1 18 12 American Gov The Cost of Collective Action Conformity Costs The difference between what any one person prefers and what the collectivity actually agree too When transaction costs are high conformity costs tend to be low When transaction costs are low conformity costs tend to be high Representative Government and the Founding A Matter of Choice Articles of Confederation needed all 13 states to vote for approval of an ac tion If one state denies then the action is vetoed Democracy Government by the People Direct Democracy Citizens participate directly in collective decision making Representative Democracy A form of government in which the citizenry limits their decisions Republic A government of representatives The U S has a Democratic Republic A democrat with a small d means anybody who believes in democracy A republican with a small r means anybody who believes in a representative form of government The Logic of Delegation Delegation The assigning of authority to make and implement decisions to some smaller number of persons who are expected to act on behalf of the larger group s interest Means we as individuals delegate our authority to govern ourselves to represen tatives ployer Principals Those who possess authority the right to make decisions Em Agents Those who are granted delegated the authority to make and imple ment decisions for the principal s Employee Agency Loss The discrepancy between what principals would ideally like their agents to do and how these agents actually behave Problems with delegation 1 How do we know we are choosing the right agent 2 If you do not monitor your agents they will be lazy The inactive party monitors the elected party and reports their flaws to the peo ple Simple Majority 50 1 Supermajorities majorities larger than simple majority size ex 3 4 Rule Plurality whoever receives the most popular votes in the election wins 1 20 12 Order Freedom and Equality What is the proper scope of government The Basic Tasks of Government Maintaining Order Providing Public Goods Promoting Equality Liberal with a lower case l means anyone who believes in liberty Maintaining Order Government is to enforce law and order by protecting private property and preserving life Thomas Hobbes Life in a state of nature would be solitary poor nasty brutish and short Leviathan 1651 Leviathan is a biblical term meaning sea monster Social Contract people agree to be governed John Locke thought of the separation of church and state His most famous book is Two Treatises of Government 1690 The basic objectives of government are the protection of life liberty and property Providing Public Goods Private Goods Those things that people buy and consume themselves in a market place that supplies these goods according to the demand for them Public Goods Goods that are collectively produced and freely available for anyone s consumption Externalities By products of people s private activities Promoting Equality Karl Marx Wrote The communist Manifesto 1848 From each according to his ability to each according to his needs Freedom Order and Equality Freedom of the absence of constraints on behavior it means freedom to do something Freedom from immunity from fear and want Social Order refers to establishing patterns of authority in society and to tradi Maintaining Order Preserving life and protecting property tional modes of behavior 1 23 12 Equality Equality of Opportunity means that each person has the same chance to succeed in life Equality of Outcome means that people actually end up being equal Ex Food stamps and Welfare Ideology and the Scope of Government Political Ideology a consistent set of values and beliefs about the proper pur pose and scope of government Ex People like this have less integral brain scans vast majority of americans have moderate views Political Theories Totalitarianism the belief that government should have unlimited power A total itarian government controls all sectors of society business labor education religion sports and the arts Communitarians Favor government programs that promote both order and equality in keeping with socialist theory NOT communism Ex Redistribution of wealth Libertarianism Opposes all government action except what is necessary to pro tect life and property Anarchism Oppose all government action Economic Theories Capitalism An economic system based on free enterprise private businesses operating with some government regulation Laissez Faire An economic system based on the French phrase meaning let people do as they please Ex Capitalism without government regulation In long run the market system is efficient even still with no government help Socialism An economic system based on Marxist theory It stresses a redis tributive role for government Ideology in America Liberal In the U S a proponent of a political ideology that favors extensive gov ernment action to redress social and economic inequalities and tolerates social behav iors that conservatives view as deviant Present day liberals advocate polices benefit ing in text book Conservative In the U S a proponent of a political ideology that favors small or lim ited government and unfettered free market self reliance and traditional social norms read over modern original dilemma in notes The First American Government The Articles of Confederation The Constitution was not the first constitution of America The first 13 colonies excluding Georgia were allowed land grants by the King of Britain Used the Mercantile system developed during the decay of feudalism It estab lished the government money and wealth by creating systems of colonies The point of this relationship was for the king to give land grants to create a system where he would reap the profits The colonies will produce the resources but have to ship them back to England where they will be taxed Then the crown s people made goods that were taxed again and then shipped back to the colonies to be sold Home Rule Self government or limited autonomy in internal affairs by a depen dent political unit as a territory municipality or colony 1619 the Virginia House of Burgesses was formed 1 25 12 nial trade Navigation Act Excluded nearly all foreign shipping from the English and colo The crown did not tax the colonies at all unless it was for goods Home Rule was granted to the colonies from the crown Colonists learned that he who controls the money controls the government French and Indian War or Seven Years War 1759 1763 The French
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