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Agree or Disagree?

1. Representative democracy is the best form of national government that has ever been put into practice that I know of. 2. Public officials should be chosen by majority vote. 3. Every citizen should have an equal chance to influence gov't policy.

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Agree or Disagree?

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  1. 1. Representative democracy is the best form of national government that has ever been put into practice that I know of. • 2. Public officials should be chosen by majority vote. • 3. Every citizen should have an equal chance to influence gov't policy. • 4. The minority should be free to criticize majority decisions. • 5. People in the minority should be free to try to win majority support for their opinions. Agree or Disagree?

  2. Agree or Disagree? • 6. In a city referendum, only people who are well-informed about the problem being voted on should be allowed to vote. • 7. In a city referendum deciding on tax-supported undertakings, only tax-payers should be allowed to vote. • 8. If a pornographer were legally elected mayor of this city, the people should not allow him to take office. • 9. A professional organization like the Tobacco Farmers of America has a right to try to increase its influence on Congress by getting its members to vote as a bloc (i.e., a unified group) in elections. • 10. The people should not allow atheists to publicly advocate having atheism taught in public schools.

  3. Agree or Disagree? • 11. The people should not allow a legally elected Ku Klux Klan member to take office as mayor of New Brunswick. • 12. Members of Operation Rescue, who support the assassination of doctors who perform abortions, should be allowed to organize to increase their influence on Congress. • 13. Researchers should not be allowed to publicly claim that the sexual abuse of children has no negative effect on those children. • 14. Spanish-speaking citizens should be allowed to organize to pass laws making Spanish the official language of New Brunswick.

  4. PRELIMINARY BUSINESS: • 1. MY OFFICE HOURS through next week: • Friday, 2/23, 1:30-3 • Monday, 2/26, 12:30-2 • Tuesday, 2/27, 11-12:30 • Friday, 3/2, 2:30-4. • 2. FIRST TEST ON TUESDAY • 60 MULTIPLE CHOICE QS • 3. MAKE UP POLICIES • Normal MC choice if you arrange to take the test early • Brutal essay makeup, if you just miss the test

  5. I WILL POST THE PROTHRO & GRIGG • DEMONSTRATION (QUESTIONS AND RESULTS) • ON MY WEB PAGE. • Please DO NOT copy each and every question • and result here today.

  6. The Original Prothro & Grigg (1959) Study • 1. Main question: • How deep is American Support for Democracy? • -- Is there a consensus of support fo democracy in America? • Consensus defined as: At least 75% of the people support democracy. • 2. Surveyed 244 people in Michigan and Florida

  7. Brief civics lesson: • Democracy: Govt in which supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them or their elected representatives under a free electoral system. • Democratic principles: • 1. Majority rule • 2. Protection of minority rights • 3. Basic freedoms (speech, religion, association) • 4. Rule of law (i.e., law applies to all) • Not addressed by Prothro & Grigg’s study

  8. Brief civics lesson: • Democracy: Govt in which supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them or their elected representatives under a free electoral system. • Democratic principles: • 1. Majority rule • 2. Protection of minority rights • 3. Basic freedoms (speech, religion, association) • 4. Rule of law (i.e., law applies to all) • Not addressed by Prothro & Grigg’s study • FORMS OF GOVT (besides representative democracy): • (NOT ON TEST) • Direct Democracy: No govt. People make each and every decision (e.g., what I will lecture on today). • Monarchy: Rule by hereditary king/queen • Oligarchy: Rule by a small elite (e.g., nobility) • Authoritarian Dictatorship: Rule by a single person • Totalitarian Dictatorship: Rule by a single person as part of a system seeking to control almost every aspect of people’s daily lives • Fascism (Nazi Germany, Franco’s Spain) • Communism (Stalin’s Russia) • Theocracy: Rule by a religious elite • Taliban in Afghanistan • Ayotollahs in Iran • Anarchy: No govt at all

  9. Attitudes Toward Democrat Principles in the Abstract Democracy is the best form of gov't. Public officials should be chosen by majority vote. Every citizen should have an equal chance to influence gov't policy. The minority should be free to criticize majority decisions. People in the minority should be free to try to win majority support for their opinions. Blue = consensus for democracy Red = consensus opposing democracy Black = no consensus 94 to 98% Agreed with these statements

  10. Attitudes Toward Democrat Principles in the Concrete In a city referendum, only people who are well-informed about the problem being voted on should be allowed to vote. In a city referendum deciding on tax-supported undertakings, only tax-payers should be allowed to vote. If a Negro were legally elected mayor of this city, the white people should not allow him to take office. If a Communist were legally elected mayor of this city, the people should not allow him to take office. A professional organization like the American Medical Association has a right to try to increase the influence of doctors by getting them to vote as a bloc in elections. Blue = consensus for democracy Red = consensus opposing democracy Black = no consensus % Dem response Disagree 49% Disagree 21% Disagree 81% Disagree 46% Agree 45%

  11. Attitudes Toward Democrat Principles in the Concrete If a person wanted to make a speech against churches and religion, he should be allowed to speak. If a person wanted to make a speech favoring government ownership of all the railroads and big industries, he should be allowed to speak. A Negro should not be allowed to run for mayor in this city. A Communist should not be allowed to run for mayor in this city. % Dem response Agree 63% Agree 79% Disagree 76% Disagree 42%

  12. So, Prothro & Grigg (1959) concluded that: • 1. There was strong consensus of support for democracy in the abstract • BUT • 2. There was little consensus of support for democracy in concrete situations

  13. WHAT ABOUT YOUR DATA????

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