AP AMERICAN GOV’T
DILEMMAS OF DEMOCRACY
Government




Government is the legitimate use of force
within specific geographic boundaries to
control human behavior.
The oldest objective of government is to
protect life and property.
Public goods are those things provided for
free by the government.
Examples include sanitation, education,
highways, etc.
DEMOCRACY
Democracy was originally considered
undesirable. It meant “mob rule”.
 Gov’t derives its power from the
governed.
 The word is not used in the Constitution
or the Declaration of Independence.

SOCIAL CONTRACT
THEORY



Thomas Jefferson (based on John Locke’s
principles)
We, as citizens, enter into an agreement with
the government allowing it to create rules that
set boundaries for our behavior and protect
our life, liberty, and property.
If the gov’t goes too far w/ that power, we as
citizens can dissolve that government.
TWO TYPES OF
DEMOCRACY
Direct- used in Ancient Greece. People
en mass decide every issue regarding
the gov’t. Fairly impractical in larger
societies.
 Representative- (Republican form of
gov’t) - the people elect leaders to
represent them in gov’t and make
decisions on their behalf.

REPRESENTATIVE
DEMOCRACY



If those who we elect do not listen to our
wishes, we have the ability, and responsibility
to vote them out of office.
Unfortunately, we do not participate, for
various reasons, so our elected officials
generally ignore us.
James Madison had a take on representative
democracy that he noted in Federalist paper
#10.
FEDERALIST #10



Madison said that “factions” (groups) would
arise, and form, in an effort to take control of
the government.
This would be good because all ideas would
be presented and the best idea benefiting the
greatest number of people would ultimately
prevail.
Due to the lack of participation of the people,
modern times views these factions as interest
groups who influence most policies passed
by government officials.
DEMOCRACY AS AN IDEAL





Personal Liberty- most powerful value in
American history.
Self determination- everyone must have the
opportunity to succeed.
Americans favor equality of opportunity NOT
equality of outcome.
We are NOT for economic equality.
Popular consent- gov’t dervies all of its power
from the consent of the governed.
ELEMENTS OF THE
CONSTITUTION




Separation of powers- this established the
individual powers of the three branches.
Checks and balances- this prevents any of
the three BRANCHES from gaining too much
power.
Federalism- established the power of the
LEVELS of gov’t (Federal vs. State)
Due process- All citizens are treated equally
by the law
THREE CONCEPTS OF
GOVERNMENT
The three concepts of government are
freedom, order, and equality.
 The original dilemma of democracy pits
FREEDOM VS. ORDER.
 As citizens, how much of our freedom
should we give up to ensure that we are
protected by the government.
 How has this changed since 9/11?

FREEDOM






FREEDOM FROM VS. FREEDOM OF
Freedom of = rights that cannot be taken from
you.
Examples- freedom of speech, religion, etc.
Freedom from = what the gov’t is responsible
to provide for you.
Examples- freedom from fear, want, hunger.
The government is responsible to provide
things equally to all of its citizens
ORDER
The government maintains order and
security for your person and property.
 Based on John Locke’s “2nd Treatise on
Government”.
 Basic objective of government is to
protect life, liberty, and property.
 HUGE influence on Declaration of
Independence and the founding fathers.

EQUALITY
TWO TYPES
 Political equality- one person, one vote
 Social equality- determined by wealth,
education and status.
 Those with more social equality have
more power.

Modern Dilemma of Gov’t
FREEDOM VS. EQUALITY
 How much of our freedom should
citizens give up to ensure that all
citizens are treated equally.
 Very controversial
 Examples: school busing, ADA of 1990,
social services (entitlements)
 People favor Freedom over equality

Two theories of government






Procedural view (process democrats)concerned with how government makes
decisions.
3 questions:
1) who participates? All citizens
2) How much should each vote count?
Political vs. social equality
3) How many votes are needed to make
decision? Majority vs plurality.
Responsiveness of elected officials based on
participation of citizens.
Substantive view of
democracy
Also known as principle democrats
 Substance of government policy- what
is the government doing?
 It requires that all government policies
must meet a basic criterion- they must
guarantee civil liberties and civil rights.
 Liberty- behavior (speech,expression)
 Right- power of privilege (vote)

Models of Democracy






Majoritarian- government by the people
Key is popular election:
1) choose wisely
2) re-elect or vote out based on performance
FLAW- assumes citizens are knowledgeable
and want to participate
Closest we have at national level is during
presidential elections (>50% voter turnout)
Majoritarian democracy





Three examples at the state level
1) initiative- puts policy issue on ballot by
gaining signatures
2)Referendum- creates a vote to remove a
law based on signatures.
3) recall- removing an elected official through
a vote of the people (after petition)
States differ in which they allow.
Pluralist Model






Pluralist model of democracy is government
by some of the people
Groups compete against each other to gain
power and influence policy.
They form based on shared religion,
ethnicities, culture, occupation, beliefs, etc.
They usually form into interest groups
They spend money, time, and resources to
influence policies to benefit their group.
They can have influence at all levels of gov’t
(fed, state, or local).
ELITE THEORY





Small identifiable group makes most
important gov’t decisions.
Examples:
1) Wealthy corporations control the agenda
2) Military industrial complex- they trump all
groups in time of conflict
3) mass media- controls flow of information;
pushes liberal agenda
Summary of theories of
democracy
Majoritarian
Pluralist
Elitism
RARE
Government
by all the
people
Citizens band
together to
control
policies.
Most common
Government
by some of the
people
Interest groups
compete for
power based
on policy.
Most powerful
Government
by a few of the
people
Same powerful
group controls
policies when
it wants to.
Political Ideology
Definition- consistent set of values and
beliefs about the proper purpose and
scope of government.
 The continuum stretches from anarchy
(no government) to totalitarianism.
 Most of the argument in American
politics takes places in the center of this
ideological continuum.

Main ideologies of USA
Liberals- Equality > freedom > order
 Support social programs, environmental
policies, stronger federal government
 Conservatives-order>freedom >equality
 Support national defense, stronger state
government, free enterprise

Other ideologies
Libertarians- Equality > Freedom &
Order
 Oppose all gov’t action except which is
necessary to protect life and property.
 Communitarians- Order & Equality >
Freedom
 More socialist in nature.
