American Heritage Final Review
"The Sources of Soviet Conduct" by George F. Kennan
*U.S. power should be used to firmly & vigilantly counter & contain other nations w/ expansionist tendencies (i.e. Soviet Union)
"The Children of Light and the Children of Darkness" by Reinhold Niebuhr
*use power to create meaningful world community of nations
Constitutional Amendments 21-27
21: Repeals Prohibition (just think: 21 legal age to drink) 22: President can only serve 2 terms (just think: 2 terms, there's 2 2's in 22) 23: Washington D.C. gets electoral votes 24: No more poll taxes 25: Procedure/Line of Succession if president dies 26: Have to be 18 to vote 27: Congress can increase salary; can't increase until they've been through election (salary has been approved by citizens)
Founding vs. Today
@ THE TIME OF FOUNDING *Agricultural and Rural *Large Families *Little Formal Education *Low Life Expectancy *Largely Christian Believers with Common Moral Views *Low Levels of Ethnic and Racial Diversity (+ Slavery) Concentrated on Eastern Seaboard TODAY *Urban *Small Families *Education Crucial *High Life Expectancy *Diverse Religious Views with Growing Number of Non-Believers *High Levels of Ethnic and Racial Diversity *Stretch from Coast to Coast
"Essay for the 1619 Project" by Nikole Hannah-Jones
"The United States is a nation founded on both an ideal and a lie. Our Declaration of Independence, approved on July 4, 1776, proclaims that 'all men are created equal' and 'endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.' But the white men who drafted those words did not believe them to be true for the hundreds of thousands of black people in their midst. 'Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness' did not apply to fully one-fifth of the country. Yet despite being violently denied the freedom and justice promised to all, black Americans believed fervently in the American creed. Through centuries of black resistance and protest, we have helped the country live up to its founding ideals."
"Life, Liberty, and..." by Albert Jay Nock
*"It is high time for Americans to wake up to what the state is doing, and ask them a few plain questions about it." *"Can an individual be happy when he is continually conscious of not being his own man?" *Agrees w/ Jefferson --> States should mind it's own beeswax --> Protect, nothing else *Individual pursuit
"The New Deal Era, 1933-1950" APT
*After stock market crash *FDR takes charge during time of Great Depression *Government takes on new, involved role to help citizens "get back on their feet" *Great Depression & WWII defining features *Rise of marxism and socialism in Soviet Union
"The Progressive Era, 1901-1932" APT
*Age of reform *"Intellectuals, activists, and politicians from a variety of perspectives looked to reevaluate inherited institutions and modify American politics and society to better face the perceived challenges of the industrial age" *General theme of change *Aimed to restore economic independency & political democracy *Shift from rural to urban *Technological innovation *Music influence *Women suffrage
"Commonwealth Club Address" by FDR
*Common question in the U.S.: is our main purpose to serve government or is the government supposed to serve us? *Agrees w/ Hamilton; "the safety of the republic lay in the autocratic strength of it's government" *Individual vs. big companies = a constant losing battle *"The day of enlightened administration has come" *Government needs to assist *"Government in this regard is the maintenance of a balance" *Sets the stage for many of his New Deal policies
"Citizenship and Community" APT (pg. 583)
*Concern about mass society *Launch of the Great Society *Debate over patriotism *Activism
Civil Rights & the Great Society, 1951-1980 "Equality and Status" APT (pg. 595-596)
*Desegregation *Sexual Revolution *Feminism *Brown v Board of Education *Civil Right's Movement
"America and the World" APT
*Entry into WWII *Establishment of the UN *Establishment of NATO *Shift in foreign policy from isolationist to heavy involvement *Development of Cold War
"Saving Horatio Alger" by Richard V. Reeves
*Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans celebrates "rags-to-riches" stories *Talk often of American Dream (motto), yet social mobility is greater in Europe than in the U.S. *Measure of American inequality does not equal the income gap, but an indiv. ability to move up *Indiv. has right to succeed; says so in Dec. of Indep. *Equality + independence = promise of upward mobility *Split up America based on quintiles according to wealth w/ chances of moving up *Horatio Alger: born in modest home, became a best-seller *"Go West, Young Man!" -->immigration; new world of promise & wealth *America's rich aren't just getting richer, they're getting much richer --> Meanwhile, bottom have fewer chances to climb *American ideal = based on sameness --> Why 'every man' approach is so popular in politics *Difference in wealth is greater today *Education system failing *Good news: politicians are waking up to problems, Bad news: they can't agree on what to do *OVERALL, we can't abandon Alger; the American Dream is our strength
