Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy
Edwards/Wattenberg/Lineberry
Updated Summer 2015
Chapter 1
Introducing Government in
America
Introduction

Politics and
government
matter!
How has the
government impacted
your life?


Multiple levels: federal,
state and local
City vs. County: Did you know?
A quote from President Obama (when he
first ran for public office in 1993)

“Politics does matter. It can
make the difference in terms of
a benefit check. It can make
the difference in terms of
school funding. Citizens can’t
just remove themselves from
that process. They actually
have to engage themselves
and not just leave it to the
professionals.”
Apathy



Americans are apathetic about politics and
government.
American youth are not likely to be informed
about government and politics and rarely
participate in politics.
 Reasons? Believe politicians don’t listen, feel
they can’t make a difference, think the system
is corrupt
2008 Presidential election was the exception
(“Year of the Youth Vote”) but it’s too early to
declare the death of apathy for the young
FIGURE 1.1 Political apathy among
young and old Americans, 1972–2012
FIGURE 1.2 Age and political knowledge,
1972 and 2012
So what?? Remember, lack of interest means lack of information
Why is political knowledge important?

Fosters civic virtues like political tolerance

People who understand policy issues
incorporate this into voting behavior (policy
voting)

Promotes active political participation
FIGURE 1.3 Election turnout rates of young and old
Americans, 1972–2012
Young people don’t vote. So what?

Participation = benefits


It’s estimated that by 2020, Social Security,
Medicare and other spending for the elderly
will make up 51% of the domestic budget.
Spending for children will be only 11%
Older people vote, thus they receive
attention and funds from the government
What causes the apathy among youth?

No policy has truly impacted them (draft, etc. for
earlier generations)

Watching the news is not their only option

Fewer shared experiences

Young people today have never known a time when
most citizens paid attention to major political events.

Changes in technology present both opportunities
and challenges. What are they?
Government

Definition: Government is the institutions and
people through which public policies are made for
society.
 Congress, the President, the courts and the
federal administrative agencies (“the
bureaucracy”)
Government

This definition leads to two basic questions:

How should we govern?


Who holds power? Who influences policy?
What should government do?


Does the government do what we want it to?
What should the “scope” of government be?
What do governments do?





Maintain national defense
Provide public goods and
services
 Two types:
collective good–cannot be
denied to anyone, provided
by the government (clean air,
etc.)
Public goods provided by public
or private sector – college
loans, medical services, etc.
Preserve order
Socialize the young
Collect taxes
Politics

Definition:

Politics is the
process by which we
select our
governmental
leaders and what
policies they
produce—politics
produces
authoritative
decisions about
public issues.
Laswell’s definition of politics

Who gets what, when and how?

Let’s break down this definition




Who?
What?
When?
How?
Remember, in politics there are winners
and losers!
Political Participation

Definition: All the activities used by citizens
to influence the selection of political leaders
or the policies they pursue.



Most common?
Other examples?
Single-issue groups: Groups that have a
narrow interest, on which their members tend
to take an uncompromising stance

The process by which policy comes into being and evolves over time.
Figure 1.4
Figure 1.3
People are the start and end of the
policymaking system

Interests

Problems

Concerns
Linkage Institutions

Definition: Linkage institutions are the political
channels through which people’s concerns
become political issues on the policy agenda.
They link the people to the government.
They are NOT the government itself.




Political Parties
Elections
News & Entertainment Media
Interest Groups
Policy Agenda




Definition: The policy agenda are issues that attract
the serious attention of public officials.
Political issues arise when people disagree about a
problem and how to fix it.
Some issues will be considered, and others will not.
A government’s policy agenda changes regularly.
Policymaking Institutions

