CHAPTER 1
The Study of American Government
OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this chapter is to give the student a preview of the major questions to be asked
throughout the textbook and to introduce key terms. After reading and reviewing the material in this
chapter, the student should be able to do each of the following:
1.
List the two basic questions to be asked about government in the United States (or in any other
nation) and show that they are distinct questions.
2.
Explain what is meant by power, and by political power in particular. Relate the latter to authority,
legitimacy, and democracy.
3.
Distinguish the two concepts of democracy mentioned in the chapter, explaining in which sense
the textbook refers to the U.S. government as democratic.
4.
Differentiate between majoritarian politics and elitist politics, explaining the four major theories
of the latter.
5.
Explain how political change tends to make political scientists cautious in stating how politics
works or what values dominate it.
OVERVIEW
There are two major questions about government: Who governs? To what ends? This book will focus
on the first question and will encourage students to develop their own answers to the second question.
Democratic theory recognizes that the answer to the question “Who governs?” is more complicated
than “the people.” Participatory democracy has been a reality in only a limited number of cases.
Representative democracy gives rise to an elite. Elite theorists have given at least four answers to the
question of “who governs?”:
Marxist:
Those who own the means of production, controlling the economic system, will
control the government.
Power Elitist:
A few top leaders, drawn from the major sectors of the United States polity,
will make all important decisions.
Bureaucratic:
Appointed civil servants control the government, without consulting the public.
Pluralist:
Competition among affected interests shapes public policy decision making.
In order to choose among these theories or to devise new ones, one must examine the kinds of issues
that do (and do not) get taken up by the political system and consider how they are resolved by the
system. It is not enough merely to describe governmental institutions and processes.
Distinguishing different types of democracies is a very important part of this study. The Framers of the
Constitution intended the United States to be a representative democracy in which the power to make
decisions would be determined by a free and competitive struggle for the citizens’ votes.
Chapter 1: The Study of American Government
CHAPTER OUTLINE WITH KEYED-IN RESOURCES
I.
Who governs? To what ends? (THEME A: THE NATURE OF POLITICAL POWER AND
AUTHORITY)
A. Politics exists because people differ about two great questions.
B. Who governs: those who govern will affect us.
C. To what ends: tells how government affects Americans’ lives.
D. The text focuses on who governs and, in answering this question, looks at how the
government makes decisions on a variety of issues.
II. What is political power?
A. Power: the ability of one person to cause another person to act in accordance with the first
person’s intentions.
1. May be obvious: president sends soldiers into combat
2. May be subtle: president’s junior speechwriters take a new tone when writing about a
controversial issue
B. Text’s concern: power as it is used to affect who will hold government office and how
government will behave
C. Authority: the right to use power; not all who exercise political power have authority to do
so
D. Legitimacy: what makes a law or constitution a source of right?
E. Struggles over what makes authority legitimate constitute much of U.S. history
F. Necessary for government to be in some sense “democratic” in the United States today in
order to be perceived as legitimate
III. What is democracy? Describes at least two different political systems. (THEME B: THEORIES
OF DEMOCRACY)
A. Direct or Participatory Democracy (Aristotelian “rule of the many”)
1. Fourth-century B.C.E. Greek city-state, practiced by free adult male property owners
2. New England town meeting
B. Representative Democracy, or Elitist Theory of Democracy
1. Defined by Schumpeter: acquisition of power by leaders via competitive elections
2. Justifications
a) Direct democracy is impractical for reasons of time, expertise, and so on.
b) The people make unwise decisions based on fleeting emotions.
IV. Is representative democracy best?
A. Text uses the term democracy to refer to representative democracy.
1. Constitution does not contain word democracy but “republican form of government”
(meaning representative democracy).
2. Representative democracy requires leadership competition if system is to work—
requires meaningful choice for voters, free communication, and so on.
B. Framers favored representative democracy
1. Government would mediate, nor mirror, popular views.
2. Framers viewed people as lacking knowledge and susceptible to manipulation.
3. Framers’ goal: to minimize the abuse of power by a tyrannical majority or by
officeholders
C. Founders influenced by philosophers
1. Aristotle defined democracy as the rule by the many.
2. Democracy is subject to decay into oligarchy (rule by the rich) or tyranny (rule by a
despot).
3. Prevention of these extreme outcomes is achieved by the creation of a fusion of
elements from democracy and oligarchy.