Degadation
*Lessen their value *Instruments of Profit vs. Love and Care
Recent Politics, 1981-Present, "Citizenship & Community" APT (pg. 651)
*New wave of immigration *Global trade
Problem & Populist Solution
*Overproduction drove down farm prices: Appeal directly to farmers for political support Railroads held monopolistic power over shipping crops: Government ownership and management of the railroads *National money supply was tight and banks control credit: Expand credit by expanding the money supply (silver in addition to gold)
"Recent Politics, 1981-Present" APT
*Reagan change from FDR's view of government's role *Division of opinion *9/11 *Invasion of Iraq & Afghanistan
"What the Fundamentalists Want" by Richard John Neuhaus
*Religion needs to be part of discussion *What we want: 1. Restoration of traditional moral values 2. Religion in schools 3. Pro-life law 4. Resistance to gay & feminist rights 5. Increased defense spending 6. Termination of social programs REVIEW: *Better for you to include religion in discussion rather than exclude it *(Quote from Lecture) *Fundamentalists --> Protestants, Puritans, Early sects of Christianity, Believers that call American a Christian nation ✤ Religion reminds others of claims that can be made on individuals. ✤ Religious individuals have sought to argue that arguments for moral values that have their origins in religion cannot be banned from the public square. ✤ Religion should not "be hermetically sealed off in the 'private sphere' of life, safely removed from the public arena ..." ✤ The arguments of some religious groups (the fundamentalists) can make others uncomfortable, but secular Americans should not exclude those groups — or religious people generally. ✤ "And so the country cousins have shown up in force at the family picnic. They want a few rules changed right away. Other than that they promise to behave, provided we do not again try to exclude them from family deliberations. Surely it is incumbent on the rest of us, especially those who claim to understand our society, to do more in response to this ascendance of fundamentalism — and indeed of religion in general — than to sound an increasingly hysterical and increasingly hollow alarm."
"A Yippie Manifesto" by Jerry Rubin
*Rise Up and Abandon the Creeping Meatball! *"That means anything you want it to mean. Which is why it is so powerful a revolutionary slogan." *"We protest ____________ !" *"Our long hair communicates disrespect for America." *"We offer: sex, drugs, rebellion, heroism, brotherhood." *"They offer: responsibility, fear, puritanism, repression." *"Prohibitions should be prohibited." *"Rules are made to be broken." *"DON'T DO THIS, DON'T DO THAT, DON'T!" *"Growing up in America is learning what NOT to do." *"We say: 'DO IT, DO IT. DO Whatever YOU WANT TO DO.'"
Problem & The Progressive Solution
*Scale of private power: Use government power to break up monopolies *Graduated income tax: Unsafe working and living conditions *Use scientific expertise to regulate work and housing: Corrupt democratic institutions Move power closer to the people
"Rugged Individualism Speech" by Herbert Hoover
*The U.S. is in a weird place; questioning how much government control is too much? *Hoover says the government gets involved too much, especially during peace time *We need to refocus on the home/family unit
Teleology
*The purpose "It's ... a mistake to value all goods in the same way, as instruments of profit or objects of use. If this idea is right, it explains why there are some things money can't buy."
Sandel: Two Moral Concerns
1. Civil Virtue 2. Inequality
Categories of Moral Responsibility
1. Natural duties: universal, don't require consent 2. Voluntary obligations: particular, require consent 3. Obligations of solidarity: particular, don't require consent "Sometimes solidarity can give us special reason to criticize our own people or the actions of our government." ✤ "With belonging comes responsibility. You can't really take pride in your country and its past if you're unwilling to acknowledge any responsibility for carrying its story into the present, and discharging the moral burdens that may come with it." "It may not be possible, or even desirable, to deliberate about justice without deliberating about the good life."
