1 / 46

Public Policy & Politics

Chapter 10. Public Policy & Politics. Government & the Public. What is public policy?. The sum of government’s goals and actions made in response to public opinion. What is public opinion?. “Those opinions held by private persons which governments find it prudent to heed.” –V. O. Key.

liora
Download Presentation

Public Policy & Politics

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Chapter 10 Public Policy & Politics

  2. Government & the Public

  3. What is public policy? • The sum of government’s goals and actions made in response to public opinion.

  4. What is public opinion? • “Those opinions held by private persons which governments find it prudent to heed.” –V. O. Key

  5. Characteristics of Public Opinion • 1. Government does not gauge public opinion simply by determining the opinions of the average American. (Publics have special interests.) • 2. Some issues stay around for a long time; others fade away quickly.

  6. Categorizing Public Opinion • Two main categories: • Liberal • Conservative

  7. What is liberalism?

  8. What is conservatism?

  9. What is laissez faire? • A laissez faire economic policy is one in which the government keeps its hands off of the economy and plays a minimal role.

  10. How has liberalism and conservatism changed over time?

  11. Evaluate • “…contemporary political conservatives more often take positions closer to Scripture than do modern liberals.” (page 206)

  12. Public Policy

  13. Basic Goals of Government • Establish justice • Ensure domestic tranquility • Provide for common defense • Promote the general welfare • From where do we get these goals?

  14. What is Domestic Policy? • Economics • Law • Education • Health • Energy • Environment • Civil liberties

  15. What is Foreign Policy? • Diplomacy • Trade relations • War

  16. How is public policy developed? • Identify an issue. • Set an agenda. • Form a response to the problem. • Implement or carry out the policy. • Evaluate the policy’s effectiveness. Ex: Red Light

  17. Public Opinion

  18. What is public opinion? • “Those opinions held by private persons which governments find it prudent to heed.” –V. O. Key • What people believe affects what they say and how they act.

  19. Where do our opinions come from? • Family • Peers • Events/Circumstances • Institutions: School/Church • Christ

  20. Evaluate • “Public opinion can be a gauge of spirituality – or the absence of it.” (pg. 209) • What do you think about this statement?

  21. How is public opinion measured? • Elections • Perceptions • Opinion Polls • Scientific Surveys p. 209-210

  22. Is Public Opinion dangerous? • “A single misleading piece of evidence may lead a public rush to judgment…” • Examples: • Airplane crash – greater safety demands • E-coli outbreak – restrictions on produce • Cell phone cancer – no cell phones? • Enron meltdown – greater oversight of corporations • 9/11 – demand for security

  23. Interest Groups

  24. What’s the purpose of an interest group?

  25. Kinds of Interest Groups • Economic (Chamber of Commerce, Taxpayers Union, Electrical Workers Union) • Social (AARP, Sierra Club) • Single-interest(Right-to-Life, THSC, NRA) • Religious and ideological (Christian Coalition, Americans United for Separation of Church & State) • Civic groups (League of Women Voters, VFW, Rotary Club)

  26. What do Interest Groups do? • Lobby • Persuade the Public • Hold rallies and protests • Form political action committees (PACs) • Sue in court

  27. What’s the role of Mass Media on public opinion & public policy?

  28. What forms of media are there? • Newspapers • Radio • TV • Internet

  29. What are the powers of media? • Legal rights • Prior restraint – Government can’t require approval • Shield laws – protect sources • FOIA – Freedom of Information Act • Powers of Presentation • Decide what to cover • How much to cover • Perspectivefrom which the story is told • Wikileaks

  30. What are the limits of media? • Legal limits • Libel, slander, obscenity, FCC • Press Pitfalls • Media “scares”

  31. What’s propaganda? • “The use of various techniques to select and manipulate information so as to persuade or influence people effectively.”

  32. Propaganda

  33. Propaganda

  34. Propaganda

  35. Propaganda

  36. Propaganda

  37. Propaganda

  38. What are some propaganda techniques? • Name calling • Plain folks • Bandwagon • Testimonial • Card stacking • Glittering generalities • Transfer

  39. Political Cartoons

  40. Political Cartoons

  41. Political Cartoons

  42. Political Cartoons

  43. Political Cartoons

  44. Political Cartoons

  45. Political Cartoons

  46. “Christians should strive to anchor their convictions in Scripture rather than allow themselves to be swayed by political propaganda – even propaganda circulated by conservative politicians and organizations.” • Think critically!

More Related