Politics and Government MatterList of ways government has affected your

life:

Public SchoolsDrivers license and drivingAge you can drink, smoke, voteSocial Security and your job

Politics and Government MatterWhy do young people not care about politics

and government?

Do you feel like you can make a difference?

Why don’t young people vote?

Politics and Government Matter

Politics and Government Matter

Presidential Election Turnout Rates by Age

Politics and Government MatterWhy should you stay informed about public

affairs?

1. Fosters civic virtues such as political tolerance.

2. Helps citizens to identify which policies would benefit them and incorporate them in their voting behavior.

3. Promotes active participation in politics.

Politics and Government MatterWhy does voter turnout matter?

Those who participate in the political process are more likely to benefit from government policies and programs.

Media in politics today. Presidential speeches.

GovernmentThe institutions that make authoritative

decisions for any given society are collectively known as government.

In our own national government these consist of Congress, the president, the courts, and federal administrative agencies.

Roughly 500,000 elected officials in the United States.

GovernmentTwo fundamental questions about governing:

1. How Should We Govern?

2. What Should Government Do?Maintain a national defenseProvide public servicesPreserve orderSocialize the youngCollect taxes

PoliticsPolitics determines whom we select as our

government leaders and what policies these leaders pursue.

The Lasswell Model:-“Who gets what, when, and how.”

Politics“WHO”………..At a minimum this includes voters,

candidates, groups, and parties.

Politics“WHAT”………

Refers to the substance of politics and government benefits such as medical care for elderly, and burdens such as taxes.

Politics“HOW”………

How people participate in politics. Through voting, supporting, lobbying.

PoliticsThe way in which people get involved in

politics make up their political participation.VotingRun for office

America has one of the lowest rates of voter participation in the world.

Low voter turnout has an effect on who holds political power.

PoliticsSingle-issue groups: groups so concerned

with one issue that members cast their vote on the basis of that issue only, ignoring a politician’s stand on everything else.

Example: Abortion

The Policy Making System

The Policy Making SystemWhat do people do to express their opinions

in a democracy?VoteJoin political partyForm interest groups

In this way, people’s concerns enter the linkage institutions.

The Policy Making SystemLinkage Institutions: the political channels

through which people’s concerns become political issues on the policy agenda.

Parties and interest groups strive to ensure their members concerns receive appropriate political attention.

Elections provide citizens with a chance to make their opinions heard.

The Policy Making SystemAll these institutions help to shape the

government’s policy agenda, the issues that attract serious attention of public officials and other people actively involved in politics.

If a politician wants to get elected, they must pay attention to the problems that concern voters.

Political issues: an issue that arises when people disagree about a problem and how to fix it.

The Policy Making SystemPolicymaking Institutions:

CongressPresidencyThe CourtsBureaucracies

Very few policies are made by a single policymaking institution.

The Policy Making SystemPublic Policy: Every decision the

government makes, budget it establishes, and ruling it hands down.

Many different types of policies:Congressional StatutePresidential ActionCourt DecisionRegulation

The Policy Making SystemPublic Policy:

Some issues remain low priority until they gain media attention. Example: AIDS Magic Johnson

The Policy Making SystemOnce policies are made and implemented,

they affect people.

Policy impacts are the effects that a policy has on society’s problems.

Translating people’s desires into effective public policy is crucial to the workings of democracy.

The Policy Making System

DemocracyDemocracy: a system of selecting

policymakers and of organizing government so that policy represents and responds to the public’s preferences.

Traditional democratic theory rests on a number of key principles that specify how government decisions are made in a democracy.

Traditional Democratic TheoryKey Principles:

Equality in votingEffective participationEnlightened understandingCitizen control of the agendaInclusion

Traditional Democratic TheoryKey Vocabulary:

Majority rule: the will of over half the voters will be followed.

Minority rights: Basic principles such as freedom of speech and assembly. The majority cannot infringe on these rights.

Representation: Describes the relationship between the few leaders and many followers.

Contemporary Theories of American DemocracyPluralist Theory: states that groups with

shared interests influence public policy by pressing their concerns through organized efforts.

Example: NRA, NOW, UAW

Contemporary Theories of American DemocracyElite and Class Theory: states that upper-

class elite pulls the strings of government.

Tax cuts for wealthy, helping big business.

Contemporary Theories of American DemocracyHyperpluralism: states that many groups,

not just the elite ones, are so strong that government is unable to act.

Government is a servant to these groups.

Challenges to Democracy-Increased Technical Expertise-Limited Participation in Government-Escalating Campaign CostsDiverse Political Interests

American Political CulturePolitical Culture: an overall set of values

widely shared within a society.

Examples:LibertyEgalitarianismIndividualismLaissez-fairePopulism

Challenges to DemocracyIncreased Technical ExpertiseLimited Participation in GovernmentEscalating Campaign CostsDiverse Political Interests (policy gridlock)

Democratic TheoriesCriteria of traditional democratic theory as

formulated by Robert Dahl consists of :

Citizenship must be open to all within a nation.

Those who participate in political organizations must be representative of the general population.

freedom of speech and pressOne person gets one vote.

Democratic TheoriesB. Berelson in “Democratic Practice and

Democratic theory” concluded that an effective democratic system requires some citizens to be apathetic, while others to be interested and active.

Democratic TheoriesAccording to E.E. Schattschneider, politics

can also be defined as conflict expansion.