Lesson 1: Intro to Gov
Identify how a republic is different from a pure democracy.
A republic is the more practical form of a democracy. It is often referred to as a representative democracy or democratic republic. This occurs when citizens elect representatives to become members of the government who then make decisions and rules on the behalf of the citizens who elected them. This differs from a pure democracy in the sense that in a pure democracy all qualified citizens make direct decisions about rules.
Recognize the role of public policy in the governing process and identify examples of public policy areas and whether they are likely "matters of public concern."
Public policy is an intentional course of action followed by the government in dealing with some problem or matter of public concern. It is also known as what the government does to address problems or issues affecting our society that we believe need to be solved. These issues would most likely not be sufficiently addressed unless the government develops a plan to try and do so. Some examples are poverty reduction, immigration, gun violence, healthcare, environment, disease control, and student debt.
Identify how social contract theory explains an individual's relationship to the government.
Social contract theory refers to the fact that citizens are willing to give up some personal freedoms and abide by their government's laws if they believe the advantages of doing so outweigh the disadvantages of giving up some of those freedoms
Recognize the general arguments in favor of and against greater government intervention and regulation of the economy.
Strong supporters of the free market argue that too much government intervention and regulation reduces business competition and profitability, raises prices for consumers, and leads to less job creation, while strong supporters of government intervention and regulation argue that greater government action is necessary in order to increase public safety, protect consumers from dishonest business practices, improve the environment, and to establish greater fairness for workers.
Recognize the characteristics of the public sector and the private sector and identify examples of each.
The public sector refers to the domain in which the government functions. It refers to anything that is owned, administered, or sponsored by the government. Included in the public sector is not only the activity of politicians, but the various departments and divisions of federal and state governments. For example, the FBI, the postal service, national parks, firefighters, police, and public school teachers. All government and public sector activities are supposed to benefit society as a whole. The private sector consists of all non-government-related activities and organizations. It is often referred to as the economic activity by businesses and organizations that are privately owned and not controlled by the government. Activity in the private sector occurs for the benefit of individuals.
Recognize the characteristics of capitalism and socialism and how they differ with respect to capital, free markets, supply & demand, competition, and the profit motive.
Capital refers to money or any other types of assets that have a monetary value. In a capitalist economy, most of the capital is privately owned. Additionally, capitalist economies have free market economies. This means that the decision of what goods and services, how much of them are produced, and how much they cost are all determined by market factors such as supply, demand, and competition. The word "free" in the term "free market economy" typically refers to a lack of government intervention. In a capitalist economy, businesses must make a profit in order to survive. Profit is defined as the amount of money that a business earns above what it costs to operate the business. For this reason, they have a motive (profit motive) to be more efficient and innovate. Socialism is often referred to as the opposite of capitalism. The term "socialism" refers to an economy that is controlled and operated by the government for the benefit and "equality" of all in society. In a true socialist economy there is no private ownership of property. This means that the main goal of business is to make the products and services available to citizens at a cost that they can afford. Additionally, because there are no business owners, a profit does not need to be made, and only operating costs need to be covered. These costs are covered by the state. Any money collected by businesses goes to the government, and all workers are considered government workers. The price of the goods and services are determined by the state. There is no competition among businesses and ultimately no profit motive. This means that there is no incentive to innovate or be more efficient since their goal is to produce the basic goods and services that people need to feel more economically secure in their daily lives.
Recognize the goals of communism and how a communist governing system differs from the characteristics of a democracy.
Communists believe that the differences between social classes and the greedy pursuit of material items lead to conflict in a society and for that reason, if everyone was equal, all of that conflict would vanish. Similarly, as everyone is working for the common good, there would be no need for police. This reflects an egalitarian society where all are expected to live and work for the good of society. A key characteristic of a communist governing system is the fact that the government controls all of the property and economy, being unable to provide citizens with all the goods and services they desire to make their lives better. In other words, the average citizen cannot hope for anything better than the basics as communism does not allow for the accumulation of wealth. Additionally, in communists governments critics of the government are branded as enemies of the state. People who resist communism oppression are sometimes killed by their own government. Furthermore, the right to free press does not exist along with the right to peacefully protest against the government.
Recognize what it means for a country to practice democratic socialism.
