approximation of societys preferences. 21. ELITISM VERSUS PLURALISM 11. Elitism asserts that the most important division in society is between elites and masses.2. Elitism emphasizes the importance to leaders to maintain their position of power Pluralism emphasizes this devotion to their group interests.3. Elitism asserts that mass membership of organizations rarely exercises influence on elite leadership. That these organizations have no democratic processes and are controlled by leaders who operate for their own self-interest. Pluralists offer no evidence that the giant organizations represent the interests of their individual members. 22. ELITISM VERSUS PLURALISM 24. Elitism takes into account of all power holders private and public. Pluralism focuses on governmental leaders and those who interact directly with them.5. Elitism emphasizes shared characteristics of leaders on top of their interest in preserving the social diversity among leaders, differences in backgrounds, ideologies, and viewpoints. Pluralism also argues that decisions made by leaders are a product of their role perception, institutional constraints, interest group pressure, public opinion, etc. Elitism focuses on leadership consensus Pluralism focuses on elite conflict. 23. CINEMOCRACYHemp For Victory is a classicexample of Cinemocracy. Thisgovernment propaganda filmmade during WWII touted thevirtues of hemp. The film wasaimed at farmers at a timewhen the military was facing ashortage of hemp. It showshow hemp is grown andprocessed into rope and otherproducts. Why do you thinkhemp was later vilified? 24. SPHERES OF INFLUENCE Competing spheres of influenceprotect minority rights againstmajority factions Alliances will form among oncecompeting spheres in order tocheck anothersphereorindividual elite base that acquirestoo much power Individual spheres of influence arealways on the alert for one of theirpeers assuming too much power. 25. COMPETING SPHERES Competing Spheres of Influenceessentially check each other withinthe political system This is essential for the protectionof minority rights especially as itpertains to majority factions Elites are those who hold positionsof power in society Our Founding Fathers consideredthe protection of minority rights asthose few individuals who retainedcontrol over society 26. TRANSITIONAL EFFECTS 1 Competition produces great returns for humanity The result has been America progressing from apredominantly agricultural society to an industrial, nuclear,and information based society Innovation has led to advancements that have greatlyinfluenced every aspect of society. Society has benefited from constant advancements inenergy harvesting, computers, communication, waterpurification, medicine, etc. 27. TRANSITIONAL EFFECTS 2SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUTEvery significant discovery has in turn greatly influencedsocietal norms of behavior Masses today view internet communications as a vital necessity. It is nearly impossible to operate in a complex society without easy access to the web.The majority of masses did not have this belief fifteen years ago. Only society determining that the internet allowed forgreater efficiency was it adopted as a societal norm. Those notwilling to adapt became obsolete. 28. STABILIZATION Sudden instability is the greatest threat to humanity It threatens to cause irreparable harm to the individual Elimination of ones sustenance throws the individual into astate of war, because their survival is now threatened Nation-states consist of multiple spheres of interest in turnconsisting of individual units consisting of people Survival is the primary goal of man and nation-states The primary concern is that of stability This philosophy has prevented a major war for over 70 years Instability is the primary cause of all conflict 29. SPHERES OF INFLUENCE Spheres consist of individualswho share a common set ofinterests and/or belief systems Individual participants are theabsolute micro-level Family, work, school, political parties, religion, etc. The individual member serves as the conduit between spheres Varioussocial interactions influence individual behavior 30. ELITE STAGES Elites are the true minority True for all societies Elites possess large capacities of power The example shows maximum education 31. PLURALISM ALLIANCESInterdependent Spheres Alliances will form among oncecompeting spheres in order toGovernmentBusinesscheck anothersphere orindividual elite base that acquirestoo much power Certain situations may also call forIndividualspheres realize they share acommon agenda with one or moreof their respective peers 32. POWER THEORY 1 To exert power one must first possess adequate reserves This is defined simply as capacity of power Achieving higher positions is dependent on various factorsthat may include: education; wealth; profession; charismaand other talents either developed or engrained from birth This capacity of power is not determined according to asingle resource, ability or possession It is a combination of different variables that serve to makeup the individual This is just like a battery consisting of energy resourcesdrawn upon when it comes time to draw power in order toachieve a set objective. 33. POWER THEORY 2 To exert power one must first possess adequate reserves This is defined simply as capacity of power Achieving higher positions is dependent on various factorsthat may include: education; wealth; profession; charismaand other talents either developed or engrained from birth This capacity of power is not determined according to asingle resource, ability or possession It is a combination of different variables that serve to makeup the individual This is just like a battery consisting of energy resourcesdrawn upon when it comes time to draw power in order toachieve a set objective. 