POLS 1101 08 12 2013 ajmadonn uga edu http ajmadonn myweb uga edu 407 Baldwin Hall MW 1 30 2 30 Office Hours The Logic of American Politics 6th Edition Kernell Jacobson Georgia Politics in a State of Change Bullock Gaddie Optional Founding Brothers The Impending Crisis Showdown at Gucci Gulch The Walls of Jericho The Rehnquist Choice Discussion Session Friday 10 Gustavo Rodriguez Zaccaro grz1990 uga edu Midterms 60 September 16 October 21 November 13 Final 30 December 9 Chapter 1 Bias to cause partiality or favoritism in a person influence especially unfairly Politics the process through which individuals and groups reach agreement on a course of common or collective action even as they may continue to disagree on the goals that action is intended to achieve Institutions a set of rules proscribing a process for reaching and enforcing collective agreements Constitution establishes a nation s governing institutions o The US Constitution sought to reassure diverse interests that they would be better off under the proposed system than under the AoC Authority the acknowledged right to make a particular decision Power the actual influence with other officeholders Institutional Durability o Authority is general assigned to the institution not the office holder therefore it should exist long after any office holder o People make plans contingent on the expectation that the leaves institution will persist o Hard to agree on an alternative Collective action problems o Coordination increase with size of group arise from uncertainty and incomplete information a focal point targets the group s actions toward a common purpose o Prisoner s dilemma every political exchange must tactitly solve this Each side to get something must typically give up something of value in return Exchanges occur because each side recognizes that it But each side also worries that its party will renege on will be made better off its agreement Dilemma is solved by Make reneging and defection very expensive Create institutions that guarantee agreements are honored Large groups must also contend with their member s temptation to free ride To defect from the agreement by withholding their contribution to the groups undertaking while enjoying the benefits of the collective effort Quartet versus symphony example Can t free ride in a quartet larger group easier to free ride Size plays a critical role in free riding Free riding arises when citizens recognize that their small contribution to the collective enterprise will not affect its success In order to get around free riding Private inducements to perform those actions the collective effort requires if it is to succeed o Ex direct benefits that come with membership government can use force of law to induce participation o Tragedy of the Commons community has a collective good that is in danger of being squandered unless members cooperate to preserve it The good exists and will be destroyed if exploitation is not brought under control In order to avoid this proper institutional design is key Link the individual s personal interest to provision of the collective good By Force privatization private inducements A primary challenge generally leads politicians to become more liberal conservative The key to successful collective action is to increase benefits while mitigating costs The costs that are especially common are o Transaction Costs the time effort and resources required to make collective decisions Can be particularly cumbersome with large numbers of people Sometimes intentionally so such as the transaction costs included to change the Constitution Is very difficult to change so that it is not frequently done o Conformity Costs The difference between what one body prefers and what the collective body requires i e what one gives up for the collective good There are usually losers in politics o Transaction costs and conformity costs arte typically inversely related Lowering transaction costs such as giving the government the power to make important decisions quickly will increase conformity costs in that the collective will not be involved in the decision making and inevitably people will disagree with the decision E g Patriot Acts Designing Institutions to Achieve Collective Action Majority Rules 1 simple majority o Only mentioned twice in Constitution Electoral College and House Delegation Assigns authority to make and implement decisions to some smaller number of persons who are expected to act in behalf of the larger group of interest the person who has been delegated power o Preferred solution to controlling transaction costs o Agent o Principal o Agency Loss the person who has delegated power is usually inevitable discrepancy between agent and principal and can be acceptable or unacceptable Plurality rule by the prevailing group not necessarily a majority Representative Government citizens limit their decisions to the selection of government officials who acting as their agents deliberate and commit the citizenry to collective enterprises Contrasts with direct democracy where people make decisions themselves o Republic voters elect their representative but these representatives are constrained in following the majority s dictates in the form of constitutional guarantees for minorities USA has a separation of powers as opposed to Parliament Low conformity high transaction costs Decreases accountability Politicians the class of professionals specializing in discovering collective enterprises that citizens with different views can agree upon for the collective good Strategic behavior choosing to favor their constituents preferences over their own in order to better their chances of success Are the gains from a collective public effort greater than private action Private goods things people buy and consume themselves in a market place that sets prices by supply demand Public goods costs are born collectively and nobody can be excluded from them o Externalities negative public goods pollution etc Can be minimized by usage fees The states had to surrender some of their autonomy to the national government in order to prevent free riding After the War stats engaged in cutthroat competition for foreign commerce Therefore Framers placed foreign policy under executive gave Congress the explicit authority to regulate commerce and engage in foreign treaties Slavery was part of the debates Led to 3 5 compromise among other concessions to Southern desires o New England