POLS 1101 1st Edition Lecture 1 Outline of Current LectureDefining Democracy in the U.S. Current LectureWhy study politics?- Politics: the authoritative allocation of resources and values. -It is the government who has the authority to do so--Authority: the right to use power--Legitimacy: popular acceptance of authorityWhat is Democracy?- Direct democracy: “the institutional arrangement for arriving at political decisions in which individuals acquire the power to decide by means of a competitive struggle for the peoples vote.” – Joseph Schumpeter Republican form of Government- The framers were careful, not to use the word “democracy.”- Citizens give authority to officials who compete for office.-Competition gives officials legitimate authorityAre Citizens Qualified to be Involved?- Democracy liberates individuals…but places many demands (burdens) on them- Walter Lippman: people are collection of biases- People know very little about politics- Uniformed voters have “opinions”-John Roberts is chief justice of Supreme CourtPolitical Thinking- People aren’t interested in politics- We live in an era of unreliable, partisan sources- People dislike cognitive dissonance (Sometimes candidates do bad things)- Politicians are hyper-rational calculating (Makes yearly plans or goals)What Government Does?- Protect territory and citizens- Preserve order and stability- Maintain legal system, rule of law- Provide services- Public