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absolutum dominium

total power

What is Government?• Govt:  The institutions & processes thru which public policies are made for society

• How should we govern? 

• What should government do?– Maintain National Defense– Provide Public Services

• Public Goods: Services that everyone shares; can’t be denied (use of highways, clean air & water)

– Preserve Order– Collect Taxes

What is Politics?

• Politics: process by which we select our governmental leaders and what policies these leaders pursue.– Who gets what, when, where, & why

• Political Participation in U.S.– U.S. one of lowest voter participation rates in World

• Why?

– How can you participate?  

– U.S. voters: distorted sample…who makes up the voting bloc?

• Elderly, Strong Party Affiliation, High SES

U.S. Voter Participation Rates

What is Democracy?

• Democracy: Govt. in which supreme power is vested in the people… 

– Means of organizing govt so policy represents & responds to the public’s preferences

• Founders distrust of democracy led to

– Indirect Democracy: People elect representatives to rule in their interest

– Why?

Political Cartoon

• Founders Distrust of Democracy

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What will we be in charge of?

• STATE

*this is NOT like the state of Texas, denial, shock, etc…

**in this case a “state” is more like what you think of when you think of a country

4 REQUIREMENTS TO BE A STATE

1. Population

2. Area with a recognized geographic boundary

3. A government

4. SOVEREIGNTY

Ability to make and enforce a law without having to answer to a higher authority

What Is Policy?• Political Power:

– power used to determine who will hold office and how the govtwill behave.

• Policy: What Government Does…– Government + Politics = Policy

• Policy Agenda:– Issues that attract the attention of public officials

• Linkage Institution– Parties, Elections, Interest Groups, & Media… connect people to 

government/policy makers 

• Policymaking Institutions?: – Legislature, Executive, Courts, & Bureaucracy

Roots of American Government

• Influences:

– Greeks:  Idea of direct democracy with many people involved.  The polis.

– Enlightenment‐the idea that government should rely on the consent of the people

• New Concepts: Social compacts about self‐govt

• New Concept: People have natural rights 

Hammurabi

Hammurabi

• Code of Hammurabi  (1770s BC) 282 rules• If a man has borne false witness in a trial, or has not established the statement that he has made, if that case be a capital trial, that man shall be put to death.

• If a man has stolen goods from a temple, or house, he shall be put to death; and he that has received the stolen property from him shall be put to death.

• If a man has knocked out the eye of a patrician, his eye shall be knocked out.

Moses

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Moses

• Ten Commandments• 1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.• 2.Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image• 3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain;• 4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.• 5.Honour thy father and thy mother• 6.Thou shalt not kill.• 7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.• 8. Thou shalt not steal.• 9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.• 10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not 

covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

William Blackstone

Blackstone

• man is created by God

• fundamental rights given by God

• man’s law has to be based on God’s law

• Commentaries on the Laws of England

– idea of common law

• law is created by judges and by previous decisions

How did we end up with a drinking age of 21?In short, because of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984. This law basically told states that they had to enact a minimum drinking age of 21 or lose up to 10 percent of their federal highway funding. Since that's serious coin, the states jumped into line fairly quickly. Interestingly, this law doesn't prohibit drinking per se; it merely cajoles states to outlaw purchase and public possession by people under 21. Exceptions include possession (and presumably drinking) for religious practices, while in the company of parents, spouses, or guardians who are over 21, medical uses, and during the course of legal employment.

That answers the legal question, but what was the underlying logic?Did lawmakers just pick 21 out of a hat because they wanted college seniors to learn the nuances of bar culture before graduation? Not quite. The concept that a person becomes a full adult at age 21 dates back centuries in English common law; 21 was the age at which a person could, among other things, vote and become a knight. Since a person was an official adult at age 21, it seemed to make sense that they could drink then, too.

Jean‐Jacques Rosseau Rosseau

“The most ancient of all societies, and the only one that is natural, is the family: and even so the children remain attached to the father only so long as they need him for their preservation. As soon as this need ceases, the natural bond is dissolved….”

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Rosseau

• how do you guarantee freedom in a world where people depend on each other more and more?

• Social Contract

– contract between the people and the government

– government agree to keep order and structure

– people agree to obey laws

Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes

• “Life is nasty, brutish, and short.”

• Leviathan

– government’s purpose is to secure collective security

– war is man’s natural state

• People naturally fight so need govt for protection (stability)

John Locke

John Locke• All men are born free, equal, and independent

• Second Treatise of Civil Government

– no divine right of kings

– inalienable rights

• rights that cannot be taken away

• life, liberty, and property

• “consent of the governed”

– govt. exists as long as the people agree it does

• if government breaks the social contract then the people have the right to rebel

Locke & U.S. Government

• Influence on Govt.

– Govt. w/ consent of people

– 3 fn. of govt.—laws, settle disputes, execute laws (sep. of powers)

– Limited Government

– Supreme power in the legislator

• Influence on D.O.I

– Govt. w/ consent of people

– Natural Rights

– Right to overthrow unjust/despotic governments

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Charles de Montesquieu Montesquieu

• The Spirit of the Laws

• greatest danger is a despot

– corrupt ruler with absolute power

– believed in separating powers in government

– also believed in checks and balances

Roots of American Government

• Historical Documents– Magna Carta (1215):  Estbl. idea that the power of the monarch is not absolute and there are fundamental rights held by everyone.

– Mayflower Compact (1620): Idea of colonial self‐government

– Petition of Rights (1628):  challenged the idea of divine right and said the monarch had to obey the laws of the land.

– English Bill of Rights (1688):  William and Mary of Orange signed this and made representative govt. supreme

POWER

POWER or MONEY? Power Clips from HoC

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U.S. Treasury Secretary v Pres. of Bank of America

POWER• The Secretary of the Treasury is the principal 

economic advisor to the President and plays a critical role in policy‐making by bringing an economic and government financial policy perspective to issues facing the government. The Secretary is responsible for formulating and recommending domestic and international financial, economic, and tax policy, participating in the formulation of broad fiscal policies that have general significance for the economy, and managing the public debt. The Secretary oversees the activities of the Department in carrying out its major law enforcement responsibilities; in serving as the financial agent for the United States Government; and in manufacturing coins and currency.

• The Secretary of the Treasury earns $191,300 per year.

MONEY

• in 2007 the President of Bank of America made, including salary and incentives, $24.8 million

POWER or MONEY…POTUS

POWER

• Has an entire section of the Constitution devoted to what he/she can do

MONEY

• Presidential Salary Information. The most recent salary increase, to$400,000/year from $200,000/year, took effect when George W. Bush became President. The President also receives a $50,000 non‐taxable expense account.

3 Elements of Power

1.Force

2.Influence

3.Authority

FORCE

• A force is a push or pull upon an object resulting from the object's interaction with another object. Whenever there is an interaction between two objects, there is a force upon each of the objects. When the interaction ceases, the two objects no longer experience the force. 

• Forces only exist as a result of an interaction.• FORCE‐ability to shape another’s behavior in predictable 

ways by physical restraint or threats THIS IS THE LEAST STABLE WAY TO CONTROL OR RULE PEOPLE– TOOLS:

• Police• Military• Prison• Execution

INFLUENCE

• INFLUENCE: ability to shape another’s behavior in predetermined ways by using enticements or rewards– TOOLS

• $$$• Awards• Propaganda• Positions• Votes• Media• Titles• Recognition

AUTHORITY

• AUTHORITY: ability to shape another’ s behavior by asking or requesting

– TOOLS

• $$$

• Requests

• Habit

• Respect