AP US Government and Politics chapters 1 and 4

Compare American political culture to the political culture of other democracies discussed

Americans actually like their country. 71% of Americans are proud of our country compared to the 21% of Germans proud. Also, Americans believe that success is in working hard, while Europeans think forces of higher power determine their success. Americans tend to emphasize individual success and the American Dream.

Analyze how Americans view their nation's economic system. Be sure to discuss their views on equality of results and equality of opportunity.

Americans support free enterprise, however feel as if there are limits on marketplace freedom. Many also believe in equality of opportunity in the economy, in replace of equality of result. Another believe is that everyone can start in the same place, but others will prosper further than others, as well as economic individualism.

Explain what power involves and differentiate it from authority.

Power is the ability to have others behave as they might not choose to. It involves having authority. Saying this, power involves authority. Authority is the legal right to give orders/enforce roles.

Civic Duty

a belief that one has an obligation to participate in civic and political affairs

Democracy

a system of government in which power is controlled by the people

Policy Entrepreneurs

activists in or out of government who pull together a political majority on behalf of unorganized interests

Authority

legal right to give orders/enforce rules

Pork-Barrel Legislation

legislation that gives tangible benefits to constituents in several districts or states in the hope of winning their votes in return

Discuss Max Weber's "protestant ethic" and its influence on American political culture.

"Protestant Ethic" can be described as work ethic. Saying this, those who have good work ethic and want to succeed, will succeed. This influenced American political culture because most believe that hard work leads to success while those who do not work hard will not.

Explain the significance of log-rolling to the legislative process.

A legislator supports a proposal favored from another in return of support of his/her. The act of trading votes in this way attracts the support of members of Congress to form majority coalitions.

Politics produces both cost and benefits. Your text discusses four types of politics based on how cost and benefits are distributed. Explain the four types of politics we have discussed.

Majoritarian Politics: almost everyone benefits and almost everyone pays Interest Group Politics: one small group benefits and another small group pays Client Politics: one small group benefits and almost everyone pays Entrepreneurial Politics: almost everyone benefits and one small group pays

Log Rolling

a legislator supports a proposal favored by another in return for support of his or hers

Entrepreneurial Politics

a policy in which almost everybody benefits and a small group pays the cost

Majoritarian Politics

a policy in which almost everybody benefits and almost everybody pays

Interest Group Politics

a policy in which almost one small group benefits and another small group pays

Client Politics

a policy in which one small group benefits and almost everybody pays

Power

ability to have others behave as might not chose to do

Issue

controversies debated within the political system (abortion, gay marriage, etc)

Political Agenda

issues that people believe require governmental action

Elite

persons who possess a disproportionate share of some valued resource, like money or power

Pluralist View

the belief that competition among all affected interests shapes public policy

Identify and discuss the importance of the five elements of American political culture.

*Liberty - the rights of the people are described by liberty *Equality - equal vote; equal chance to participate and succeed *Democracy -government is accountable to the people *Civic Duty - take community affairs seriously and become involved when possible *Individual Responsibility- individual responsible for own actions and well being

Identify the four things that affect what is on the political agenda.

*Political values that are shared * Weight of tradition/customs * Impact of events that alter senses of proper roles in government (wars, terrorist attacks, andsevere economic downturns) * Changes in the way political elites think/talk on topics in politics

Explain what a democracy is and note some prominent examples of this form of government throughout history.

A democracy can be known as "the rule of many." It was seen in the Greek city state and New England Town meeting.

Discuss how religion has been an important factor in the history of American politics and its continued relevance to the political behavior of individuals and candidates.

Although America was founded on the principle of people having freedom of religion, I wouldn't say that as freedom from religion. We have many symbols and phrases that involve religion. For example "I God we trust..." and one nation, under God." As well, when candidates run for an office, they often talk about their religion a lot. This is because people believe that a person who is religious will have better morals.

Identify, and briefly describe, the basic premises of the five viewpoints of political power we discussed.

Class View: governments are dominated by business interests (by middle class) Power Elite View: American democracy is dominated by a few leaders who do not hold elective office Bureaucratic View: Power is concentrated in appointed bureaucratic officials who manage government. Pluralist View: Power is shared among institutions and so widely that no single group can dominate politics Creedal Passion View: Morally impassioned elites drive important changes in politics

Identify the government institutions whose influence on agenda setting has become especially important. Explain.