Post-War Revolutions
1. New Sustained Prosperity ✤ Baby boom! ✤ White collar revolution ✤ New domestic and foreign markets open 2. New Middle Class 3. New Consumer Technology ✤ Cars and Highways ✤ Appliances ✤ Television!
Analyzing Market Weaknesses
1. Problem: What is the source of the market breakdown? 2. Intervention: What could government do to correct the problem? 3. Evaluation: How successful is government intervention likely to be? --> Unintended consequences of intervention
Sandel's Argument
1. The more things money can buy, the more inequality matters. 2. When market thinking is more pervasive, it may crowd out other important ways of thinking and valuing.
Constitutional Amendments 16-21
16: Congress can collect taxes on income. 17: Each state gets 2 senators & each gets 1 vote 18: Prohibition: You cannot make, sell, transport, or consume alcohol 19: Women can vote! 20: When terms end for executives 21: 18th Amendment repealed
The Gilded Age
1870s - 1890s ✤ Unprecedented accumulation of wealth by industrialists ✤ Captains of industry or "robber barons"?
Brown v. Board of Education
1954 - The Supreme Court overruled Plessy v. Ferguson, declared that racially segregated facilities are inherently unequal and ordered all public schools desegregated.
Political Milestones during the Civil Right's Movement
1964 ✤ 24th Amendment: abolishes the poll tax ✤ Civil Rights Act of 1964 ✤ Sweeping legislation that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin. Under the commerce clause, prohibits segregation in public places. 1965 ✤ Voting Rights Act of 1965 ✤ Makes it easier for blacks to register to vote
Public Good
A good or service, that if consumed by one individual, does not diminish the amount of that good or service available to others *Examples: Lighthouse, National Defense, Radio, Streetlight (these services are free to use) Intervention: *Government must provide the public good so... *Free rider problem: you don't have incentive to supply that good (i.e. roommate always washing the dishes or Disney+ accounts) Effectiveness: *No price on public good makes it hard to know how much to supply of that good
Monopoly
A monopoly can exercise significant control over prices because it has exclusive control over production.
Views of Liberty
Ancient Liberty: Freedom to participate in the community and its political decisions. Winthrop's Civil Liberty: Freedom to live as God wants you to live; submission to God's will. Negative Liberty: Freedom from government; ability to make choices without coercion or oppression. Positive Liberty: Freedom means creating the conditions necessary to flourish; government action may be necessary. Radical Liberty: Freedom is liberation from all traditional constraints.
"1st Inaugural Address" by Ronald Reagan
BACKGROUND: EVENTS LEADING UP TO REAGAN'S ELECTION *Watergate Scandal --> Involves Pres. Nixon; Plot to spy on rivals in Democratic Party; Reagan leaves office & Gerald Ford takes over *Jimmy Carter Presidency *Rampant Inflation in U.S. *Iranian Hostage Crisis --> 52 Americans taken hostage --> Failed attempt to get them out *Americans are ready for change *Home there was unrest --> Vietnam War & Counter Culture *What is U.S.'s role in the world? ADDRESS: *Reagan tries to reassure the citizens *Emphasizes Individual Rights *While the speech acknowledges the problems facing the country, it returns again and again to the character of the American people and their power to solve the problems confronting them, Reagan is a return to the debate between Hoover & FDR (how much government?) --> "Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem." *Hear about special interest groups *Special interest groups we've forgotten is the average American --> American individual as a whole *"It is not my intention to do away w/ government. It is rather to make it work with us not over us; to stand by our side, not ride on our back. Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it." *"We are a nation that has a government, not the other way around." *Locktian *Puritan themes --> America be an example to the rest of the world --> "We will be seen as having greater strength throughout the world. We will again be the exemplar of freedom and a beacon of hope for those who do not now have freedom."
