PSC 101 – Introductory Discussion Defining “politics” and “government” • Everyday uses of “politics” and “political” • Negative stereotypes of politicians • Relationship between politics and government ---Can one have politics without government? • ---Can one have government without politics? (The Progressive Movement 1880s-1920s) • ---”Playing politics” vs. “getting things done” • ---”Playing politics” vs. “doing the right thing” Your textbook’s definitions of politics and government • Politics: “individual and collective efforts to influence the workings of government” --David Easton’s model of the political system --Does “politics” exist in nondemocratic countries? In hierarchical organizations? --Different definitions of “influence”: persuasion, coercion, bargaining • Government: “the institutions that have the authority and capacity to enforce public policies (rules) for a specific territory and people” Where does government get its authority and capacity? • Your book’s answer: near-monopoly of force • Where else does government get its authority from? (Legitimacy?) • --the democratic process --religion? • --habit? • --family ties? • --rationality? Why is government necessary? (why is it rational to obey government) • Theories of political obligation • Social contract theory: Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau We willingly (and rationally) give up some of our freedoms in order to protect the rest • If not, we risk the “war of all against all” • But why? Scarcity (material and moral) is the key Why is government necessary cont’d • 1.) Conflict over scarce resources • 2.) Conflict over “scarce” or “irreconcilable” values • ---Attempts to compromise: Roe v. Wade, civil unions for gays • 3.) Even in the absence of overt conflict, there are “collective goods” to be provided, which are vulnerable to the ‘free rider’ problem (collective action problem) – nuclear defense, paved roads Why govt. is necessary cont’d • Debates between libertarians and others are about which things (education, roads, police, health care) are truly “collective goods” that the market does not sufficiently provide • 4.) Even in the absence of “collective action” problems, we still have “coordination problems” (ex. Restaurants, Habitat homes, Katrina, Haiti, oil spill) – someone must be in charge How political scientists study politics and government • Political scientists do not have a monopoly on the study of politics! • How is their approach distinctive? ---Emphasis on causality rather than description ---Emphasis on forming generalizations (theories) that operate across time and space (Sarah Palin example) • ---Emphasis on replicability, which includes precision in concepts and measurement • ---SOME SAY (not all PSCists agree) that it’s an emphasis on empirical, rather than normative questions Correlation is not causation, but it’s a good start! • • • • • • We can’t do experiments very easily So we rely on observing correlations But watch out for ---multivariate explanations ---indirect causation ---and worst of all, spurious correlations! (ice cream consumption and crime rates, homeownership and political participation) Why government is necessary cont’d