Political Theory
AP Government
Unit One
Defining Politics
and Political Science
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At its most basic level, politics is the
struggle of "who gets what, when,
how."
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Political scientists study such
struggles, both small and large, in an
effort to develop general principles or
theories about the way the world of
politics works.
Political Theory
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Political Theory analyzes fundamental
political concepts such as power and
democracy and fundamental questions
such as, "How should the
individual and the state relate?”
Differing political theories have
developed as a result of conflicting
answers to this question
Most political scientists agree that these
criteria should include the following
rights and freedoms for citizens:
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Freedom to form and join organizations
Freedom of expression
Right to vote
Eligibility for public office
Right of political leaders to compete for support
Right of political leaders to compete for votes
Alternative sources of information
Free and fair elections
Institutions for making government policies depend
on votes and other expressions of preference
Political Efficacy
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Political efficacy: The extent to which
people feel they have an impact or exert
some influence on public affairs.
– Internal efficacy: beliefs about one’s own
competence to understand and participate in
politics
– External efficacy: beliefs about the
responsiveness of governmental authorities
and institutions to citizen demands
Important Political
Philosophers
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Plato
Aristotle
Machiavelli
Hobbes
Hume
Locke
Montesquieu
Rousseau
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DeTocqueville
Mill
Marx
Weber
Mills
Plato
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Ancient Greek philosopher
Plato’s The Republic is one of the single most
influential works in Western philosophy.
It is an analogy of harmony in the State AND
harmony in the individual
Essentially, it deals with the central problem of
how to live a good life; this inquiry is shaped into
the these questions
– what is justice in the State?
– what would an ideal State be like?
– what is a just individual?
Plato’s Ideal State was an Aristocracy
“the rule of the best”
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However, he believed that aristocracies would eventually
fall to a timocracy (ruled by the military)
– Military rule will eventually fall because society will drive
them out.
The next step was the "oligarchy"
– The rule of the few or of the wealthy
– According to Plato, people will also tire of oligarchies and toss
them out.
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The resulting government will then be a democracy (rule
of the people).
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But this will eventually fall to a tyranny (tyrannis,
"tyranny," from tyrannos, "tyrant").
Aristotle
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Aristotle (b. 384 - d. 322 BC), was a Greek
philosopher, logician, and scientist.
Along with his teacher Plato, Aristotle is
generally regarded as one of the most
influential ancient thinkers in a number of
philosophical fields, including political theory.
Aristotle saw politics as a science, and just as a
physician would study the body, Aristotle sought
to study the state.
– Once the nature of the state can be understood, the
politician can begin to frame the constitution of the
state in its laws, customs and institutions, and then
to protect it through education and legislation.
Machiavelli
1469- 1527
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Webster's New World Dictionary
defines the adjective Machiavellian
as
– Of Machiavelli.
– Of, like, or characterized by his political
principles and proposed methods of
craftiness and duplicity; crafty, deceitful,
etc."; the adjective is generally applied
pejoratively
The Prince
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Machiavelli's The Prince was written to serve
as a guide to creating and holding on to a
principality
– In ways that often benefited the people but
sometimes only the prince himself
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The Prince was dedicated to Lorenzo de'
Medici
– "il Maginifico"
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It is considered a political primer for
“princes”- anywhere…anytime…any place.
Important Ideas from
The Prince
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The end justifies the means
It is better to Be feared than loved.
Rivers and men can be controlled, but cannot be
trusted.
Before all else, be armed.
Hatred is gained as much by good works as by evil.
He who wishes to be obeyed must know how to
command.
Men are so simple and so much inclined to obey
immediate needs that a deceiver will never lack
victims for his deceptions.
Montesquieu, 1689-1755
(Baron de Montesquieu, Charles-Louis de Secondat)
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Montesquieu was one of the great political
philosophers of the Enlightenment (French)
Montesquieu's most radical work divided
French society into three classes: the
monarchy, the aristocracy, and the
commons.
This was radical because it completely
eliminated the Three Estates structure of
the French Monarchy: the clergy, the
aristocracy, and the people at large
represented by the Estates-General,
thereby erasing the last vestige of a
feudalistic structure.
Montesquieu’s Theory of
The Separation of Powers
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Montesquieu was curious about how
governments might be preserved from
corruption.
He saw despotism as a danger and argued
that it could best be prevented by a system
in which different branches had legislative,
executive, and judicial power, and in
which all those bodies were bound by the
rule of law.
This theory of the separation of powers
had an enormous impact on liberal political
theory, and on the framers of the
constitution of the United States of America
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
1712-1778
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Rousseau believed that in the state of
nature, man is prone to be in frequent
competition with his fellow men.
Rousseau claimed that the state of nature
is violent and without law or morality, and
that there are good men only a result of
society's presence.
Only by joining together through the Social
Contract and abandoning their claims of
natural right, individuals can both preserve
themselves and remain free.
Only then can we form the collective human
presence known as "society."
– Rule by all - a complete democracy
“Never exceed
your rights, and
they will soon
become
unlimited.”
Direct Democracies are Best
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Rousseau was bitterly opposed
to the idea that the people
should exercise sovereignty via
a representative assembly.
Rather, he believed that citizens
should make the laws directly.
He also argued that the goal of
government should be to secure
freedom, equality, and justice
for all within the state,
regardless of the will of the
majority
Thomas Hobbes
(1588-1679)
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British political philosopher
Hobbes believed that society was
obligated to an authority figure (King)
– Man is weak and self-centered…must be
looked after by a powerful leader
– Man is wicked at heart…government must
be used to control him
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Hobbes Social Contract
– We should give our obedience to an
unaccountable sovereign in
exchange for being allowed to be
part of society and the safety a
sovereign brings to our lives.
