CHAPTER 1 - FORCES OF CHANGE IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY LECTURE
OUTLINE
I.
What If . . . Americans Had to Pass a Test to Vote?
A.
This section points out that there are much stricter requirements for becoming a
citizen than for registering vote. Indeed, more people vote than know the names
of their representatives, or even what these representatives are empowered to do.
This section proposes requiring voters to pass a test measuring their knowledge of
the U.S. political system before allowing that individual to vote.
B.
One problem with such a proposal is whether such test is legal. Currently, such a
requirement is banned under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Such tests were
banned because they were used in the South to prevent African-Americans from
voting. Usually, whites would have been exempted from the tests, and they would
be made extremely hard for African-Americans. Also, frequently they were
judged unfairly. But an act of Congress could make such a test legal again.
C.
But a bigger problem of a testing requirement is that it is undemocratic.
Democratic theory holds that suffrage is a right, not a privilege to be given only to
the educated or the intelligent. Creating a testing requirement also would raise
numerous questions about the rights of groups of individuals to vote.
II.
Political Change in the United States
A.
In the 1990s, the electorate seemed to choose a structure of partisan checks and
balances, typically electing a President of one party and a Congress controlled by
the other. This structure seems to have worked well. Most American enjoy higher
levels of prosperity and lower levels of unemployment.
B.
The elections of the 1990s, while producing good economic times, have also been
characterized by decreasing levels of participation. (Ask students to briefly
explain why participation is declining. Is this a product of satisfaction or
dissatisfaction among voters? )
III.
What is Politics?
A.
Ask students what their definition of politics is. Typically they will respond with
concepts like "power" "government" "greed" or perhaps "corruption."
B.
Easton’s definition of politics is "the authoritative allocation of values."
C.
Lasswell’s definition of politics is "who gets what when and how."
D.
Each of these definitions describes the struggle or conflict between members of a
society and the distribution of benefits and privileges. Similarly, students
definitions tend to describe one part of that process, (those in power get to
allocate values, or determine who gets what; typically a government is the
structure by which this done; and the perception is that greed or corruption
sometimes are involved in the process.
IV.
The Need for Government and Power
Societies create governments in order to have a structure with which to allocate values.
The creation of the structure, sometimes in and of itself, sometimes is the allocation of
values, as we will discuss in Chapter 2.
A.
Authority is the ultimate right to enforce compliance with decisions.
B.
C.
D.
V.
Legitimacy refers to the appropriateness, or rightful position and actions taken by
those in authority. The appropriate use of power using prescribed and proper
decision-making structures should result in compliance.
Power is the ability to cause other to modify their behavior and to conform to
what the power holder wants. One of the problems for leaders is getting
individuals to comply to the rules. Some forms of government rely more on force
to get the populace to comply. Democratic governments tend to rely less on force
and more on the public’s acceptance of the legitimacy of the government.
A family can serve as an example of an informal use of power. The parents have
the authority to make the decisions for the family, while the children are
responsible for obeying the decisions. Problems arise when authority and or
legitimacy are in question. If the parents disagree as to a course of action, the
children perceive a problem with authority. Which parent has the authority to
make the decision? When the parents leave the children with a sitter, there may be
a problem with legitimacy. Do the children obey the decisions of the sitter? Do
the actions of the children pertain to the concepts of authority and legitimacy?
Who Governs?
A.
While the concept of "democracy" is ancient, the advent of mass democracies,
which tend to be representative democracies, is a relatively recent development.
In previous centuries, the political culture of many societies thought democratic
rule to be unfeasible, unstable and dangerous.
B.
The text discusses several forms of government that exist. These include:
1.
totalitarianism
2.
oligarchy
3.
aristocracy
4.
anarchy
5.
democracy
To a large extent, the form of government of a society is a reflection of its political culture, that is,
the way the society views how government should operate. In some societies, values like efficiency
and absolute equality are prioritized over values like liberty and property for individuals. Of course,
some governments do not recognize consent of the governed as a fundamental principle, and thus
their governmental structure reflects this.
C.
Democracy is usually separated into two distinct types:
1.
Direct Democracy is where those who are eligible to participate in the
political process make the decisions on a collective basis, without the aid
or advice of elected officials. While no country or state government
practices pure direct democracy today, some countries and states offer
limited forms of direct democracy with initiative, referendum and recall.
a.
Initiative is when voters petition the government to enact a
particular policy.
b.
Referendum is when a legislature sends a bill or constitutional
amendment to voters for their approval.
c.
Recall is when voters can remove an official before his or her term
has expired.
2.
D.
VI.
Representative Democracy is when those who are eligible to participate in
the political process elect an official, or officials, to make decisions for the
society for a specified period of time. When we use the term democracy
today it is assumed we are referring to representative democracy.