Chapter 1: The Study of American Government
D. John Locke, 17th-century English philosopher and writer, had a profound influence on the
Framers
1. According to Locke, people exist in a state of nature where they focus on finding food and
on self preservation.
2. People want government as a means of owning property (farms) which will lead to an
increase in food supply.
3. Differs from Thomas Hobbes, a rival English philosopher, who favored an all powerful
government.
4. According to Hobbes, people live in a state of “war against all.” Only a powerful
government could prevent civil war.
5. Locke disagreed, believing that people can peacefully coexist if they own their own land
(farms).
6. Locke argued that government should be based on the consent of the governed, managed
through majority rule.
7. Additional protection would be based on separation of powers, with separate legislative and
executive branches.
V. How is political power distributed?
A. Focus on actual distribution of power within American representative democracy
B. Majoritarian politics
1. Leaders constrained to follow wishes of the people very closely
2. Applies when issues are simple and clear
C. Elitism
1. Rule by identifiable group of persons who possess a disproportionate share of political
power
2. Comes into play when circumstances do not permit majoritarian decision making
3. Descriptions of four political elites
a) Class view began with Marxism: founded by Karl Marx; argued that governments
were dominated by business owners (the bourgeoisie) until replaced by revolution of
workers (the proletariat). This view has been refined, with emphasis on the power of
the rich and multinational corporations.
b) Power Elite theory: states that American democracy is dominated by a combination
of business leaders, top military officials, labor unit leaders, mass media executives,
and the heads of a few special interest groups.
c) Bureaucratic view: first set forth by Max Weber; argues that power is mainly in the
hands of appointed officials, who exercise power through their control of information,
and the details of legislation, and the implementation of policies
d) Pluralist view: has no single intellectual parent; argues that political resources are
broadly shared. No single elite has control of enough power to dominate the political
process.
VI. Is democracy driven by self-interest?
A. All elite theories of politics may lead to the cynical view that politics is simply a selfseeking enterprise in which everyone is out for political gain.
B. Policy outcomes do not necessarily reflect their authors’ motives.
C. Self-interest is an incomplete guide to decision making. (Tocqueville’s argument: Americans
are more interested in justifying theory of self-interest than in honoring their own
disinterested actions.)
1. Peoples’ actions on 9/11 clearly demonstrated this
2. Many of the most important events in U.S. history (including the Revolutionary War
and the civil rights battles of the 1950s and 1960s) were led by people who risked
much against long odds.
VII. What explains political change?
Chapter 1: The Study of American Government
A.
Historical perspective makes it difficult to accept any simple explanations of political
change.
B. Changes in elite and mass beliefs about what government is supposed to do have resulted in
changes in the character of government.
1. The growth of federal power in 1932 and the effort to cut it back beginning in 1981
have no simple explanation.
2. Foreign policy has swung between isolationism and strong internationalism.
C. Politics is about defining the public interest, not just “Who gets what?”
VIII. The Nature of Politics
A. Often we have only partial or contingent answers.
B. Must understand how preferences are formed: preferences and shared understandings are the
underlying basis of most power
C. Political power cannot be equated with laws on the books.
D. Sweeping claims should be avoided; judgments about institutions and interests can only be
made after observing a wide range of behaviors.
IMPORTANT TERMS
authority
The right to use power.
bureaucratic view
View that the government is dominated by appointed officials.
democracy
Rule by the many.
direct (participatory)
democracy
A government in which all or most citizens participate directly.
elite
Persons who possess a disproportionate share of some valued
resource, like money or power.
legitimacy
Political authority conferred by law or by a state or national
constitution.
class view
View that the government is dominated by capitalists.
pluralist view
The belief that competition among all affected interests shapes
public policy.
power
The ability of one person to get another person to act in
accordance with the first person’s intentions.
power elite view
View that the government is dominated by a few top leaders,
most of whom are outside government.
representative
democracy
A government in which leaders make decisions by winning a
competitive struggle for the popular vote.
THEME A: THE NATURE OF POLITICAL POWER AND AUTHORITY
Instructor Resources
Robert A. Dahl. Who Governs. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005.
G. William Domhoff. Who Rules America. Power and Politics, and Social Change. 5th ed. New York:
McGraw-Hill, 2006.
Michel Foucault. Discipline and Punish. New York: Vintage Books, 1995.