Leviathan
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The frontispiece to the first
edition of Leviathan, which
Hobbes helped design, portrays
the commonwealth as a gigantic
human form built out of the
bodies of its citizens, the
sovereign as its head.
Hobbes calls this figure the
"Leviathan," a word derived from
the Hebrew for "sea monster"
and the name of a monstrous
sea creature appearing in the
Bible; the image constitutes the
definitive metaphor for Hobbes's
perfect government.
His text attempts to prove the
necessity of the Leviathan for
preserving peace and preventing
civil war.
John Locke
1632, d. 1704
•British political philosopher
•Locke wrote and developed
the philosophy that there was
no legitimate government
under the divine right of kings
theory.
•His ideas were greatly
admired by the Founding
Fathers
Natural Rights
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Locke thought that the purpose of
government was to protect the natural rights
of its citizens.
He said that natural rights were life, liberty
and property, and that all people
automatically earned these simply by being
born.
Locke’s Contract
– When a government did not protect those
rights, the citizens had the right and
maybe even the obligation of overthrowing
the government.
Coincidence,
I think not!
(Do you know of an
another island with a
Locke, a Rousseau, and a
Hume?)
Terry O’Quinn as
John Locke on “Lost”
David Hume 1711-1776
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One of the greatest philosophers in Western
history, as well as an accomplished historian,
economist, perennial skeptic and “delightful
fellow”.
– David Hume was one of the most prominent figures
of the Scottish Enlightenment and a close friend of
Adam Smith.
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Hume was NOT a believer of the "natural law"
or "social contract" theories popular with other
philosophers.
David Hume 1711-1776
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Many regard David Hume as a political
conservative, sometimes calling him the first
conservative philosopher
– He was a thorough empiricist (belief that
knowledge comes from experience) in both
his political and philosophical work.
– His central concern was the importance of the
rule of law, and moderation in politics
Believed that human nature was evil without
society making us peaceful and sociable
– The result would be a happy citizenry
He promoted the idea of a unions and republics.
Hobbes
Hume
Locke
Rousseau
Where on the Classic Spectrum?
Left---------------------Center-----------------------Right
Number of Rulers?
All……………….….Many……………….….Few……………………One
Level of Power/Ruler?
Hyperpluralism…...Pluralism……..…… Elite/class……………. Absolute
Where on the Classic Spectrum?
Rousseau
Hume
Locke
Hobbes
Left---------------------Center----------------------Right
Rousseau
Number of Rulers?
Hume
Locke
Hobbes
All……………….….Many……………….….Few……………………One
Rousseau
Level of Power/Ruler?
Hume
Locke
Hobbes
Hyperpluralism……….Pluralism……..…… Elite/class……. Absolute ruler
Alexis de Tocqueville
(1805-1859)
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French Historian and Political
Philosopher
– Born in Paris into aristocracy.
– Tocqueville deepest commitment was to
human freedom
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Spent two years (1831-1832) roaming
about the newly formed United States
and wrote about our form of
democracy.
He analyzed the American attempt to
have both liberty and equality in terms
of what lessons Europe could learn
from American successes and failures
He believed that political democracy
and social equality would, inevitably,
replace the aristocratic institutions of
Europe.
Alexis De Tocqueville’s
American Visit
De Tocqueville’s Theory
Democracy Worked Well in America
Because:
1. Lots of land!! (Fertile land)
2. No feudal aristocracy here
3. Small, independent farmers make up a
great deal of the population (No great
number of landless peasants like in
Europe.)
4. American culture and ideals- He called
them, “Moral and intellectual
characteristics”
John Stuart Mill
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American political philosopher- On Liberty
We should have freedom of thought and
discussion (listen to other viewpoints)
His ideas were uplifting and noble
– The purpose of morality is to make the
world a better place.
– Morality is about producing good
consequences, not having good intentions
– We should do whatever will bring the
most benefit (i.e., intrinsic value) to all of
humanity.
He believed that one of our responsibilities
as humans was to maximize utility, not to
do the minimum
In other words, set aside our personal
interests for humanity.
How is Political Power
Distributed in a Democracy??
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Majoritarian theory
– Leaders follow the wishes of the people closely
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Does anyone believe this???
– Applies when issues are clear
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When is THIS???
Elitism theories
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Marx
Mills
Weber
Pluralism
Karl Marx
1818-1883
•German Author
•Wrote The Communist
Manifesto with partner,
Frederick Engels
•Believed government is
controlled by one dominant
social class
•Theory that power is a
reflection of underlying
economic forces
Max Weber
1864-1920
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German political theorist
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The political process is controlled by political elites in
the bureaucracy
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Expert knowledge and competence will (and should)
dominate
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Weber theorized about why some people work
hard and some don’t in his essay The
Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
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Work, save money, and you will be successful
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Similar to Puritan work ethic
C. Wright Mills
1916-1962
•The Power Elite Theory
•The power elite control
politics
•They include:
•Military leaders
•Key corporate leaders
•Political leaders in and
out of office
The Pluralist Theory of
Power
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The pluralist theory of power is that no one elite
person or group dominates politics
– No monopoly of power
The different players must bargain and compromise
and be responsive to followers
– (i.e.… voters)
Are you a prisoner
or a philosopher??
Step out of the cave and be a philosopher!
Seek meaning
and knowledge!
*Know these
political theorists and
these theories for
the test