"The False Gods We Worship" by President Spencer W. Kimball
Be careful of any vision of freedom or government (any ideology) that distracts you from eternal truths. ✤ Make eternal truths your priority. The proper use of material resources: ✤ To build the kingdom of God and bless the lives of others. ✤ Your proper role in the world: ✤ Be peacemakers, not warlike.
"The man who builds a factory builds a temple; the man who works there, worships there."
Calvin Coolidge
"The Fifth Freedom" by Herbert Hoover
Economic Freedom, "without which none of the other four freedoms will be realized" ✤ "To be free, men must choose their jobs and callings, bargain for their own wages and salaries, save and provide by private property for their families and old age. And they must be free to engage in enterprise so long as each does not injure his fellowman." ✤ What is the role of government? ✤ "Liberty has its greatest protection from local not centralized government." ✤ "Government must not destroy but promote freedom... No final judicial or legislative authority must be delegated to bureaucrats, or at once tyranny begins." ✤ Government assistance should only cover the bare minimum ✤ "The responsibility of the people as a whole is to provide only a reasonable subsistence basis. Beyond that the citizen must look after himself if initiative and self-respect are to be maintained."
Roosevelt vs. Hoover: The Meaning of Liberty
FDR ✤ Economic security is a right ✤ Freedom is not the absence of government, but the absence of fear and want ✤ Positive liberty HOOVER ✤ Don't forget more traditional visions of freedom and rights or the need for limited government ✤ Increasing bureaucratization can mean a loss of freedom, not an increase of freedom ✤ Negative liberty
"Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously. It can be accomplished in part by direct recruiting by the Government itself, treating the task as we would treat the emergency of a war ..."
FDR, 1st Inaugural Address
New Challenges @ Turn of the Century
Growing Government & Industrialization & Monopoly Power
"We are nearer today to the ideal of the abolition of poverty and fear from the lives of men and women than ever before in any land."
Herbert Hoover
The Muckrakers
Journalists and writers who portrayed the new industrialism in an unflattering light. ✤ Frank Norris's The Octopus --> California Railroads ✤ Upton Sinclair's The Jungle --> Chicago meatpacking industry ✤ Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives --> Life in urban slums
Quintile Statistics
Lowest Quintile (Lowest 20%): 3% 2nd Quintile: 8% 3rd Quintile: 14% 4th Quintile: 23% 5th Quintile 52% Top 1%: 20%
Recession Spiral
Problems in one part of the economy are likely to affect other parts of the economy.
"The Port Huron Statement" by Students for a Democratic Society
REVIEW NOTES: *Kids writing statement *Born into the greatest period of American wealth and strength; Born into complacency *What has brought them out of this are: 1. Racial Inequality 2. The Cold War *How can we change these things? What are the issues? **Schools --> Sacrifice talking about controversial issues --> Talk about things that are safe; old traditions --> Curriculum changes too slowly --> Need to catch up w/ the times **Politics --> See themselves as world citizens, not just American citizens --> Bring people out of isolation and into community --> Anti-violent --> Vietnam war = problem --> Unify social movements --> Democratic party (most are members, but still see problems) --> Left wing movement; "new left" --> Need both liberalists & socialists --> University is a gathering place **Economy --> Work should provide incentives worthier than money or survival --> Money has done much for us --> More subject to the will of the people ** SOCIAL NEEDS!!!
"The Vices of the Political System of the United States" by James Madison
REVIEW: *We need a new constitution *Laying out the failures of the Articles of Confederation w/ hopes of convincing others to agree *11 Reasons to Revise *Failure of states to comply w/ articles *No Executive Branch *Problem, you can't really execute anything; no way to enforce laws *Violations of laws/States trespass on each other *Not unified; identified themselves as their state rather than nation *Competition *Unjust State Laws *Violate Rule of Law, etc. *Lack of state unity *Lack of executive *Lack of cohesive foreign policy *Constitution
"The Neoconservative Persuasion" by Irving Kristol
Remember: Let me make it 'Kristol' clear for you; there are good regimes & bad regimes THESIS: Neoconservatism is defined & explained as forward-thinking conservatism *Economy: growth through tax cuts *Decrease in government services *Foreign Policy: What's in the country's interest REVIEW: *New conservatism *Good Regime vs. Bad Regime --> Bad: USSR --> Good: The United States because there is still democratic process & rule of law *Patriotism is good CLASS ✤ The neoconservative movement recognizes that there is such a thing as the "good" regime. ✤ Patriotism is a "natural and healthy sentiment." ✤ There is a "national" interest" and that "national interest" should determine the sorts of policies that government pursues. ✤ The policies should also protect the "good" regime, meaning that there is a difference between ideologies. ✤ Not all countries really care about their people; "bad" regimes should be opposed, and "good" regimes should be supported.