Chapter 1: The Study of American Government
Cindy R. Jebb, P. H. Liotta, Thomas Sherlock, and Ruth Margolies Beitler. The Fight for Legitimacy:
Democracy vs. Terrorism. Westport, CT: Praeger Security International, 2006.
George Lakoff. Whose Freedom? The Battle over America’s Most Important Idea. New York: Farrar,
Straus and Giroux, 2006.
Steven Lukes. Power: A Radical View. 2nd edition. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.
Nikos Kazantzakis. Friedrich Nietzsche on the Philosophy of Right and the State. Albany: State
University of New York Press, 2006.
John Rawls. A Theory of Justice. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press, 2005.
Richard L. Zweigenhoft and G. William Domhoff. Diversity in the Power Elite: How It Happened, Why
It Matters. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2006.
Summary
The two great questions about politics are, “Who governs?” and “To what ends?” The question of who
governs is the question of who has power, which is defined as the ability of one person to cause another
person to act in accordance with the first person’s intentions. Power is found in all human relationships;
however, this text is primarily concerned with its exercise in the U.S. federal government. People who
exercise power may also have authority—which this text understands as the right to use power. Some
authority is formal authority—the right to use power vested in a governmental office. Power and
authority must be based on legitimacy—what makes a law or constitution a source of right. Power,
authority, and legitimacy can become divorced from each other, resulting in a government that rules by
force or brutality.
Discussion Questions
1.
Power can be exercised in many ways. The most visible exercise of power occurs when one
person makes another act in accordance with the first person’s specified wishes. But power is also
exercised when a person takes no action (nondecision) and when options are not presented.
Provide an example of each of these uses of power, both in your own life and in government.
2.
Distinguishing power and authority is, fundamentally, reflective of one’s political beliefs. In what
kinds of institutions do you have confidence? Why do you trust them? In contrast, what kinds of
institutions raise your suspicions? Why?
3.
Discuss ways in which governmental power affects your personal life. Should there be a limit on
how much control the government exercises over your day-to-day activities? If so, give an
example of an area or activity that should be off limits to those in political power.
4.
In some countries, governments are extremely powerful and exercise almost total control over
their subjects. Yet in other nations, governments are nearly powerless over the businesses,
religious organizations, and/or crime syndicates that operate within their borders. If these two
extremes represent opposite sides of the power spectrum, on which side would the United States
most closely align? Why?
THEME B: THEORIES OF DEMOCRACY
Instructor Resources
John M. Allswang. The Initiative and Referendum in California, 1898–1998. Palo Alto: Stanford
University Press, 2000.
Chapter 1: The Study of American Government
David S. Broder. Democracy Derailed: Initiative Campaigns and the Power of Money. New York:
Harcourt, 2000.
Kenneth M. Dolbeare and Michael S. Cummings. American Political Thought. 5th ed. Washington,
D.C.: CQ Press, 2004.
Morton J. Frisch and Richard J. Stevens, eds. American Political Thought: The Philosophic Dimension
of American Statesmanship. 2nd ed. Itasca, IL: F. E. Peacock Publishers, 1983.
Amy Gutmann and Dennis Thompson. Why Deliberative Democracy? Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University Press, 2004.
David Held, Models of Democracy. 3rd ed. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2006.
Peter B. Levy, ed. 100 Key Documents in American Democracy. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1999.
John G. Matsusaka. For the Many or the Few? The Initiative, Public Policy, and American Democracy.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004.
Leo Strauss and Joseph Cropsey, eds. History of Political Philosophy. 3rd ed. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1987.
Nadia Urbinate. Representative Democracy: Principles and Genealogy. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 2006.
Summary
Democracy is a word used in at least two ways in the discussion of government. One interpretation
approximates Aristotle’s definition of the “rule of the many.” This system, also called direct or
participatory democracy, was practical in the Greek polis but survives today only in a few
circumstances, such as the New England town meeting. Still, some have argued that the initiative and
the referendum allow a substantial measure of direct democracy in modern political systems.
Another interpretation focuses on the election of leaders who then govern all members of the society.
Representative democracy involves leaders’ acquiring power by means of a competitive struggle for the
people’s vote. Sometimes called disparagingly the elitist theory of democracy, this sort of government
is supported by those who feel that it is impractical for the public to make policy across a vast array of
issues and that people often decide large issues on the basis of fleeting passions. For this sort of
government to function, it is necessary to have competing elites and free communication.
