Am. Government - Power

A. Economics - the study of how people allocate their limited resources, with their unlimited wants.

B. Resources: 1. land- all natural resources 2. labor- any human effort 3. capital- tools of production 4. time

Power (cont…)

C. The power of an economic system lies with who controls their sources.

D. Political systems run economic systems. E. Every law that is passed discriminates

against someone. F. Those without power are the most

discriminated against groups. G. politics - any interaction between two or

more people

State A. Levels of government 1. federal /national 2. state 3. local (city/county)

B. 3 branches 1. legislative- makes laws 2. executive- enforce the law 3. judicial- interprets laws

State

C. state - The dominant political unit in the world.

D. Characteristics of a state 1. territory 2. population 3. government - the vehicle or institution

through which a state maintains social order, provides public services and enforces binding decisions.

4. sovereignty- absolute power.

*Social Contract Theory - (John Locke, Jean Jacque Rousseau)

A. State of Nature 1. all mankind were born in the state of

nature. 2. mankind had absolute freedom in the state of

nature. 3. absolute freedom leads to chaos in

anarchy. B. Social Contract 1. Mankind voluntarily chose to have

government in their lives. 2. The government was created to serve

the people 3. there are certain inalienable rights that

no government can take away.

How does the Preamble of the Constitution reflect the ideas of the Social Contract Theory? We the people of the United States in order to

form a more perfect union establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution.

Geographic Distribution of Power A. unitary system - all the power lies in one

central location. 1. Most common form used in the world. 2. used by small territories and all dictatorship. B. federal system - the power of government is

divided between a central authority and several local units.

1. this is the form the United States use. 2. the central authority is the supreme power. C. confederate system - an alliance of

independent states with a central authority to work on common problems and goals.

1. United States originally started as a confederate government under the Articles of Confederation.

Relationships Between Legislative & Executive Branches

A. presidential system - legislative and executive powers are independent and separate from one another. form used by the United States

Relationships Between Legislative & Executive Branches (cont. …)

B. parliamentary system- legislative branch is chosen by the people and the executive branch is chosen by that group and from that group.

1. most commonly used form in the world 2. the leader - Prime Minister 3. The Prime Minister and Cabinet members

serve at the will of the elected legislature.

Number Of People who participate A. Dictatorship- when the power to govern is

held to one person or a small group. 1. autocracy- one person. 2. monarchy- King or Queen. 3. oligarchy- group. 4. Primary Characteristics: a. All dictatorships are

authoritarian. b. Some dictatorships are

Totalitarian- dictatorships that control all aspects of citizens lives.

Number Of People who participate (cont. …) 5. Other characteristics a. militaristic. b. control all education and media c. gives the appearance of the people

having control d. massive propaganda 6. Dictators are not limited by the people and

not responsible to the people.

Number Of People who participate (cont. …)

B. Democracy - people have sovereignty and participate in the decision making process.

1. Types of Democracy a. direct democracy b. representative democracy c. republic

2. 5 Concepts of Democracy: a. fundamental worth of the individuals. b. Majority rules, but minority rights. c. Equality of all persons. d. Necessity of compromise. e. greatest amount of individual rights

possible 3. Citizenship Responsibilities a. obeying the law b. military service c. voting d. jury duty e. paying taxes

Compare Democracies and Dictatorships Write one paragraph comparing the two.

Which is more efficient and why?

Economic Ideologies

A. Government is the means for running a nation’s economic systems

B. Economic Continuum

Capitalism Communism

Socialism

B. Economic Continuum

1. capitalism- the private ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of goods and services.

2. socialism- Public Ownership of the major means of production, distribution, and exchange of goods and service.

3. communism- Public ownership of all the major means of production, distribution and exchange of goods and services.

Capitalism Communism

Socialism

C. Capitalism 1. It is also known as a free market

system because buyers and sellers are free to make unlimited economic

decisions. 2. the basic characteristic is private

ownership. 3. Modern ideas of Capitalism was

developed by Adam Smith in 1776 when he wrote “The Wealth of Nations”.

4. Smith developed capitalism around 3 basic concepts:

a. profit: the money you earned above the cost of the product- it is what motivates us to work harder and improve ourselves.

b. Competition: the rivalry between business for consumers purchases- it gives us lower prices, the products we want and efficiency with resources.

c. laissez- faire - hands off, in relation to government interference in the peoples economic affairs.

5. Role of Government a. to make and enforce laws. b. provide defense and foreign relations c. to provide those goods and services

that capitalism cannot and will not provide. 6. modified capitalism, United States

combines capital to a certain amount of Government regulation.