"The Sixties "contained a promise, an augury of possibilities, an eruption of confident energy."
Richard Goodwin
"Opportunity is a public good, as well as a private one."
Richard V. Reeves
Civic Virtue
Self interest vs. good of the people (i.e. Family scripture study or pay children)
"The Sharon Statement" by Young Americans for Freedom
THESIS: "It is the responsibility of the youth of America to affirm certain truths:" *God-given rights; it is the government's job to protect those rights; government should do no more than that or they will accumulate too much power and "diminish order & liberty" *Government should stay out of the market *People's job to defend rights against enemies *Foreign policy: does it serve the just interests of the American people? *Political freedom cannot long exist w/out economic freedom REVIEW NOTES: *Right leaning *Hosted by William F. Buckley, supported candidate Barry Goldwater *Individual's use of God's Free Will *Believe rights are given from God; yours to exercise, not government *No political freedom w/out economic freedom --> Ties to Hoover's 5th Freedom *Accumulation of gov. Power diminishes order and liberty *Related to Knock & Spooner *Less independence *Constitution is best when it limits the federal gov. and pushes back to the states MAIN 3 Market Economy, Personal Freedom, Constitutional Gov. Foreign Policy: Does this serve the interests of the United States?
"A Foreign Policy for Americans" by Robert A. Taft
THESIS: "The ultimate purpose of our foreign policy must be to protect the liberty of the people of the United States [...] second, we must maintain peace." *We should avoid war *stay out of other nations as much as possibly *let's not try to change the world *let's mind our own beeswax unless directly attacked & be an example *we can be moral leaders by providing an example/advice and campaigning positively on behalf of liberty *Role of U.S. in foreign policy
"The Gospel of Wealth" by Andrew Carnegie
THESIS: A man of wealth should set an example of modest living, provide for dependents, & all the surplus should be given to benefit the community. *Administer your wealth during your lifetime --> Should be spend for "public purposes from which the masses reap the principle benefit" *Don't bequeath it to the public after you die --> Can't make sure it is used wisely *Don't leave it to family when you die --> Family members should make their own way
"The Ballot or the Bullet" by Malcolm X
THESIS: African Americans need "freedom yesterday, and that's too late." Uncle Sam is a hypocrite and African Americans aren't going to become free by singing. *African Americans need to come together in purpose to fight for & defend themselves *Ballot; stop voting your oppressors into oppressors; they aren't going to do anything for you *Nonviolence can be met w/ nonviolence, but they (whites) are using violence, so we must fight/serve violence right back to them *Peaceful protests are not working *Uncle Sam has blood on his hands
"Acres of Diamonds" by Russell H. Conwell
THESIS: Any man or woman can be rich if they simply choose to work hard where they are and use their money for good purposes. *There are "acres of diamonds" in store for everyone *It is people's godly duty to get rich because they are able to do more good *Rich men are honest men *Money is power *Discipline & work ethic is important; this is why Conwell doesn't feel for the rich man's son who does not work *"if you wish to be great at all, you must begin where you are & what you are" *Poor are poor because of their own short comings LAB THESIS: The opportunity to get rich is granted to everyone; the poor are poor because of their own shortcomings
"I Have a Dream" by MLK Jr.
THESIS: MLK Jr. gives a powerful speech @ the March on Washington about how America needs to live up to the Declaration of Independence and grant true freedom for all *African Americans cannot/will not be satisfied until there is justice *He has a dream that blacks & whites will be able to join hands as equals *Let freedom ring throughout the land!
