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Chapter 15. Political and Economic Systems. Politics, Power, and Authority. Politics is the process by which power is distributed and decisions are made. Power is the capability of making others comply with one’s decisions.
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Chapter 15 Political and Economic Systems
Politics, Power, and Authority • Politics is the process by which power is distributed and decisions are made. • Power is the capability of making others comply with one’s decisions. • Authority is power that is regarded as legitimate by those over whom it is exercised.
Weber: Types of Authority • Legal-rational Authority - power in particular positions or offices, not in people. • Traditional authority - the idea that things are as they always have been and should remain that way. • Charismatic authority - a ruler’s ability to inspire passion and devotion among followers.
Charismatic leaders • Most likely to emerge during a period of crisis when followers: • Perceive a leader as somehow supernatural. • Blindly believe the leader’s statements. • Unconditionally comply with the leader’s directives. • Give the leader unqualified emotional commitment.
State • The institutionalized way of organizing power within territorial limits.
Functions of the State • Establish laws and norms • Provide social control • Ensure economic stability • Set goals • Protect against outside threats
Main Forms of Government • Autocracy • Totalitarianism • Democracy • Socialism
Autocracy • Loyalty and devotion of the people are required. • Dissent and criticism of the government and the person in power are prohibited. • The media may be controlled by the government, and terror may be used to prevent or suppress dissent.
Elements of Totalitarianism • A single political party controls the state apparatus. • Terror intimidates the populace into conformity. • The control of the media is in the hands of the state.
Elements of Totalitarianism • Control over the military is monopolized by those who control the political power of the totalitarian state. • The government has control of the economy. • An elaborate ideology provides instructions to citizens on how to conduct their daily lives.
Democracy • A political system operating under the principles of constitutionalism, representative government, majority rule, civilian rule, and minority rights. • Representative governmentThe authority to govern is achieved through, and legitimized by, popular elections.
Democracy Characteristics of ideal democratic societies: • Open and culturally diverse • Dissent is not viewed as disloyalty • There are two or more political parties • Terror and intimidation are not an overt part of the political scene
Question • Which of the following is not a characteristic of democratic political systems? • majority rule • direct government by the people • civilian rule • Constitutionalism
Answer: B • Direct government by the people is not a characteristic of democratic political systems.
Representative Government • Authority to govern is legitimized by popular elections. • Conditions required for Representative government: • Every qualified citizen has the legal right to run for and hold an office of government. • Majority rule must be maintained. • Minority rights must be protected
Capitalism • Economic system based on private ownership of the means of production, and in which resource allocation depends largely on market forces.
Capitalism • Entitles people to pursue their own self-interests. • The free market will determine what is produced and at what price. • If people can profit from the production of a product, it will be produced.
Adam Smith and Capitalism According to Smith, Capitalism has four features: • Private property • Freedom of choice • Freedom of competition • Freedom from government interference
Socialism • Based on idea that economic activity should be guided by needs rather than profit. • Under an ideal socialist system there would be: • Public ownership of production and property • Government control of the economy without a profit motive • Central planning
Democratic Socialism • State assumes ownership of strategic industries and services: • airlines, railways, banks, media, medical services and colleges. • Businesses can remain private as long as they are responsive to the common welfare.
Democratic Socialism • High taxes prevent excessive profits and the concentration of wealth. • Population receives extensive benefits, such as free medical care, free college education, or subsidized housing.
Rebellions • Attempts to achieve rapid political change that is not possible within existing institutions. • Rebellions typically do not call into question the legitimacy of power, but, rather, its uses. For example, Honduras last year…
Revolutions • Attempts at rapidly and dramatically changing a society’s previously existing structure.
Social Revolutions • Two simultaneous and interrelated processes: • Transformation of social stratification, brought about by upheaval in the lower class(es). • Changes in the form of the state. • Examples: • French Revolution of the 1790s • Cuban Revolution of 1959
The Two-Party System • Besides the United States, only Australia, New Zealand, and Austria have two political parties. • The other democracies have more than two major parties and provide proportional representation for different political views.
The Two-Party System • In most European democracies, if a political party receives 12% of the vote, it is given 12% of the seats in the national legislature. • This ensures minority parties are represented.
Question • In politics today, do you generally consider yourself a Democrat or a Republican or what? • Democrat • Republican • Independent • Other