Democracy assumes the electorate (those who are eligible to participate) is
capable of making rational decisions and is willing to invest the time necessary to
make rational decisions. The founding fathers were somewhat skeptical of both of
these assumptions. Therefore, suffrage was limited to individuals who were more
likely to make informed decisions and who were more likely to have time to
invest in the decision-making process. In our nation’s early history, these were
defined as white, typically Anglo, Protestant males who owned property. Over
time, the suffrage was expanded to include men without property and of various
religions. In this century, people have fought for and won suffrage for women,
real voting rights for African-Americans and the right to vote for 18-20 year olds.
At this point, more people are eligible to vote in the United States than at any
other time in our history. Many of the founders, however, did not see universal
suffrage as a desirable goal, so skeptical they were of the masses’ ability to make
rational, educated decision. Indeed, the Constitution, as drafted, only called for
the popular election of members of the House of Representatives. (The Senate
was to be chosen by state legislatures, the President by the electoral college and
the judiciary by the President, with Congressional consent.) Furthermore, the
United States Constitution limits the power of the government so that the majority
of the electorate, or the agents of the electorate (governmental officials), are
constrained in the policy-making process.
Do We Have a Democracy?
The text discusses three theories that seek to explain how the U.S. democracy works. Ask
students which theory they think best describes our system of government and evidence
of this, using newspaper articles or anecdotes.
A.
Elite theory assumes the population has little if any impact on the decisionmaking process. Instead of the general population making policy through elected
officials, elite theorists indicate that all policy decisions are made by the desires of
a select few within the society. These elites share a goal of governmental stability
because they do not want their position within society jeopardized.
B.
Pluralism assumes that numerous factions (or interest groups) work to make
policy for the general public. Each faction works to promote the interests of the
faction and through a series of compromises public policy decisions are made.
Pluralism developed because social scientists sought to explain why people didn’t
participate, while they assumed a certain level of satisfaction. (Pluralists would
contend that interest groups do an adequate job of representing all citizens, thus
people feel less need to participate.)
C.
Hyperpluralism refers to the strong control that interest groups have on the policy
process. Hyperpluralists contend that the policy process is paralyzed in the
struggle between interest groups over policy because interest groups are so
effective in having favorable policies enacted that the general good is no longer a
consideration.
VII.
Ideas and Politics: Political Culture
A.
All countries have a distinct political culture. The discussion regarding the types
of governments revealed that different societies place different value on some
principles.
B.
Political culture is transmitted through political socialization. Mechanisms of
socialization include the family, schools, organizations and the media.
C.
In the United States, there are several principles that have been and continue to be
key in our view of what’s important in our society and the role government should
play, including:
1.
liberty
2.
equality
3.
property
D.
These principles are key parts of the dominant culture. Other principles, including
fraternity and popular sovereignty also have been important during our history.
(Ask students how the key principles have evolved over time. One example would
be changing views of equality, another would be the concept of fraternity, which
has been a high priority at some points and a lower one at others.)
E.
Other cultures in the United States, or subcultures, may order principles
differently. (Ask students to identify different subcultures and their priorities. An
example might include the principles of honor or community among certain
ethnic subcultures.)
F.
Our political culture is characteristically shared by diverse groups of citizens,
including naturalized citizens. Yet the changing demographics of our society
impacts the both the political culture and the policy priorities that will exist.
VIII.
The Changing Face of America
A.
Comparatively high levels of immigration have changed the face of America. The
ability of the dominant culture to assimilate various subcultures will largely be a
factor of the effectiveness of political socialization (the transmission of the
dominant political culture through family, schools, the media, and other
organizations and rituals) .
B.
Other trends which are changing the face of the political culture include:
1.
the aging of the American population
2.
increasing number of individuals incarcerated (higher prison populations)
3.
the disparity in levels of education (twenty percent of the population is
barely literate)
IX.
Ideas and Politics: Ideology
A.
The United States does not have a wide range of political ideology when
compared to many other countries. In the U.S. the dominant ideologies are
conservative and liberal.
1.
Conservatives tend to favor limited governmental involvement in the
economic sector. Economic freedom is seen as a necessity for the good of
the society. On social issues, conservatives advocate governmental
involvement to preserve traditional values and lifestyles.
2.
Liberals tend to favor governmental regulation of the economy in order to
promote the standard of living for individuals within the society. On social
B.
X.
issues, liberals advocate a limited governmental role. Social freedom is
seen as a necessity for the good of the society.
Although most Americans view conservatives and liberals as polar opposites,
these two ideologies (as practiced in the U.S.) are not vastly different when
compared to the ideologies of many other countries.
America’s Politics: Issues for the 21st Century
The ability of the American political culture to change, to be dynamic, to incorporate new
views and adjust to new definitions has been proven. The past 200 years had seen
dramatic changes in the principles that govern society. Part of the culture’s ability to
adjust has occurred because of practice: because of its diversity, the United State has
always had to incorporate new views into the culture. In some ways, this makes change
easier. We are not faced with the "starting over" that has occurred in some of the former
states of the Soviet Union, where the entire political culture has changed and the
government has had to alter its structure in order to respond to the culture’s priorities.
(Ask students how political culture relates to issues of legitimacy and authority of
governments. Would individuals in a society whose culture has changed dramatically
respond to the government in the same manner as to one where the culture has
predominated for generations?).