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American Government Exam 1 “political science”- exercise of power, The study of the processes, principles, and structure of government and of political institutions; politics.“purposes/roles” of government- • Maintain order: enforce laws and regulate behaviors to protect life and property• Provide public and collective goods: things that benefit all, but not likely produced voluntarily (nat’l defense, clean air)• Promote equality- more controversialstate of nature- “absence of government”- Thomas Hobbs. (Solidary, brutish, nasty)public goods – goods that are collectively produced and freely available for anyone’s consumptionsocial values/end conditions that governments may pursue- • Order-“law and order”, but should government preserve the social order?• Equality – many types. Basic political equality not controversial today in the US. (equal opportunity vs equal outcomes).• Freedom/liberty- “freedom to” do and act, to control your own life and choices.conflicts or trade-offs among basic social values- • Freedom vs order- how much individual freedom to surrender to government for sake of order• Freedom vs equality- pursuit of social and economic equality restricts freedomspolitical ideology- consistent set of beliefs about values that gov. should pursue. (how does someone make the value trade-offs?)conservative, liberal, libertarian, populist (ideologies) –• Libertarians- freedom over order, freedom over equality• Conservatives- order over freedom, freedom over equality• Liberal- equality over freedom, freedom over order• Populists- order over freedom, freedom over equalitycollective action problems – • These problems arise when individuals pursuit of own self-interest turns into bad collective outcomes for a society.• Each individual: are benefits> cost for me?Olson’s free-rider problem- • Regarding public good/benefit or collective good/benefit• Once good or benefit is provided: cannot exclude anyone from enjoying it.• No one individual makes “the difference” in terms of whether provided• Logical outcome: no one contributes.• In each individuals selfish interest to “free ride”• To overcome: (a) “sticks”- fines, penalties, sanctions(b) Selective “carrots” – private inducements, selective benefits• Why isn’t free riding pervasive when it comes to paying for such public goods as national defense, highways, public education?- You don’t have the option to- law says you have to (IRS).Hardin’s tragedy of the commons (and how to address)- - Public good is already available- Acting in self-interest, each individual keeps extracting from or using up the public good= destruction of the public good.- With pollution, traffic jams, etc – here the problem is not each of us extracting per se, but rather putting in.How to address:- Governments regulates and taxes behaviors- Privatize- individuals would conserve their own land- Mutual coercion, mutually agreed on to avoid universal ruin (appeals to individual “conscience” and “responsibility” will not work() but, coercion does infringe on individual freedom (order vs freedom)Robert Putnam’s social capital (indicators of decline of and his explanation of why a decline) be familiar with indicators of the diversity of and major changes in American society that we reviewed- Social capital- interpersonal networks, norms of behavior, and social trust that facilitate coordination and cooperation- We gain social capital with cooperation and teamwork. When people don’t operate as selfish, isolated actors, rather as part of a community- Growing body of research suggests that places where social capital is high do better politically, economically, educating kids.- Social involvement measures life expectancy- Social capital itself is a public good*- Social capital provides a resource and one that grows with useBridging social capital: bridging individuals together with others who are unlike themselves (across lines of race, class, religion, age, gender)Bonding social capital: brings individuals together with others like themselvesPutnam’s Measures: group memberships and social trust result in social capitalCivil duty- socialized into norm of voting ( do not think as selfish, isolate actors) they vote and representative democracy is healthierPolitical disengagement over past 50 years- • Voter turnout in elections has declined• Polityical efficiency has declined• Trust in government has declined• Partisanship has declinedSince 9/11• Trust went up, then came back down(American) political culture (and “core” political beliefs) • Political culture: a set of beliefs about how political and economic life ought to be carried outCore beliefs:• Liberty or freedom• Equality and widespread consensus on some forms- moral worth, under the law, basic political, and of “opportunity”• Democracy: representative• Individualism• Free enterprise system and work ethicThe constitution• Does consideration of the tradeoffs among order, freedom, and equality inform our understanding of the revolution, the articles of confederation, and the constitutuion?• Attempt to produce greater order by creating stronger national government (while preserving freedoms)-stronger national government:- Presidential supreme court- Supremacy f national law- Control of foreign policy- Ability to tax and raise army- Congressional control of money and tradeAmerican Revolution:- Fought to achieve greater freedom (in response to perceived excesses of British authority and order) “give me liberty or give me death”- Patrick HenryArticles of Confederation- The first constitution- Reflected a victory of freedom over order- Problems = disorder- National government(role of) Declaration of Independence –- Jeffersons justification for the revolution- Unalienable rights- cannot be given away or taken- PEOPLE create a government to protect these rights- If government fails to protect them, people have reason to revolt-social contract theory and John Locke- An agreement among the members of an organized society or between the governed and the government defining and limiting the rights and duties of each.unalienable rights- You cannot surrender, sell or transfer unalienable rights, they are a gift from the creator to the individual and cannot under any circumstances be surrendered or taken. All individuals have unalienable rights.Constitutional features to


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FSU POS 1041 - American Government Exam 1

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