*
* What is the purpose of government?
* Make your own definition of government
* What do you picture when you hear
“government”
* What is politics?
*
* Gov’t: The institutions and processes through
which public policies are made for a society.
* Made up of bureaucratic agencies
* 500,000 elected officials in US
* 2 Essential questions:
* How should we govern?
* What should the government do?
*
* Maintain a national defense.
* $650 billion a year spent here
* Provide public services
* Schools, libraries, hospitals.
* Public goods: Goods everyone must share such as
water, air, or roads.
* Preserve Order
* Socialize the Young: instilling national values
and pride
* Collect Taxes
*
* “Who gets what, when and how” – Harold D.
Laswell
* Who – candidates, voters, and parties.
* What – the substance of government and
politics
* The benefits
* How – The ways people participate in politics
* Voting, lobbying, protesting, etc.
*
* Political Participation: all activities by which
voters attempt to influence who is elected and
the policies they pursue.
* Voting is the most common from in a democracy.
* USA has some of the lowest participation in the
world.
* Low turnout has an effect on who holds power
* Elderly vote more frequently, and receive more
benefits.
* Young people…not so much
*
* Politics can be a vocation from some
Americans
* Not just politicians
* Lobbyist and non-elected officials
that support the elected.
* Some treat politics as critical to
their interests.
* Single-Issue Groups: groups intensely
concerned with one issue, that issue
may take their vote.
* Abortion, Gay Rights, Gun Control,
Environmental issues.
* Get involved in the policymaking system
* People interest’s create an issue for the
government, who then drafts policies to meet
these.
* Linkage institution: political channels through
which a persons concerns become political
issues.
* Parties, elections, interest groups and the media
*
* Policy Agenda: Issues that attract serious
attention of public officials
* When you vote, you partially look at who shares
your agenda
* Political issue: an issue that arises when people
disagree about a problem and how to solve it
* Policy agendas change frequently to match the
concerns of the nation.
* Unemployment, War, Privacy