Political Theory

1. Political Theory AP Government Unit One

2. State of Nature Review PRO Con Was this process of conducting human affairs efficient? Was it fair? Did it yield the most good for the greatest number of people? • Were people free to choose what they wanted to do without any real rules just taking into account realities? • Do people generally enjoy Liberty/Freedom? • Does it come at a cost?

3. Question to Ponder • Would an individual alone fare better than a group in the state of nature? • Response: • General Consensus and Historical evidence proves that there is POWER/SECURITY in NUMBERS (groups).

4. Thought Exercise: Who is the Leader and why? • Who was initially chosen to lead these groups? (circa Neolithic Period) • What qualities did he need to have? (Think: dangerous animals and hostile groups) • How did this change over time? (Think: New technologies and different qualities sought after)

5. Strong Brute (powerful, strong, fend off danger) • Dynasty/Monarchy/Lineage (family line) • What if the son is particularly weak or developmentally delayed or simply an inept ruler? • Oligarchy (elders/tribal counsel) • What if the tribal counsel becomes so insular or elitist that they stop caring for the general good and only care about their own group? Securing power…in some cases someone within the group wanting it all for themselves again (think Caesar and Rome)

6. Democracy (Rule by the PEOPLE) • Direct Democracy: LITERALLY everyone votes on every single law and majority wins every time no matter what. • What are the advantages and disadvantages here? • Republic (Representatives) • Indirect democracy is a form of rule whereby representatives vote in the interest of the people who voted them into office.

7. 17th -18th Century: Beginning of Revolution • People dissatisfied with current forms of government because they were failing to meet needs • People sought new forms of government or better arrangements of existing forms of rule. (Think: British and Parliament)

8. Social Contract Theory • Locke “Second Treatise” Analysis

9. Locke Exc. (So what?) • Government necessary because it is only way to secure most amount of freedoms/happiness for most people. • Entitled only to natural rights Life, Liberty, pursuit of Property-meaning ideas, labor, as well as land • Government can only be legitimate if it has consent of governed (“people”).

10. Legislative Branch: Most important branch and should be most powerful branch of government because it represents interest and will of people. • Can’t transfer power to another branch or person; can’t tax without consent of people/representatives, laws shall apply equally to all and that are published and known

11. Executive Branch: Need someone to enforce law that people pass because otherwise you have people ignoring laws which render them meaningless.

12. Judicial Branch: receives least attention and is only mentioned to state that there needs to be an impartial judge because anyone else will most likely render an unfair sentence or will not be able to assess matter for what it is. Judgment must be in accordance with established law • What is our established law that judges must reference in order to make a judgment? What is the ultimate established law? CONSTITUTION

13. Defining Politics and Political Science • At its most basic level, politics is struggle of "who gets what, when, how." • 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.

14. Political Theory • Analyzes fundamental political concepts and 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

15. Most political scientists agree that criteria should include the following rights and freedoms : • 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

16. Political Efficacy • Political efficacy: 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. (How much knowledge do I have about the government and its workings?) • External efficacy: beliefs about responsiveness of governmental authorities and institutions to citizen demands. (Does the government listen to the people and respond to their will?)

17. Important Political Philosophers • Plato • Aristotle • Machiavelli • Hobbes • Locke • Montesquieu • Rousseau • DeTocqueville • Mill • Marx • Weber • Mills

18. Plato • Ancient Greek philosopher • The Republic one of most influential works in Western philosophy. • Deals with central problem of how to live a good life: • What is justice in the State? • What would an ideal State be like? • What is a just individual?

19. Plato’s Ideal State: Aristocracy “rule of the best” • Believed aristocracies would eventually fall to timocracy (ruled by military) • Military rule will fall because society will drive them out. • Next step was "oligarchy" • Rule of few or of wealthy • According to Plato, people will also tire of oligarchies and toss them out. • Resulting government will be democracy (rule of the people). • But will eventually fall to tyranny

20. Aristotle • Greek philosopher, logician, and scientist. • Along with teacher Plato, regarded as one of most influential ancient thinkers • Saw politics as science, and just as a physician would study the body, Aristotle sought to study the state. • Once state can be understood, politicians can frame constitution of state in its laws, customs and institutions, and protect it through education and legislation.

21. Machiavelli1469- 1527 • Machiavelli's The Prince written to serve as guide to creating and holding on to a principality • In ways that often benefited people but sometimes only prince himself • Considered a political primer for “princes”- anywhere, anytime, any place.