Definition: Policymaking institutions are the
branches of government charged with taking
action on political issues.
Branch
Who’s In It?
Duty
Executive
President
Carry out the law
Legislative
Congress (House and the Senate) Make the law
Judicial
Federal Courts
Interpret the law
Bureaucracy
(called the 4th
branch)
Federal departments, agencies,
commisions, etc
Carry out the laws for
the Pres and Congress
Policies Impact People
Public
Policy: a choice that government makes in
response to a political issue
Type
Definition
Example
Congressional statute
Law passed by Congress The $787 billion
American Recovery and
Restoration Act
Presidential action
Decision by the
President
Deploying or withdrawing
troops from Iraq and
Afghanistan
Court decision
Opinion by the Supreme
Court or other court
Supreme Court upholds
citizens‘ rights to own
guns
Budgetary choices
Congress enacts taxes
and expenditures
The federal budget is
passed by Congress
Regulation
Regulation adopted by
federal agency
Dept of Ed issues
guidelines for student
loan forgiveness program
Policies Impact People

Impacts of Policies:



Does it solve the problem?
Does it create more problems?
Depending on the answer, policy impacts
carry the political system back to its point of
origin: the concerns of people.
Democracy

Definition:
Democracy is a
system of selecting
policymakers and of
organizing
government so that
policy represents
and responds to the
public’s preferences.
Components of Traditional Democratic
Theory: Robert Dahl





Equality in voting – one person, one vote
Effective participation – we have to have adequate
and equal opportunities to express our preferences
Enlightened understanding – free press & speech
Citizen control of the agenda – we have the collective
right to control the government’s agenda. It should not
be controlled by any ONE group.
Inclusion – government must include, and extend
rights to all those subject to its laws; citizenship must
be open to everyone
Characteristics of democratic societies

Majority rule

Minority rights

representation
Types of democracies (not explained
in the book, so put it in your notes )

Direct democracy – exists only on a small
scale (example: New England town
meetings)

Indirect democracy – otherwise known as
representative democracy. We choose
people to represent our needs and concerns
and they create policy for society.
Theories of U.S. Democracy

Pluralist Theory




A theory of government and politics emphasizing
that politics is mainly a competition among
groups, each one pressing for its own preferred
policies
Groups will work together
Public interest will prevail through bargaining
and compromise
This competition is seen as a positive thing
Theories of U.S. Democracy

Elite and Class Theory




A theory of government and politics contending
that societies are divided along class lines and
that an upper-class elite will rule, regardless of the
formal niceties of governmental organization
Not all groups equal
Policies benefit those with money and power
Belief that elites rule societies in many
arenas: government, business, military, etc.
Theories of U.S. Democracy

Hyperpluralism




A theory of government and politics contending that groups
are so strong that government is weakened.
Groups control policy and prevent government from
acting
Difficulty in coordinating policy implementation
Confusing and contradictory policies result from
politicians trying to placate every group – result is
often “policy gridlock”
Challenges to Democracy

Increased Complexity of Issues– it has become difficult
to know all we need to regarding government benefits,
price supports, etc.

Limited Participation in Government – we don’t take our
role in our democracy seriously enough

Escalating Campaign Costs – influence of PACs and
money over democracy

Diverse Political Interests – too many interests, no real
majority, nothing really gets accomplished (policy
gridlock)
American Political Culture
and Democracy


Political Culture: An overall set of values widely
shared within a society.
American culture is diverse and comprised of:





Liberty
Egalitarianism – belief that we are all equal
Individualism
Laissez-faire – “hands off”, belief in free markets and
limited govenment
Populism – supporting the rights of average citizens in their
struggle against privileged elites, “put the people first”
A Culture War?

There is concern among some scholars that
there is sharp polarization into liberal vs
conservative political cultures in America

President Obama talked about there NOT being
red and blue states, just the UNITED States. Is he
right?
David Horsey LA Times Red v Blue States Part 1

David Horsey Cartoon Part 2

How Active is American Government?





It spends about $3.5 trillion annually
It employs nearly 2.7 million civilians and 1.4
million members of the military
It owns one-third of the land
It occupies 3.2 billion square feet of office
space
It owns and operates 400,000 nonmilitary
vehicles
Summary



Young people are apathetic about government and
politics, even though they affect everyone.
Democratic government, which is how the United
States is governed, consists of those institutions that
make policy for the benefit of the people.
What government should do to benefit the people is
a topic central to questions of American
government.