POLS 1101 Lecture 9 Outline of Previous Lecture I Federalism II Qualifications of Federal Systems III Dual Federalism IV Federalism and the Constitution V Cases Outline of Current Lecture I Vocabulary Words Current Lecture Teacher Assistant was out so we played a review game of vocabulary words I Vocabulary Agency Loss The discrepancy between what citizens ideally would like their agents to do and how the agents actually behave page 32 Agenda Control The capacity to set the choices available to others page 29 Agent Someone who makes and implements decisions on behalf of someone else page 31 Authority The right to make and implement a decision page 9 Bargaining A form of negotiation in which two or more parties who disagree propose exchanges and concessions to find a course of acceptable collective action Cabinet The formal group of presidential advisers who head the major departments and agencies of the federal government Members are chosen by the president and approved by the senate page 35 Coalition An alliance of unlike minded individuals or groups to achieve some common purposes such as lobbying legislating or campaigning for the election of public officials page 36 Collective Action An action taken by a group of like minded individuals to achieve a common goal page 12 Collective goods Goods that are collectively produced and freely available for anyone s consumption page 40 Command The authority of one actor to dictate the actions of another page 27 Compromise Settlement in which each side concedes some of its preferences in order to secure others page 5 Conformity Costs The difference between what a person ideally would prefer and what the group with which that person makes collective decisions actually does These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute Individuals pay these whenever collective decisions produce policy outcomes that do not best serve their interests page 22 Constitution A document outlining the formal rules and institutions of government and the limits placed on its powers page 9 Coordination The act of organizing a group to achieve a common goal This remains a prerequisite for effective collective action even after the disincentives to individual participation that is prisoner s dilemma problems have been solved page 12 Delegation The act of one person or body authorizing another person or body to perform an action on its behalf page 31 Direct Democracy A system of government in which citizens make policy decisions by voting on legislation themselves rather than by delegating that authority to their representatives page 34 Externality Public goods or bads generated as a byproduct of private activity Air pollution is an example public bad because it is in part the byproduct of the private activity of driving a car page 37 Focal Point Focus identified by participants when coordinating their energies to achieve a common purpose page 13 Free Rider problem A situation in which individuals can receive the benefits from a collective activity whether or not they helped to pay for it leaving them with no incentive to contribute page 19 Government The institutions and procedures through which people are ruled page 9 Initiative An approach to direct democracy in which a proposal is placed on an election ballot when the requisite number of registered voters have signed petitions to do so page 34 Institution In a democracy an organization that manages potential conflicts between political rivals helps them to find mutually acceptable solutions and makes and enforces the society s collective agreements Congress the presidency and the Supreme Court are all prominent examples page 7 Majority Rule The principle that decisions should reflect the preferences of more than half of those voting Decision making by this principle is one of the fundamental procedures of democracy page 30 Office Subdivision of some government departments that confers on its occupants specific authority and responsibilities page 9 Parliamentary Government A form of government in which the chief executive is chosen by the majority party or by a coalition of parties in the legislature page 35 Plurality A vote in which the winning candidate receives the greatest number of votes but not necessarily a majority over 50 percent page 31 Politician Elected professional who specializes in providing compelling reasons for people with different values and interests to join in a common action page 36 Politics The process by which individuals and groups reach agreement on a common course of action even as they continue to disagree on the goals that action is intended to achieve page 5 Power An officeholder s actual influence with other officeholders and as a consequence over the government s actions page 10 Preferences Individuals choices reflecting economic situation religious values ethnic identity or other valued interests Principal An individual with the authority to make some decision This authority may be delegated to an agent who is supposed to act on this individual s behalf page 31 Prisoner s Dilemma A situation in which two or more actors cannot agree to cooperate for fear that the other will find its interest best served by reneging on an agreement page 12 Private Goods Benefits and services over which the owner has full control of their use page 37 Privatize Prevent a common resource from being over exploited by tying the benefit of its consumption to its cost page 21 Public Goods Goods that are collectively produced and freely available for anyone s consumption page 37 Referendum An approach to direct democracy in which a state legislature proposes a change to a state s laws or constitution which all the voters subsequently vote on page 34 Representative Government A political system in which citizens select government officials who acting as their agents deliberate and commit the citizenry to a course of collective action page 34 Republic A form of democracy in which power is vested in elected representatives page 34 Separation of Powers The distribution of government powers among several political institutions In the United States at the national level power is divided between the three branches Congress the president and the Supreme Court page 35 Simple Majority A majority of fifty percent plus one page 30 Supermajority A larger than fifty one percent majority required for extraordinary