POLS 101 1st Edition Lecture 2Current LectureI. Democracy and PoliticsA. America does not have “Pure” democracy, where every citizen participates in every decision made in the government.B. Pure Democracy- Athens- A City State of Citizens1. General Assembly- All male members of the city 20 years and older who were not slaves. The general assembly met 10 times a year and decided on the validity of the decisions made in the last 5 or 6 weeks and if they were actually working. 2. Council of 500- Made day to day decisions for city-state. The Council of 500 was elected every year by the General Assembly out of its members. This council would make decisions for Athens for 5 or 6 weeks at a time then the General Assembly would accept or reject decisions.3. “Large Juries”- Disputes in Athens that needed to be settled, were be attended to by the large juries of 6,000 people; elected by the General Assembly. The trials would last one day, and several hundred issues are chosen to be settled by the large juries.II. 17 and 18th Century PhilosophersA. Hobbes1. Wrote “Leviathan” in 16512. Philosophy that man’s basic motivation in life was to avoid being hurt, killed, or robbed. Individuals would get power in order to protect themselves. Life would be short, nasty, and brutish. 3. Thought that people were smart enough to come together and choose a government structure with a leader, therefore being a SOCIAL CONTRACT.4. The Social Contract was to make sure individuals were to be provided by the government with a peaceful and orderly society. Citizens had no rights and gave up control in exchange for government protection.B. John Locke1. America today has a “Lockian” Political culture2. John Lock Wrote “Two Treaties of Civil Government (1690)”3. Locke believed that government was needed or life is bad, believed in creating a “social contract”4. Locke said individuals have rights to life, liberty, and property as a natural right. Have the right to benefit from one’s own earnings. Citizens have right to participate in government.These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.5. Locke identified that we need government that is strong enough in authority to protect and respond to citizen’s needs. Citizens need enough control over government so it does not infringe on citizen’s rights, which is an issue that is still relevant today.6. Checks and Balances control over government as well as separation of power in branches in decentralization of power into executive, legislative,
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