Chapter One
Catherine Chou & Victoria Amoroso
AP US Government Pd. 2
Basic Vocabulary
Government: An institution that makes the authoritative
decisions for society. Responsible for:
• Maintaining national defense
• Providing public services (known as public goods)
• Preserving order
• Socializing the young (education/morals/values)
• Collecting taxes (national/state/local)
Democracy: A system of selecting policy makers and of
organizing government so that policy represents and
responds to the public's reference.
*Democracies must practice majority rule and preserve
minority rule. (A fundamental democratic principle that the
majority's view be respected. The Constitution originally
limited majority rule)
Basic Vocabulary cont.
Politics is the process by which we select our government
leaders and decide which policies we want them to pursue.
Political participation is any way in which people get
involved in politics, such as:
• Voting (America does poorly at this)
• Protest
• Civil disobedience
Harold D. Lasswell defines politics simply: "Who gets what,
when, and how"
• who-media, how-substance of politics & gov., how-how
people participate ie-voting. Involves winners & losers.
Policies - What are they, and who makes them?
Policymaking system:
• The process by which policy comes into being and evolves
over time
• Begins with the people
• Determines which policies go into effect
• the government's response to the priorities of its people.
Policymakers are the Congress, the presidency, and the U.S.
Supreme Court. The people's interests are represented to the
policymakers through the media, elections, special interest
groups, and political parties. These are known as linkage
institutions.
• Public policies affect all levels of society.
Policies continued...
Policymakers have a policy agenda consisting of the
issues which the people are most concerned with, based on
the information given to them by these linkage
institutions.
A government's policy agenda changes regularly.
A political issue arises when policymakers disagree on
the proper solution to a problem.
part two.
Types of Public Policy
• Congressional statute - passed by Congress
 i.e. Social Security Act
• Presidential action - decisions by the president
 U.S. troops in Iraq
• Court decision
 Supreme Court ruling that school segregation is
unconstitutional
• Budgetary choices - legislative enactment of taxes and
expenditures
 Federal budget
• Regulation - FDA
o Food and Drug Administration is responsible for ensuring
products are up to regulation standards.
Traditional Democratic Theory
• Equality in voting: "one person, one vote". must be
representative
• Effective participation: citizens must have adequate and
equal opportunities.
• Enlightened understanding: democratic societies
should have the right to control the government's policy
agenda.
• Citizen control of the agenda
• Inclusion: government must include all those subject to its
laws. (Citizenship must be open to all within a nation to call
itself democratic)
"Majority rule, minority rights"
Theories of American Democracy
Pluralist Theory: Groups with similar interests influence the
public through organized effort.
• Lobbying
• Pluralists believe a public policy will prevail through public
interest.
Elite and class theory: Government is ruled by the upper
class
• Wealth as the basis of power (big business exempted from
certain taxes, etc.)
Hyperpluralism: Groups are so strong that the government
is weakened.
• America is an apple pie and pluralist groups have cut the pie
into many slices, but they are not equal in size/influence and
inevitably weaken and decentralize the government.
Challenges to Democracy
• Lack of technical expertise
o It's more and more difficult for the general population to
be well-informed.
• Limited participation in government
o People under the age of 25 have the lowest voter count
o Apathetic
• High campaign cost
o Campaigning costs at least half a million dollars
o Candidates fund their campaigns with money from PACs
(Political Action Committees)
o PACs have their own agenda
• Diverse interests
o Political parties have become more polarized
o i.e. debt ceiling argument
Political Culture
Liberty.
Freedom of speech, religion, etc.
Egalitarianism.
Not everyone is rich, but everyone has the opportunity to
become rich through their own talents.
Individualism.
The common dream of America as a place to make it on your
own without government interference.
Laissez-faire.
Government should interfere as little as possible in the affairs
of the people; Puritan roots.
Populism.
Put the people first
Culture war and government spending
• Political parties have become more polarized (disagreeing
more strongly about more issues)
Yet, America is united by its political culture
• 30% of our GDP is spent by our government
• The government spends $3 trillion annually, employs two
million people, and owns 1/3 of United States land.
• 1/6th of the federal budget is devoted to national defense.