22. Important Ideas from The Prince • 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.

23. Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755) (Charles-Louis de Secondat) • The form of a society’s gov’t corresponds to the social, economic, and geographic conditions of that society • Argued that the best type of government would be on in which power was balanced among 3 groups of officials. • Called this idea “separation of powers” • He thought it most important to create separate branches of government with equal but different powers (basis of our three-branch government). • That way, the government would avoid placing too much power with one individual or group of individuals.

24. Jean-Jacques Rousseau • In state of nature, man prone to be in frequent competition with fellow men. Characterized by violence and a lack of morality. • The social contract is a mutual agreement between authority and the governed. • The governed agree to be ruled to protect their life, liberty, property, and happiness. • Rousseau argued that the general will of the people could not be decided by elected representatives. He believed in a direct democracy. • People will be more likely to obey laws that the people themselves authored.

25. Thomas Hobbes“the life of man [was] solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” • Hobbes argued that the state of nature was “war of every man against every man.” • Without rules, people would live like animals • The ensuing chaos would cause humans to agree to leave the state of nature by entering into a social contract • Through the contract, the people would consent to an authoritarian state called the Leviathan • To maintain order, the Leviathan must rule largely by fear and his authority cannot be questioned

26. Leviathan • Frontispiece to 1st edition of Leviathan portrays commonwealth as gigantic human form built out of bodies of citizens, sovereign as its head. • "Leviathan" figure--word derived from Hebrew for "sea monster" and name of monstrous sea creature appearing in Bible • Text attempts to prove necessity of Leviathan for preserving peace and preventing civil war.

27. John Locke 1632, d. 1704 • British political philosopher • Wrote and developed philosophy that there was no legitimate government under divine right of kings theory. • Ideas greatly admired by Founding Fathers

28. John Locke “There is no freedom where there is no law”. • Locke argued that in a state of nature, all people are free, equal, and rational. • Each individual possesses inalienable rights to life, liberty, and property. • In a state of nature, each person has the right to punish those who do not follow reason and respect the rights of others. • To secure their natural rights, people agree through a social contract to leave the state of nature to form civil society.

29. John Locke • To protect natural rights, a second agreement—to form gov’t—also would be needed. • Locke argued that if gov’t fails to protect individual rights, then the people are entitled to replace it, if necessary by revolution!

30. Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) • French Historian and Political Philosopher • commitment to human freedom • Spent 2 years (1831-1832) roaming U.S. and wrote about form of democracy • Analyzed US attempt to have liberty and equality • Believed political democracy and social equality would replace aristocratic institutions of Europe.

31. Alexis De Tocqueville’s American Visit

32. DeTocqueville’s Theory Democracy Worked Well in America Because: • Lots of land!! (Fertile land) • No feudal aristocracy here • Small, independent farmers make up great deal of population (No great number of landless peasants like in Europe.) • American culture and ideals- Called them, “Moral and intellectual characteristics”

33. John Stuart Mill • American political philosopher- On Liberty • Should have freedom of thought and discussion • Ideas uplifting and noble • Purpose of morality: to make world better place. • Do whatever will bring most benefit to all humanity. • Responsibilities as humans was to maximize utility • AKA set aside our personal interests for humanity.

34. How is Political Power Distributed in a Democracy?? • Majoritarian theory • Leaders follow wishes of people closely • Applies when issues are clear • Elitism theories • Marx • Mills • Weber • Pluralism

35. Karl Marx1818-1883 • German Author • Wrote The Communist Manifesto with partner, Frederick Engels • Believed government was controlled by 1 dominant social class • Theory that power is reflection of underlying economic forces

36. Max Weber1864-1920 • German political theorist • Political process controlled by political elites in bureaucracy • Expert knowledge and competence will (and should) dominate • Weber theorized about why some people work hard and some don’t in his essay The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism • Work, save money, and you will be successful • Similar to Puritan work ethic

37. C. Wright Mills1916-1962 • Power Elite Theory • Power elite control politics • They include: • Military leaders • Key corporate leaders • Political leaders in and out of office

38. The Pluralist Theory of Power • No one elite person or group dominates politics • No monopoly of power • A multitude of groups /organizations influence government decision-making (unions, interest groups, activists, lobbyists, professional associations, etc.); political power is dispersed, but the average citizen does not exert much political power as an individual player • Different groups can exert different degrees of power depending on the policy issue; competition between groups (gun laws – NRA vs. gun control advocates; tobacco lobbyists influence laws affecting their industry, etc.)