34. POWER THEORY 3 Like a battery powering aflashlight so does onesindividual capacity of powerserve to assist one in achieving a set goal or in this case influencing or affecting political behavior to maintain, expand or protect ones standing in orderto survive in society. 35. POWER THEORY 4Power equals resources (capacity of power) times compliancesquared, divided by force. Every accounting of power theory istaken into consideration in the construction of this formula. Wehave explored the contention that the pursuit of self-interestencourages man to engage in political behavior. This serves asthe foundation for rational choice theory, which in turn has led usto power theory. One may argue that the pursuit of powermaintains the never ending cycle of political: conflict; compromise;alliances; and wars. 36. POWER THEORY 5Many have countered this argument with a direct assault on thestatement that there is no morality in politics. These critics areboth right and wrong. It is true that morality has no directcorrelation with political science if the pursuit of self-interests andpower resources maintains utmost priority. On the other handthey may be correct if one party sells their pursuit as a moralcause in order to achieve their agenda. For example, one mayargue that good may come from conflict even if it leads to thedestruction of a nation-state and the slaughtering of thousands ormillions of people if the seed of democracy is planted andnurtured to maturity. 37. TRANSPARENCY 1America has grown from the days of a colony to major power,superpower, and hegemon, to its present empire status. Americanpower is felt throughout the international community. Playingpoker requires one to adopt what is commonly known as a pokerface. Players will hide their true emotions, even faking their trueintentions to catch other players off guard. Some have even takento wearing sunglasses. The exact opposite tactic that the UnitedStates has adopted is Transparency. This involves disclosing allroutes the nation-state will undertake with regards to all forms ofpublic policy pertaining to its political, economic and militarystrategies. 38. TRANSPARENCY 2Alexander Hamilton initiated thispolicy as the chief financialphilosopher of the United Stateseven if he did not coin the term.Hamilton is regarded as the chiefarchitect of our economic policy,which in turn was developed in orderto win the confidence of domesticUS business and financial elites aswell as gaining the confidence ofinternational business. 39. TRANSPARENCY EXAMPLE 1America possesses the mosttechnologically advancedmilitary hardware. This videodemonstrates one of the firstdeployable force fields forlightarmored vehicles(LAVs). Welcome to the 21stCentury. 40. TRANSPARENCY EXAMPLE 2America is not the only nationthat utilizes Transparency. Thisvideo shows the Israeli DefenseForce demonstrating a new typeof gun that can shoot aroundcorners. A brief interview with theinventor of this amazing weaponfollows the demonstration. 41. TRANSPARENCY EXAMPLE 3Some forms of transparency areboth political and military innature. The military sponsoredthe development of the MassiveOrdinance Aerial Burst (MOAB). Itis commonly referred to as TheMother Of All Bombs. It is thelargest conventional bomb in ourarsenal. There is a psychologicalcomponent to this bomb. Amushroom cloud forms followingsuccessful detonation. It lookssomewhat like a nuclear devicebeing detonated. 42. TRANSPARENCY EXAMPLE 4Javelin is a fire-and-forget missilewith lock-on before launch andautomatic self-guidance. Thesystem takes a top-attack flightprofile against armored vehicles(attacking the top armor which isgenerally thinner) but can alsotake a direct-attack mode for useagainst buildings or fortifications.This missile also has the ability toengage helicopters. Javelin issupplied by Raytheon/LockheedMartins JAVELIN Joint Venture. 43. AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 1Elitism in the United States is government by the few.Elites and the Masses in American Political Life.1. Elites have power to decide who gets what, when, and how.2. The lives of the masses are shaped by elite decisions.Democracy and the Survival of Democracy1. Democracy is government by the people.2. The survival of democracy is in the hands of elites.Evidence About Political Life Supporting Elite Theory1. The Irony of Democracy explains American political life using elite theory.2. American political history and contemporary political science provide evidence of life in a democracy shaped by elites. 44. GOVERNMENT OF THE FEWItalian political scientist Gaetano Mosca expressed themeaning of elitism.1. In all societies there is a small ruling class and a morenumerous ruled class.2. French political scientist Roberto Michels stated the iron law ofoligarchy.3. American political scientist Harold Lasswell expressed thatgovernment is always by the few.4. Elites are of societys upper classes that control resources andsocietal institutions. 45. FEAR OF PURE DEMOCRACY1. The Founders feared that government by majority rule would threaten the freedom and property of minorities and individuals.2. PresidentAbrahamLincoln expressed the impracticality of mass government.3. Representative democracy inevitably leads to elite government.4. In Western democracies, elites have multiple institutional bases of power. 46. THE AMERICAN ELITE CONSENSUSTHE ELITE CONSENSUS OF THE UNITED STATES:1. Liberty2. Respect For Private Property3. Limited GovernmentNOTE: Elites argue over the MEANS and not the ENDSNOTE: Respect for private property does not necessarilymean safeguarding ones home or personal possessionslike a car. It really means providing adequate security tosafeguard a person. 