i Gvpt170 Midterm Review I Politics The delegation of powers to a smaller more informed group to make decisions to lower transaction costs and hopefully lower conformity costs Collective Action The act of like minded people coming together to make decisions to achieve goals Problems with collective action Collective action is an issue because it is very difficult for a large amount of people to all agree on the same exact thing Coordination is an issue because it is the process of getting a group of people organized and deciding on a course of action Cooperation is getting those same people to contribute and not to Free Ride Free Riding is some people will want to reap the benefits that go along with a group but they do not want to actually do anything to benefit the group Tragedy of the Commons is when collective good is squandered due to excessive 66self interest Ex People littering because they don t think that their one piece of litter is a big deal SOLUTIONS TO COLLECTIVE ACTION PROBLEMS Voluntary cooperation Low rate of success Privatize Delegating land to specific property owners rather than a communal farm Government intervention incentive Regulate Costs of Collective Action Transaction Costs The cost it takes to collectively make a decision The time it takes effort and resources Conformity Costs The amount a person has to do something they do not want to because of a collective decision How much a person doesn t like the decision T and C costs are inversely related Constitution establishes a government s institutions and the procedures they must follow to reach and enforce collective agreements Hidden action or agenda agency loss Madison s Dilemma You must first enable the government to control the Delegation A process of limiting collective action problems by delegating power from the principals citizens to agents Government workers Limits transaction costs because it relies on a smaller more informed group of people to make decisions Setbacks could be 1 2 governed and the next place oblige it to control itself must not become too powerful and forget the peoples best interest Terms Agenda Control focusing the topics trimming down what is available to others Authority the actual ability to make a decision based on your position if office Power the officeholders influence amongst other officeholders Bargaining the action of negotiating Compromise conceding some preferences for the betterment of the group Coalition People who do not agree come to a common course of action for their own distinct reasons Private vs Public Goods Private goods are items people buy and consume themselves in a marketplace while public goods everyone helps supply such as thru tax dollars and are available to everyone Coordination members of the group deciding what they want what they are prepared to contribute and how to organize with others delegation individuals or groups authorizing someone to make and implement decisions for them direct democracy direct rule by the people in which they are involved directly in collective action making focal point identified focus by group to coordinate energy in achieving common purpose government procedures institutions that rule people initiative if people meet the requisite for number of petitions then a proposal will be put on a ballot form of direct democracy institutions organization that manages conflicts helps find solutions makes and enforces collective agreements offices are what institutions consist of and confer on their specific authority and responsibilities parliamentary government fuses the executive and legislative branch and are not checked by powerful judicial vetoes instead of people electing president parliament elects the executives known as the cabinet and one of the member acts as a prime minister plurality the candidate receiving the most votes wins regardless of whether or not a majority is reached favored by states when determining rules for electing members of Congress politicians elected pro whos job it is to convinces people with differing views to join in common action politics process through which individuals and groups reach agreement on a course of common or collective action even if they disagree on the intended goals of that action preferences individuals choices reflecting economic religous ethnic and other valued interests Prisoner s Dilemma when individuals decide that even though they support a collective undertaking they are better off going with an activity that rewards them as as an individual even though it hurts the collective goals ex man woman in jail with little evidence against them could just keep quiet but worry the other will take a deal so they both become little rat bitches and fuck each others shit up ruining their collective goals of being found not guilty privatizing to prevent a common resource from being over exploited tragedy of the commons aka tragedy of the good for nothing whorebags by tying the benefit of its consumption to its cost ex communal farming privatized by giving each family its own land to take care of referendum type of direct democracy in which state legislature proposes a change to the state s laws or constitution that all the voters then vote on regulation setting up rules limiting access to a common resource and monitoring and penalizing those who violate them solution to tragedy of commons representative government citizens select govt officials who act as agents and deliberate and commit them to collective enterprises republic form of democracy in which power is vested in elected representatives tyranny ruling power exploits authority and allows little popular control veto presidents power bills passed by congress can be overridden by two thirds vote in each house Constitutions Articles of Confederation The national government s powers were specific and definite States feared large central government On paper the national government had the power to set up a postal department to request donations from the states to raise armed forces to control the development of the western territories With the consent of nine of the thirteen states Congress could also coin borrow or appropriate money as well as declare war and enter into treaties and alliances with foreign nations Weaknesses In attempting to limit the power of the central government the second continental congress crafted the articles without sufficient power to govern effectively Congress was denied the power to levy taxes