Discussion Questions
1.
Should participatory democratic decision making be extended to all spheres of life—to the
workplace, to the governance of colleges and universities, and to the marketplace through
consumer cooperatives? How would this benefit these institutions? What kind of costs might be
associated with democracy in nongovernmental institutions?
2.
In some states, citizens can exercise governmental authority directly through the initiative process.
Does this ability to enact public policy strengthen the American system of democracy or weaken
it? What are the advantages of a system that allows citizens to make these types of decisions on
their own? What are the disadvantages?
3.
Tocqueville feared that majority rule could culminate in tyranny: “[I]f ever the free institutions of
America are destroyed, that event may be attributed to the omnipotence of the majority, which
may at some future time urge the minorities to desperation and oblige them to [have] recourse to
physical force.” How should minority rights be balanced against majority rule?
Chapter 1: The Study of American Government
4.
Considering that political affairs are now regularly debated in blogs and in community chat
rooms, discuss ways in which the digital revolution has transformed the way that political power
is exercised in the United States. Have citizens become more politically involved now that
information is abundant and easily accessible? Do citizens have more influence with policy
makers today than in the past? Are political elites more or less powerful today than in the preInternet era?
Alternative Lesson Plan Based on Theme B
An Economic Bill of Rights
On January 11, 1944, President Franklin Roosevelt delivered a speech that outlined his postwar foreign
and domestic policies. (“Message from the President of the United States Transmitting a
Recommendation for the Passage of a National Service Law and Other Acts, Bearing on the Cost of
Living, Taxation, Stabilization, and to Prevent Undue Profits.” January 11, 1944. House of
Representatives Document No. 377.) Denouncing the “pests who swarm through the lobbies of
Congress and the cocktail bars of Washington, representing . . . special groups as opposed to the basic
interests of the Nation,” Roosevelt argued that global economic interdependence precluded a return to
isolationism. The president offered a series of legislative recommendations to sustain the national
commitment to winning the war. His most controversial statements, though, related to domestic policy.
The president began that portion of the speech by reminding listeners of their constitutional heritage.
This Republic had its beginning, and grew to its present strength, under the protection of certain
inalienable political rights—among them the right of free speech, free press, free worship, trial by
jury, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. They were our rights to life and liberty.
These are the rights, listed in the Bill of Rights, that specifically limit the power of the federal
government. Yet Roosevelt made them the basis of his argument for an activist government.
As our Nation has grown in size and stature, however—as our industrial economy expanded—
these political rights proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness.
We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without
economic security and independence. . . . People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of
which dictatorships are made.
In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to
speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be
established for all—regardless of station, race, or creed.
Among these are—
The right to a useful and remunerative job . . . ;
The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;
The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and
his family a decent living;
The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from
unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home and abroad;
The right of every family to a decent home;
The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;
The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and
unemployment;
Chapter 1: The Study of American Government
The right to a good education.
All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward,
in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.
As Roosevelt noted, the “second Bill of Rights” would have to be “implemented” by the government—
this Bill of Rights did not limit the government but rather required it to exercise power. As described by
John Locke and the Framers, rights protected the individual against government intrusion. Now,
Roosevelt concluded that rights could also protect the individual by dictating government intervention.
Roosevelt’s death precluded his acting on these claims, though several were already the basis for New
Deal programs. In the 1960s, President Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society programs were expressive of
this perspective. Still, many of these rights have yet to be embodied in government programs and
remain the subject of extended political debate.
Discussion Questions
1.
In the United States, the government is frequently described as a servant of the people. In what
ways does Roosevelt’s speech endorse this perspective?
2.
How would you define rights? Note that Roosevelt insists that rights be defined in the context of
individual well-being, societal development, and international relations. Do you agree?
3.
Consider the balance between individual responsibility and governmental responsibility reflected
in Roosevelt’s speech. Would you agree that the government should be responsible for providing
decent housing for each person? Or do you think it should be the responsibility of each person to
secure this for himself and his family? Should the government provide a job for each person or
guarantee access to health care services, or should the individual be required to work to provide
these things for herself?
4.
Why would Roosevelt’s speech be considered controversial? Have any of his ideas been adopted
over the past sixty years? Which ones are debated by policy makers today?