April 207

http://www.cornellcollege.edu/politics/courses/allin/262/20112/syllabus.shtml

Whad’ya Know?

What freedoms are guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution?

[From a 2006 survey by the McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum.]

Whad’ya Know?

What freedoms are guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution?

What are the names of the members of the Simpson family on the TV show “The Simpsons?”

[From a 2006 survey by the McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum.]

Which Rights Are Protected by the First Amendment?

[From a 2006 poll by the McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum.]

American Government: Theory & Practice

The Theory: The theory of American government is embedded in a Constitution that was designed to solve some basic problems of commerce and foreign relations for a small republic of farmers on the east coast of North America in a pre-industrial age.

American Government: Theory & Practice

The Practice: 18th Century ideas and institutions are often poorly suited to the governance of a diverse, continental nation of 300 million people and the world’s only superpower in a post- industrial and globalizing world.

Agenda American Political CultureWhat it is?

according to youaccording to the dictionaryaccording to Patterson

Where do we find it?What does it mean to our lives?

Politics & PowerKey Generalizations about American Politics

Culture Defined

• “The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought.

• “These patterns, traits, and products considered as the expression of a particular period, class, community, or population: Edwardian culture; Japanese culture; the culture of poverty.

• “These patterns, traits, and products considered with respect to a particular category, such as a field, subject, or mode of expression: religious culture in the Middle Ages; musical culture; oral culture, [political culture].” – American Heritage Dictionary

liberty (freedom to act; personal autonomy)

equality (fair treatment and equal opportunity)

self-government (popular sovereignty; government of, by, for people)

Political Culture ala Patterson

Crazy for Freedom?

liberty (freedom to act; personal autonomy)

equality (fair treatment and equal opportunity)

self-government (popular sovereignty; government of, by, for people)

Political Culture ala Patterson

•democracy (people govern either directly or through representatives) responds to numbers--majoritarian

•constitutionalism is a set of rules that restricts the lawful use of power (limits on the power of governments over citizens) responds to rights--minoritarian

•capitalism (free enterprise and self-reliance) responds to wealth–plutocratic

Rules of American Politics ala Patterson

•democracy (people govern either directly or through representatives) responds to numbers--majoritarian

•constitutionalism is a set of rules that restricts the lawful use of power (limits on the power of governments over citizens) responds to rights--minoritarian

•capitalism (free enterprise and self-reliance) responds to wealth–plutocratic

All three rules of the game are based on the free choice of free individuals--thus consistent with our core belief in individualism.

Rules of American Politics ala Patterson

Theories of Power:

• Majoritarianism • Pluralism • Elitism • Bureaucratic Rule

Which theory is correct?

Overview of American Politics: “Five encompassing tendencies”

• Enduring cultural ideals that bind people together

• Extreme fragmentation of governing authority

• Many competing interests• A strong emphasis on individual rights• Relatively sharp separation of the

political and economic spheres