Theories and Origins of
Government
I. Theories of Government
• Evolution Theory
– A population formed out of primitive
families. The heads of these families
became the government. When these
families settled in one territory and
claimed it as their own, they became
a sovereign state.
• Force Theory
– An individual or group claimed
control over a territory and forced
the population to submit. In this
way, the state became sovereign,
and those in control formed a
government.
Theories of Government
• Divine Right Theory
– God created the state, making it
sovereign. The government is made
up of those chosen by God to rule a
certain territory. The population
must obey their ruler.
• Social Contract Theory
– A population in a given territory
gave up as much power to a
government as needed to promote
the well-being of all. In doing so,
they created a sovereign state.
II. Contributions of the Greeks
• Athenian Democracy or Direct Democracy
– When: 508 BCE – 322 BCE
– What: Also called pure democracy
• Occurs when the will
of the people translates
directly into public policy
• Works only on a small,
• local level
– Where:
III. Contributions of the Romans
• Roman Republic
– When: 509 BCE – 27 BCE
– What:
– Classical Republicanism
• Civic virtue
• Moral education
• Small, uniform communities
So, what kind of government do we
have in the U.S. today?
English Origins of
American Government
The Magna Carta (1215)
- King John is forced to
sign by barons
- Included guarantees of
such fundamental
rights as trial by jury
and due process of law
- Protection against
absolute power
English Origins of
American Government
The Petition of Right (1628)
- King Charles I signed, by
force of the Parliament
- Limited king’s power
-
May not impose martial law
Can not force quartering
Punish only be laws of the land
Questioned Divine Right
No man should be
“compelled to make or yield any gift, loan,
benevolence, tax, or such like charge,
without common consent by act of
parliament.”
English Government –
Parliament Arrives
• Parliament was a council of
nobility created to advise the
monarch.
• History of hostility between
parliament and monarch.
• Parliament = House of Lords
+ House of Commons
• House of Lords- nobility
• House of Commons - wealthy
and people of standing in
community-knights,
merchants, craftsmen.
English Origins of
American Government
The English Bill of Rights (1689)
- Signed by William and Mary
of Orange during the Glorious
Revolution
- Prohibited a standing army in
peace time
- Required free parliamentary
elections
John Locke, 1632-1704
John Locke’s Natural Rights
Philosophy
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•
•
•
State of Nature
Natural Rights
Human Nature
Purpose of
Government
• Social Contract
Theory
Pure Democracy and
Crowdsourcing
• What is
crowdsourcing?
– Definition
– Examples
Pure Democracy and
Crowdsourcing
• Pros of Delegating
Decision-making:
– Efficient
– Expert quality
• Pros of Pure Democracy:
– Equality
– Representational quality
Who should decide?
• The Math: Condorcet's jury theorem
• One of the two outcomes of the vote is correct, and each
voter has an independent probability p of voting for the
correct decision. The theorem asks how many voters we
should include in the group. The result depends on
whether p is greater than or less than 1/2:
• If p is greater than 1/2 (each voter is more likely than not to
vote correctly), then adding more voters increases the
probability that the majority decision is correct. In the limit,
the probability that the majority votes correctly approaches 1
as the number of voters increases.
• On the other hand, if p is less than 1/2 (each voter is more
likely than not to vote incorrectly), then adding more voters
makes things worse: the optimal jury consists of a single
voter.
Testing the theory
• Divide in half making 2 teams for chess
• One team will vote on a representative to make
all their decisions
• The other will vote each day on their move.
• If the “pure democracy” team wins, voters were
more likely than not to make the correct decision
and more voters creates better results.
Questions to Consider
• Should we all vote on more decisions?
• Which branch of government would most
appropriately be replaced by this system?
• What are the problems with a pure
democracy in America?