TOPIC 1The Basics of DemocracyI. The General Nature of DemocracyA. Politics and GovernmentB. Process & Substance—Democracy involves bothC. Core Democratic PrinciplesD. Two Basic Forms of DemocracyII. Three Models of American DemocracyA. PopulismB. PluralismC. ElitismTOPIC 1The Basics of DemocracyThe General Nature of DemocracyA. Politics and Government1. What is Politics?a. Harold Lasswell: “Who gets what, when and how”b. David Easton: “authoritative allocation of values”c. Say same thing: all societies must have some way toi. Resolve conflict about what people want, andii. Make collective decisions that are binding on the entire society2. What is Government?a. Government: the institution that has authority to make binding decisions for the entire society.b. Government is uniquei. Why?ii. Legitimate use of coercion to enforce its decisionsiii. Even extreme coercion including imprisonment and deathc. Other institutions make decisions to resolve conflictsi. Ex: churches, butii. Cannot use force3. Several basic forms of governmenta. Sovereignty: the legitimate authority to wield coercive power to allocate valuesb. Where sovereignty is placed determines form of governmenti. Autocracy: absolute monarchs and dictatorsii. Oligarchy: small elite, based on wealth, status, or militaryiii. Democracy: all people have opportunity to participate in making binding decisionsiv. Politics occurs in all forms, but the nature of politics is differentB. Process & Substance – Democracy involves both1. Democracy as processa. Joseph Schumpeter: democracy is mostly about means, not about endsb. Wide dispersion of poweri. Amplifies disagreementsii. Requires negotiation and compromiseiii. Neither fast nor efficientc. Resulti. Gridlock and inefficiencyii. What many Americans find objectionable about governmentd. So why put up with it? Churchill: “Democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried.”2. Democratic Substancea. Democratic procedures are not enoughi. What if democratic procedures are used to destroy democracy?ii. Examples – USA setting up democracy in Iraq, Hitler was elected into power.b. Outcomes of the process also must be democratic and reflect core democratic principlesC. Core Democratic Principles1. Popular Sovereigntya. The overarching democratic conceptb. Ultimate political authority resides in the hands of the peoplec. Demographic government must be responsive and accountable to the people2. Three demographic principles required to achieve popular sovereigntya. Political Freedomb. Political Equalityc. Majority Rule3. Conflicting Valuesa. All three necessaryb. No single principle is sufficientc. Democracy threatened if any one is missingd. Inherent conflicts – requires delicate balanceD. Two Basic Forms of Democracy1. Direct Democracya. All citizens participate and make decisions directlyb. Sometimes called “pure democracy”c. Not practical in a large society, not even with the internet and Facebook2. Representative Democracya. Ordinary citizens choose representatives to make policyb. Sometimes called “republican government” or “republic”c. A type of democracy if democratic principles followed ini. Choosing representatives, andii. Decisions of representatives are consistent with core democratic principlesIII. Three Models of American DemocracyA. Populism1. Emphasis on participation and majority rulea. Give ordinary people direct control over policyb. Emphasize participationc. Direct democracyd. Sometimes called “participatory democracy”e. Populist reforms in representative democracyi. Expansion of the franchiseii. Direct election of Senatorsiii. Initiative, referendum and recall (states only)2. Criticismsa. Assumes all citizens information and participateb. Ignores intensityc. Potential for majority tyrannyB. Pluralism1. Conflict between core democratic principlesa. Majority rule vs. political freedom (minority rights)b. How to protect minority rights from majority tyranny2. Pluralist answer:a. Fragmentation of powerb. Slow deliberation, debate and compromisec. Sometimes called “deliberative democracy”d. Majority = Coalition of minorites3. Criticismsa. Over-emphasis on restraining the majorityb. Does not protect the rights of all minoritiesc. Inherently conservativei. “Conservative” – in traditional plain English senseii. Slow and unresponsive to changeiii. Maintain the status quoC. Elitism1. Believe that there are two kinds of people in every societya. Those with power = the power eliteb. Those without power = the massesc. Real power is inevitably exercised by a small, monolithic, self-perpetuating power elited. Power flows from the top down. Power elite responsive to no one except their own values.2. Criticismsa. Unrealistic view of “power”b. Non-falsifiable theoryi. Empirical vs. Normative (empirical – chemistry)ii. Normative theory cannot be falsifiediii. Scientific theory – empiricaliv. Elitism and pluralism claim to be empirical, but no way to falsify elite theoryPolitical Science: Chapter One 03/25/2014TOPIC 1The Basics of DemocracyI. The General Nature of DemocracyA. Politics and GovernmentB. Process & Substance—Democracy involves bothC. Core Democratic Principles D. Two Basic Forms of Democracy II. Three Models of American Democracy A. Populism B. PluralismC. ElitismD.TOPIC 1The Basics of DemocracyThe General Nature of DemocracyA. Politics and Government1. What is Politics?a. Harold Lasswell: “Who gets what, when and how”b. David Easton: “authoritative allocation of values”c. Say same thing: all societies must have some way toi. Resolve conflict about what people want, andii. Make collective decisions that are binding on the entire society2. What is Government?a. Government: the institution that has authority to make binding decisions for the entire society. b. Government is uniquei. Why?ii. Legitimate use of coercion to enforce its decisionsiii. Even extreme coercion including imprisonment and deathc. Other institutions make decisions to resolve conflictsi. Ex: churches, butii. Cannot use force3. Several basic forms of governmenta. Sovereignty: the legitimate authority to wield coercive power to allocate valuesb. Where sovereignty is placed determines form of governmenti. Autocracy: absolute monarchs and dictatorsii. Oligarchy: small elite, based on wealth, status, or militaryiii. Democracy: all people have opportunity to participate in making binding