"Letter from a Birmingham City Jail" by MLK Jr.
THESIS: MLK Jr. writes from jail to explain the purpose of nonviolent behavior & plead with fellow clergyman to agree with his beliefs. *Nonviolent protests are peaceful ways to highlight hidden tension & lead to negotiation. *There are 2 types of laws: just & unjust --> Unjust: immoral, passed through unfair election --> It's ok to protest laws that are unjust *People need to African Americans equally because bottled up tension can/will explode in violence; discrimination is wrong *Must be willing to accept punishments/consequences for breaking unjust laws
"What Social Classes Owe to Each Other" by William Graham Sumner
THESIS: Social classes owe each other nothing. *"Every man and women in society has one big duty. That is to take care of his or her own self." *"A free man in a free democracy has no duty whatever toward another man..." *Giving the rich limitations to their amount of wealth is ridiculous *Beware of the temptation to tax upper classes in order to "solve" the problem of wealth *Lasséz faire (AKA Mind your own beeswax!) *"Let every man be happy in his own way. If his sphere of action and interest infringes on that of any other man, there will have to be compromise" (very libertarian view) LAB THESIS: Social classes owe each other nothing. *Responsibility & freedom to take care of ONESELF
"What Does It Mean to Be an American?" by Michael Walzer
THESIS: The motto of the U.S., "E Pluribus Unum" (of many, one) doesn't truly exist; we are a bunch of different people & don't have a synonymous culture. *Idea of patriotism & oneness is driven by politics *Pluralists & republicans don't mix (republicans like the idea of one) REVIEW: *Talk of Oneness & Manyness *What makes us American is that we all have differences & because of those differences we give each other respect *Pluralism *Shouldn't try to force our beliefs & cultures on others *Compare & Contrast w/ Sandel's chapter on Obama and Kennedy *Example of Kneeling during the National Anthem --> Good; exercising his rights
"Citizenship Papers" by Wendell Berry
THESIS: We need to fix America's economy by turning to agrarianism. (Remember his last name is Berry, like picking berries in a field/farming/agrarianism) *There is a disconnect with the existence of technology and a longevity/sustainability w/ agrarianism *Is agrarianism just a "phase"? --> No, it's more long-term *By turning to agrarianism, are we "turning back the clock?" --> No, we are looking forward --> Perfect society hasn't been created...yet; and that's what we're looking to CLASS What is agrarianism? ✤ "Agrarianism is primarily a practice, a set of attitudes, a loyalty, and a passion..." ✤ Agrarianism promotes local knowledge and a commitment to the land ✤ "Agrarianism is a way of thought based on land." ✤ "A major characteristic of the agrarian mind is a longing for independence — that is, for an appropriate degree of personal and local self-sufficiency." ✤ Industrialism encourages moral failure by promising satisfaction but never delivering it. ✤ Industrialism makes it so "we do not know the histories of our meals or of our habitats of our families." ✤ "Agrarians recognize the the necessity of preserving the coherence of families and communities." ✤ Agrarianism promotes the best form of life. ✤ "Experience seems increasingly to be driving us out of the categories of producer and consumer and into the categories of citizen, family member, and community member ..."
"We Need a New Kind of Patriotism" by Ralph Nader
THESIS: We need to reevaluate our understanding of patriotism to be less nostalgic & more current/behavioral. *Patriotism has an individual focus too (not just about being unified) *Patriotism begins @ home and w/ action *Flag vs. Pollution; Actions live up to ideals; unpatriotic behaviors *Less focus on military, more on peace & brotherhood CLASS Patriotism must be rooted in individual conscience and include a willingness to criticize government action ✤ "Our country and its ideals are something for us to uphold as individuals and together, not something to drape, as a deceptive cloak, around activities that mar or destroy these ideals." ✤ Patriotism means making the country "more lovable" ✤ Ending poverty, discrimination, corruption, and greed ✤ Patriotism means caring for the land and for each other ✤ Patriotism requires advocating for peace to create a better community, country, and world ✤ An acknowledgment that "I am my brother's keeper"
"The Feminine Mystique" by Betty Friedan
THESIS: Women have been suffering from an identity crisis; hence, they feel inadequate & incomplete. *Women have been taught that getting married and having children is fulfilling their femininity *The feminine mystique of identity remains unnamed, ignored & suppressed *There's something more out there for women; they have greater potential
"One cannot escape the question by hand-waving at the past, disavowing the acts of one's ancestors, nor by citing a recent date of ancestral immigration. The last slaveholder has been dead for a very long time. The last soldier to endure Valley Forge has been dead much longer. To proudly claim the veteran and disown the slaveholder is patriotism à la carte."
