American Government
and Politics Today
Chapter 1
The Democratic Republic
Politics and Government
QUESTION:
What if people were required, by law, to register
and vote?
Can you make people care?
Should a government even try?
Why Is Government Necessary?
(What are the purposes of government?)
(1) Maintaining Security = Order
-Maintaining peace and security by protecting members of society from
violence and criminal activity
(2) Protecting Liberty
-ensuring that all citizens are treated equally
-protected by limiting governmental powers
How do governments operate?
-authority: the right and power of a government or other
entity to enforce its decisions and compel obedience.
-legitimacy is popular acceptance of the right and power
of a government or other entity to exercise authority.
 How
then do different forms of
government come to exist?

Theories of Governance
(1) Marxist – based on economic forces
-groups seeking power: capitalists & the workers
(2) Elitist – non-governmental groups make decisions
-interest groups
(3) Bureaucratic – appointed officials are the ones truly in
power
(4) Pluralist – various forces control the government
-so many that not one single can control
Forms of Government
(1) Totalitarian Regime—government controls all aspects
of the political and social life of a nation.
(2) Authoritarianism—A type of regime in which only the
government itself is fully controlled by the ruler.
-Social and economic institutions exist that are not
under the government’s control.
(3) Aristocracy—Rule by the “best”; in reality, rule by an
upper class.
(4) Democracy—A system of government in which political
authority is vested in the people.
-Derived from the Greek words demos (“the people”) and
kratos (“authority”).
-the form that we have
Two Types of Democracy
Direct
Democracy
Representative Democracy
Direct Democracy
–
Political decisions are made by the people
directly, rather than by their elected
representatives
–
Attained most easily in small political
communities.
Is Direct Democracy Dangerous?
-founders believed in government should be based on the
consent of the people
-however, they were highly distrustful of anything that
might look like “mob rule.”
-therefore, they devised institutions to filter the popular
will through elected elites.
A Democratic Republic
-Democratic republic and
representative democracy =
government based on elected
representatives


Principles of Democratic Government
• universal suffrage, or the right of all adults to vote for
their representatives
• majority rule, the greatest number of citizens in any
political unit should select the officials and determine
policies.
Constitutional Democracy.
• limited government, states the powers of government
should be limited, usually by institutional checks.
Without such limits, democracy could destroy itself.
What Kind of Democracy
Do We Have?
Political scientists developed several theories to describe our
type of democracy.
(1)
Majoritarianism = believing that the government should
do what the majority want
-how do you explain low voter turnout in elections?
-low interest in politic?
(2) Elite theory = belief that society is ruled by a small
group of people who exercise power to further their
self-interest
-ordinary people have no say because they do not really
care?
(3) Pluralism = theory that views politics as a conflict
among interest groups
-consider the different lobbying groups that try to
influence governmental decisions.
Which is true?
Which is best for us?
Fundamental Values
Founders believed our national political culture would
keep us together
(a set of beliefs and attitudes toward government and the
political process held by a nation)
These include:
-Political Socialization = process by which beliefs and values
are passed on
1st family, 2nd school
-Liberty versus Order = 1st amendment rights are balanced
against the government’s need to maintain order

Equality versus Liberty.
-to promote equality, it is often necessary to place limits
on the desire by some to treat people inequality
• Economic Equality?
• Political Equality?