47. ELITE REPRESSION 1Elites primarily concern themselves with maintaining and/orenhancing their positions of power. This requires protecting thepower system in which they dominate. Stability of the system isan issue of great concern. If the system is not stable then themass class may no longer view elites as legitimate. Massactivism inspires elite repression. Elites respond by limitingfreedom and strengthening security, banning demonstrations,curtailing speech, etc. One can argue that sexual harassmentlaws may be a form of elite repression. Why is this so? 48. ELITE REPRESSION 2The majority of the mass classmayactually favoreliterepression to some degree,especially duringtimesofnational conflict (war). Shortlyafter Pearl Harbor, PresidentFranklin Delano Rooseveltauthorized the internment ofJapanese Americans living onthe West Coast, which theSupreme Court upheld. Could ithappen to another group ofcitizens again? 49. POLITICAL MESSAGESTechnology allows the commonindividual to cheaply create anddistributepropagandaworldwide.Cartoons have a tendency to makelight such terrible subjects that includewarfare. Little Saddam & Bush andSaddam On The Run were producedand distributed prior to Persian GulfWar II. The intent was to increasemass support for a US led invasion ofIraq. Do these cartoons influence yourpersonal opinion one way or theother? Would they have impact overpolitical leaders? Why or why not? 50. THE FIRST ELITE CLASS 1The Founding Fathers were a truly exceptional elite 1. The Founding Fathers were wealthy, educated,talented, and resourceful. 2. The Founding Fathers established a survivable andstable federal government. 3. The Founding Fathers established a constitutionalgovernment not based on heredity. 51. THE FIRST ELITE CLASS 21. The elites were merchants, planters, lawyers, and bankers.2. A small middle class was composed of successful farmers, shopkeepers, and independent artisans.3. The great mass of White Americans was small farmers and workers in fishing, lumbering, and commerce.4. The bottom of the white social structure consisted of indentured servants and tenant farmers.5. Black slaves were an important component of the American economy considered property in the new democratic nation. 52. PRIORITIES OF THE FOUNDERSThe Founding Fathers preferences for constitution formingwere government, the economy, and nationalism.1. The fundamental role of a republican form of government was to protect liberty and property and to suppress threats against dominant economic elites.2. The strong central government was to open western land to speculation, protect shipping and manufacturing, and ensure the return of runaway slaves.3. The politically and economically strong central government was to play a respectable role in the international community and exercise power in world affairs. 53. FORMATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL ELEMENTSThe formative elements of a national elite were evident at theAnnapolis Convention and the Constitutional Convention.1. The prestige of George Washington qualified him to preside over the Constitutional Convention.2. The Founding Fathers had extensive governing experience.3. The Founding Fathers had attained high educational achievements and were legally trained political decision- makers.4. The Founding Fathers formed a major part of the nations wealthy business and financial leadership.5. The Founding Fathers viewed political, economic, and military issues from a nationalist perspective, looking beyond their state loyalties. 54. GOVERNMENT CONSENSUS1. Delegates agreed that the fundamental end of government is the protection of liberty and property.2. Delegates believed that there was a contractual relationship between the people and their government, and that the ultimate legitimacy of government is popular sovereignty.3. Delegates believed that a republican government was a representative, responsible, and nonhereditary government.4. Delegates believed that dividing government power among separate branches capable of checking each other was the greatest assurance against tyranny.5. Delegates believed that only a strong national government could exercise its will directly on the people. 55. CONCILIATION & COMPROMISESThe Connecticut compromise was that representation in theHouse of Representatives would be based on population andrepresentation in the United States Senate would be equal withtwo senators from each state.1. The compromises on slavery were that three-fifths of the slaves of each state would be counted for the purpose of representation and taxation, and that the slave trade would not end before 1808.2. The compromise on tariffs was that exported articles should not be taxed and only the national government could tax imported articles.3. The delegates agreed that there would be state, not national, qualifications on voting according to property holdings. 56. ELITE CONSTITUTIONThe Constitution was an elitist document.1. Elites enjoyed constitutional benefits from congressional levy of taxes, regulation of commerce, protection of money and property, creation of the military, protection against revolution, protection of slavery, limitation of states in monetary and business affairs.2. The elites support for a strong national government was realized by constitutional arrangements such as national supremacy, republicanism, separation of powers and checks and balances, and judicial review.3. Elites skillfully used an extraordinary procedure, limited participation, and a Bill of Rights to achieve constitutional ratification.