Ta-Nehisi Coates
WWII as an "American Triumph"
Triumph of American Self-interest ✤ Repels foreign attack/threat of invasion ✤ Ends Great Depression ✤ Economic mobilization ✤ America becomes military-economic leader of the West
Walzer vs. Sandel
Walzer argues that our deepest moral commitments are found away from politics, within our individual groups. We agree on little more than that we're willing to let other groups pursue their own visions. Sandel argues that because we disagree, we must engage those disagreements as we work out our collective decisions.
Woodrow Wilson & WWII
Wilson argues that America has a broader role to play in the world ✤ "Making the world safe for democracy."
"It is inimical to the very spirit of democracy that any group of persons, no matter how important their occupation may be to the community at large, should control the politics of the nations."
Woodrow Wilson
Recession
a significant decline in economic activity spread across the country, lasting more than a few months
Is it possible to create a rich civic life without some notion of morality? Sandel says...
no. ✤ We are bound by some ties we have not chosen and that are not a matter of social contract. ✤ In other words, we have obligations beyond consent
Economic Inequality
the unequal distribution of income & wealth as a result of competition in the market economy Intervention: *Welfare *Tax rich to give to the poor Effectiveness: *Leaky bucket (charities) --> Not all $ gets to the poor
"The New Nationalism" by Theodore Roosevelt
✤ "Exactly as the special interests of cotton and slavery threatened our political integrity before the Civil War, so now the great special business interests too often control and corrupt the men and methods of government for their own profit. We must drive the special interests out of politics." ✤ "The citizens of the United States must effectively control the mighty commercial forces which they have themselves called into being." *Hello government!
Theodore Roosevelt's "Square Deal"
✤ "I stand for the square deal. But when I say that I am for the square deal, I mean not merely that I stand for fair play under the present rules of the games, but that I stand for having those rules changed so as to work for a more substantial equality of opportunity..." ✤ "This, I know, implies a policy of a far more active governmental interference with social and economic conditions in this country than we have yet had, but I think we have got to face the fact that such an increase in governmental control is now necessary."
"The New Freedom" by Woodrow Wilson
✤ "There is no salvation for men in the pitiful condescensions of industrial masters... I do not expect to see monopoly restrain itself. If there are men in this country big enough to own the government of the United States, they are going to own it...." ✤ "We are in the presence of a new organization of society. Our life has broken away from the past.... We have changed our economic conditions, absolutely, from top to bottom; and, with our economic society, the organization of our life. The old political formulas do not fit the present problems; they read now like documents taken out of a forgotten age." ✤ "The truth is, we are all caught in a great economic system which is heartless." ✤ "American industry is not free, as once it was free; American enterprise is not free... Why? Because the laws of this country do not prevent the strong from crushing the weak." ✤ "The law has to step in an create new conditions under which we may live ..." ✤ "Without the watchful interference, the resolute interference of the government, there can be no fair play between individuals and such powerful institutions as the trusts. Freedom to-day is something more than being let alone. The program of a government of freedom must in these days be positive, not negative merely."
Why do recessions occur?
