AMERICAN GOVERNMENT, 9th edition
by Theodore J. Lowi, Benjamin Ginsberg, and
Kenneth A. Shepsle
Chapter 1. The Five
Principles of Politics
Government is everywhere

Americans have a traditional
dislike and skepticism of “BIG
GOVERNMENT”
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Nevertheless, American
government has grown as both
interests on the left and the
right have championed its
expansion.
Democrats and Liberals
Democrats and liberals
are more apt to expand
the government in the
area of social programs
and government
regulation of business.
Republicans and conservatives
Republicans and conservatives
are more likely to advocate
expanding the government in
the areas of defense, police
powers, and social regulation.
What is Government?
Definition: The institution in
society that has a monopoly
on the legitimate use of force.
Legitimacy
LEGITIMACY, the widespread
perception that the government has
the right to rule, is enhanced by
popular participation and consent of
the governed.
Coercion
COERCION is the government’s
use of force.
Common examples of
government coercion include:
– Taxation
– Conscription
Types of Government: Inclusiveness
Low Inclusiveness
AUTOCRACY
High Inclusiveness
OLIGARCHY
DEMOCRACY
Governments can be categorized in ascending levels of
inclusiveness
Governments can be categorized in
ascending levels of inclusiveness
AUTOCRACIES are governments
controlled by one person.
OLIGARCHIES are governments
of the few.
DEMOCRACIES are governments
run by the people
Types of Government: Recognition of
Limits
Few Limits
TOTALITARIAN
Broad Limits
AUTHORITARIAN
CONSTITUTIONAL
Governments can also be categorized in descending
order of the limits they recognize on their own
authority
Governments can be categorized in
terms of the limits they recognize on
their own authority
-TOTALITARIAN governments recognize little or no
limits on their authority
-AUTHORITARIAN governments recognize (often
reluctantly) some limits on their authority
-CONSTITUTIONAL governments recognize and
often codify broad limits on their authority
WHY IS GOVERNMENT NECESSARY?
The Hobbesian view:
Government exists to
maintain order.
The Lockean view:
Government exists to
protect individual liberty
and property.
Among many others, David Hume argued that
governments also exist to produce public goods.
THE AMERICAN STATE
1. All states, including the United
States, rely on coercion to govern.
2. Governments, especially
constitutional governments, rely
on legitimacy and consent to govern.
Importantly, when people perceive the
government works in their interest, they
are more willing to expand its power.
The Founders and a Powerful State
Despite their fears of “big
government,” the
Framers of the
Constitution established
a central government far
more powerful than the
status quo and with a
potential for significant
growth.
“Government ought to be
clothed with all the powers
requisite to complete
execution of its trust”
-- Alexander Hamilton
(Publius), Federalist #23
The Founders and a Powerful State
“Money is regarded, with propriety, as the vital
principle of the body politic; as that which sustains its
life and motion and enables it to perform its most
essential functions … A complete power, therefore,
to procure a regular and adequate supply of revenue
as far as the resources of the community will permit,
may be regarded as an indispensable ingredient in
every Constitution.”
-- Alexander Hamilton (Publius), Federalist # 30
An Introduction to the Five Principles
Throughout the semester
both the textbook and many
class discussions will use
the following FIVE
PRINCIPLES OF POLITICS
to illuminate some of the
central questions of
American government and
politics.
FIVE PRINCIPLES OF POLITICS
I.
All political behavior has a purpose.
1. Political behavior is GOAL-ORIENTED.
2. Political actors make INSTRUMENTAL
CHOICES about how to act.
FIVE PRINCIPLES OF POLITICS
II.
All politics is collective action.
1. Government requires collective social action.
2. As the number and diversity of the relevant
actors increase, so too does the collective
action problem.
FIVE PRINCIPLES OF POLITICS
1.
2.
III. Institutions routinely solve collective
action problems.
Institutional arrangements provide
for a division of labor, rules
regarding decision-making, and
checks on the powers of political
actors and institutions.
These routines and structured
relationships enable cooperation
that alleviate impediments to
collective action.
FIVE PRINCIPLES OF POLITICS
IV.
Political Outcomes are the products of individual
preferences and institutional procedures.
1. Outcomes are the products of the intermingling of
individual goals and institutions.
2. Individuals have competing goals that are shaped,
channeled, and filtered through relevant processes.
FIVE PRINCIPLES OF POLITICS
V. History matters.
1.
2.
Historical processes shape
institutions.
History provides a normative
context by which we can
understand and interpret
political events and
outcomes.
Student Website: Study Smarter
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www.wwnorton.com/lowi
Chapter reviews
Diagnostic Quizzes
Vocabulary Flashcards
Interactive Role-Playing Simulations
Concept Quiz
1. Historically, the two fundamental
components governments included were:
 A. representative institutions and civil
bureaucracy
 B. commercial organization and navy
 C. a means of coercion and a means of
collecting revenue
 D. an army and a national judiciary
Concept Quiz
2. What is it called when people enjoy the
benefits of some good while letting others
bear the costs?
 A. private good
 B. free riding
 C. instrumental
 D. informal bargaining
Concept Quiz
3. Concerns about the extensive powers of the
Department of Homeland Security at the expense of
civil liberties exemplify which of the following
paradoxes?
 A. Trade-off between freedom and order;
 B. Instability of majority rule;
 C. Delegating authority in a representative
democracy;
 D. Both A and C;
Concept Quiz
4. Which of the following is NOT one of the five
Principles of Politics described in the
chapter?
 A. Political outcomes are the product of
group preferences;
 B. Rules matter;
 C. All political behavior has a purpose;
 D. Cooperation is difficult;