Countries that practice democratic socialism are also known as social democracies. They are democratic countries that blend socialist and free market economic policies to achieve greater economic security for all their citizens. Some of these socialist programs are government-run health care, childcare, education, transportation, energy, and retirement programs. Examples of these countries are Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.
Recognize the characteristics of democracy and the ways it seeks to prevent concentration of power and hold government leaders accountable to the people and to the law.
Democracy is often defined as rule by many or the people. In a pure form, every qualified citizen has a direct voice in the rule making and decision-making of a society. There are a variety of components of democracy that prevent the concentration of power and hold government leaders accountable to the people and the law. One of the most important ones is separation of powers. This ensures that no single individual or part of the government has complete control over it. Another characteristic is condusting open, fair, and honest elections. Elections allow for political competition and give citizens the opportuning to have a choice between leadership and policy that is to be enforced. In a democracy, citizens have the right to freely criticize the government and peacefully protest against it. Similarly, a free press must exist which investigates and reports on the actions of the government. Rule of law states that society is governed by law and that all individuals, regardless of wealth, power, or status, are accountable to the same laws. Typically, democracies have capitalistic economic systems.
Recognize how the term "governing legitimacy" reflects how people feel about their government.
Governing legitimacy refers to the fact that people agree to accept the authority of the government. This tends to occur when citizens believe they will benefit from it if they do so. Legitimacy in the government declines in the minds of citizens if they reach a point where they believe the government is not exercising authority in the best interests of citizens or they perceive disadvantages of abiding by the government outweighs the benefits. A government with an overwhelming number of citizens who do not believe their government is exercising its power in the best interest of the people is said to have a high degree of governing legitimacy.
Recognize what government is and its role in society.
Government is the formal vehicle through which public policy is made and the affairs of state are conducted. Government plays a role in how we provide order, security, justice, and prosperity for society.
Recognize the characteristics of authoritarian governing systems and the variations of autocracy, oligarchy, and fascism.
In an authoritarian government, citizens are expected to be obedient to authority or they will face punishment or persecution. These countries tend to appear to be democracies or republics on the surface due to the establishment of constitutions, separate branches of government, and elections, but in reality all governing power is centralized under the control of a powerful individual or small group. There are usually no limits to the leader's power nor any separation of powers. Political opponents are either jailed or exiled. Opposition political parties are usually outlawed. Media and journalists who are critical of the authoritarian regime are shut down or silenced. Similarly, citizens do not have free speech rights. The only news people hear about the government is favorable, so citizens are not truthfully informed about the actions of the government. Rule of law is very weak because there are no institutions of government that can hold the leaders accountable to the law. Variations of authoritarian governing styles are autocracies, oligarchies, and fascism. Autocracies occur when one single individual has unlimited power. This individual can either be called an autocrat or dictator. Oligarchies are governing styles where a group of individuals has authoritarian power. They are usually referred to as oligarchs. Fascism is very similar to communism in the level of control it seeks ot exert over society, but whereas communism calls for the elimination of private property and the social and economic equality of all citizens, fascism supports private ownership and the stratification of social classes. No government today calls itself fascist, rather, it is a term used pejoratively to accuse a government of acting like dictatorial regimes.
Recognize the role of citizens in a democratic society and identify how citizens can hold government leaders accountable to the general will of the people.
In order for citizens to hold government leaders accountable, they must stay truthfully informed about how the government works and participate in the electoral process through voting.
Recognize the meaning of the term "state" when used in politics.
In politics the term "state" refers mainly to the government and laws of a country or national territory, but it can also refer to sub-national regional or local administrative territories, for example, the "State of California."
Recognize the characteristics of monarchy and the significance of the terms absolute power, Divine Right, and royal bloodline.
Monarchy is usually defined as rule by one person. This person is typically a king or a queen that has supreme authority to rule their state or kingdom however they want. This power is usually unchecked and without limits, coining the term absolute power. This poses a problem as they are in charge of creating laws and making sure they are just. When an individual with absolute power is corrupt, it bleeds throughout the entire state. The term divine right refers to the fact that a divine, or higher, power grants an individual the right to rule. This concept is reinforced by the royal bloodline under the logic that hereditary descendants were inherently superior to other humans because their predecessors were divinely selected.
Identify what it means for something to serve the "public good."
Participating in the public sector usually means serving the public good. This is because the goal of the public sector is to benefit the public good. For this reason, any one who partakes in the public sector as a government worker or institution, is serving the public good.