Courts make decisions that force the hand of branches if government Bureaucracy has acquired significance due to a source of political innovation, and has become a source of policy proposals and implementers of those that become the law. The Senate became an incubator for developing new policies and building new national constituencies in the 1960s

Explain the primary justifications for representative democracy.

Farmers believed that direct democracy will lead to bad decisions due to people deciding on larger issues using fleeting passions and in response to popular demagogues.

Discuss the differences between participatory democracy and representative democracy.

Participatory democracy is known as the rule of many, and is often credited by the Greek, and can be seen in the New England Town meeting. Representative Democracy, as defined by Schumpter, is the acquisition of powers by leaders via elections.

Summarize the long-term trends in public confidence in government and what the authors say about such data should be interpreted.

Since the late 1950s, the number of Americans that said they trusted the government to make the right decision has been going down. However, this goes for government officials, not system of government. This is due to events in history, such as the Watergate scandal, have pushed the numbers lower and lower. We are now more "alienated" from politics. But, we have also lost confidence in many other institutions as well.

Discuss the four sources of American political culture.

The 4 sources of political culture are historical roots (dating back to the revolution and Americans beliefs about independence, liberty, etc.), legal-sociological factors (widespread participation, freedom of religion, personal achievement), class counciousness and family, and lastly, the culture war (orthodox vs. progressive beliefs).

Compare and contrast political culture in America and Japan.

The Japanese believe in what is best more than what people want. They value equality as much, or more than liberty. They value observation and harmony and value good relationships with them people around them. Americans believe that majority rules, value liberty more than equality (although they believe equality is widely important too), assertion of rights is necessary and good, and emphasize individualism, equality and mortality. However, they both value community and coming together as one nation, and democracy.

Identify and define the two sides in the so-called "culture war." Then, explain Morris Fiorina's viewpoint on red states and blue states in this nation.

The two sides are theorized by Morris Fiorina and Alan Abramowitz. Fiorina believes that culture war is a myth and that political leaders are polarized (one side or the other), but most Americans identify more with the middle ground. Abramowitz believes that more people are likely to choose party affiliations based on policy positions and that more people have become more politically engaged. Fiorina's viewpoint on red and blue states is that although most people fall in the middle, they usually vote one way or another because of the fact that political leaders are polarized.

Americans have generally become more tolerant, yet most believe there should be limits to tolerance. What, then, explains the tremendous amount of liberty enjoyed by groups sometimes feared by the majority?

This is because even though some of us don't agree on certain topics, most don't act on beliefs. Also, people are only ready to deny some groups its rights, but this decision can't be made. As well as the fact that the courts are separated from the opinion of the public. Saying this, they can act against the majority of sentiments and can enforce constitutional protections. Liberty can't be taken for granted, and it must be protected and learned.

Class View

View that the government is dominated by capitalist

Orthodox

a belief that morality and religion ought to be of decisive importance

Civic Competence

a belief that one can affect government policies

Progressive

a belief that personal freedom and solving social problems are more important than religion

Class Consciousness

a belief that you are a member of an economic group whose interests are opposed to people in other such groups

Cost

a burden that people believe they must bear if a policy is enacted

Political Culture

a distinctive and patterned way of thinking about how political and economic life ought to be carried out

Benefit

a satisfaction that people believe they will enjoy if a policy is adopted

Direct or Participatory Democracy

democracy where there is participation by citizens in political decisions and policies that affect them directly (rule of the many)

Legitimacy

political authority conferred by law or by a state or national constitution

Civic Society

society considered as a community of citizens linked by common interests and collective activity

Politics

the art or science of government and the concern of guiding/influencing of government policy

Representative Democracy

type of democracy where people elect representatives to make laws and govern them (The U.S. is)

Creedal Passion View

view that morally impassioned elites drive important political changes

Power Elite View

view that the government is dominated by a few top leaders, most of whom are outside of government

Bureaucratic View

view that the government is dominated by appointed officials

Identify the requirements for representative democracy to work.

• An opportunity for genuine leadership competition • Parties are able to run for office • Communication is free (through press) • Voters perceive that meaningful choice exists