Chapter 1

politics

According to Political scientist David Easton, politics can be defined as "the authoritative allocation of values for a society as a whole set within the context of a political system".

Change

California's economic history has been one of constant change (gold rush, expansion of railroads, government financed water projects, agriculture, discovery of oil, manufacturing sector during WWII, and nowadays International trade, off shoring and service sector jobs

postindustrial

California's economy is postindustrial, meaning it is characterized by large and growing service sector, economic interdependence, rapid change, innovation, and advanced technology

hyperpluralism

in this view, power is thinly scattered, not just widely or unevenly scatter as previous theories would suggest. The exercise of political power has become a highly competitive tug-of-war between institutions, policymakers, political parties,numerous interest groups, and voters.

components of California hyperpluralism

include individualism in political life (american/californian value), a growing diversity of group interests and cultures (proliferation of single-issue politics), the changing nature of majoritarian politics (minority rule in golden state), and structural conflicts between the state and local governments

political environment

is a set of social, cultural, economic, and physical attributes that inform and limit how politics is done

ironies of diversity

policy innovator and laggard (in highways, keeping up with education, and spending per pupil), and policy generosity of California's electorate and its government is cyclical, contested and occasionally ambivalent

democratic theory

the answer to "who governs us?" is "All of us," in a sense. Participatory democracy envisions rule by the many whereas representative democracy suggests rule by the few on behalf of the many. Representative describes California

hydraulic society

the quest to meet the states demand for more and more water has transformed the California into a the nation's "salad bowl", enabling people to thrive in places not otherwise thought possible

Pluralistic theory

the theory that no single group dominates all the time. . . in many ways, American politics is group politics meaning competing interests winning or losing, rising or falling, as they seek to influence transitory issuers

elite and class politics

the theory that power resides with the wealthy. Can explain parts of California history but does not suffice