✤ A negative "shock" hits the economy --> Example: stock market correction, oil price increase, bank panic, etc. ✤ If wages and prices adjust downward quickly, full employment is preserved and output stabilizes ✤ Output falls and resources are unemployed, including labor ✤ Recovery takes place as wages and prices adjust
Populism
✤ A political movement that casts the struggle for power as virtuous common people who are being exploited by corrupt elite. ✤ Populism draws on Jeffersonian ideas about the virtue of ordinary people and rejects Hamilton's notion of aristocracy. ✤ Rejects the notion that virtue is a product of filters of consent. ✤ Often emerges in response to economic inequality and places trust in charismatic and demagogic leaders who claim to be the "voice of the people."
Tradition of Isolationism
✤ America's historic impulse was to avoid the rest of the world. ✤ "Tis our true policy to steer clear of permanent Alliances, with any portion of the foreign world. . . We may safely trust to temporary alliances for extraordinary emergencies." (Washington's Farewell Address) ✤ "Honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none" (Jefferson's First Inaugural) ✤ Dominant US position until World War I
Vietnam: The Bad War?
✤ American Self-Interest? ✤ Would we be safer? ✤ US casualties: 58,000 ✤ American Virtue? ✤ Mission? ✤ Would they be better off? ✤ Vietnamese casualties: over 2 million ✤ Was this the right and moral thing to do?
Imperfect Information
✤ Because they do not have complete or correct information, parties make exchanges that might be harmful. ✤ The value/cost of the good is not accurate. ✤ Both parties are not better off.
2 Sources of Private Power
✤ Big Businesses, especially the trusts (industrial monopolies) ✤ Political Machines
Civil Right's Movement
✤ Boycotts --> Ex. Rosa Parks and Montgomery Bus Boycott ✤ Sit-ins --> Ex. Lunch counters ✤ Marches and other protests --> Freedom Riders
Success of Government Intervention
✤ Collective action problems ✤ A few businesses have powerful incentives to lobby regulatory agencies. The many individual consumers have relatively small stakes and struggle to organize. ✤ Antitrust laws ✤ Court cases can be expensive, time-consuming
Externalities
✤ Definition: A third party not directly involved in the exchange is affected by the exchange --> This could be either a benefit (positive externalities) or a cost (negative externalities) ✤ The problem: when externalities are involved, the price is "wrong" because external benefits or costs are not included ✤ Goods with external costs are overproduced, and those with external benefits are underproduced
Moral Individualism
✤ Freedom means being an independent self, unbound by prior moral ties and capable of choosing my ends (telos) for myself. ✤ The self is the only source of moral obligations that constrain me. ✤ If I owe something to others, it is only by virtue of my consent.
Government Responses to Monopolies
✤ Government may regulate economically powerful firms, forcing them to price their products and behave like competitive firms. ✤ Government may take action to foster competition in order to eliminate the economic power of firms.
"If You May Do it for Free, You May Do it for Money" by Brennan and Jaworski
✤ If you may do it or possess it for free, you may do it or exchange it for money. ✤ Only a few exceptions: --> Wrongful possession: Some things are wrong to possess or do (ex., child pornography, dog fighting, murder), so they are also wrong to sell. Wrongness is prior to exchange, not a function of exchange. --> Incidental limits: Special circumstances that make it wrong to sell (promised not to sell it, the item would be dangerous in that circumstance, etc.)
Market Weaknesses
✤ Imperfect Information ✤ Monopoly ✤ Public Goods ✤ Externalities ✤ Economic Instability or Recession ✤ Economic Injustice
Student Movement
✤ Included anti-war and civil rights efforts ✤ But also more general demands for... ✤ Students to emerge from apathy and to rethink basic values ✤ Universities to be engines of social change
Problems w/ Monopolies
✤ Inequality: Monopolist receives greater benefit from exchange and can amass great wealth. ✤ Inefficiency: exchanges are restricted because of price.
The Philosophical Case for Markets
✤ Libertarian ✤ Allowing people to engage in voluntary exchanges respects their freedom. ✤ Utilitarian ✤ When exchanges are freely chosen, both parties are better off (utility maximized), as long as the exchange doesn't hurt others.
Plessy v. Ferguson
✤ Louisiana law to have separate train cars; 1 for whites, 1 for blacks ✤ Plessy sits in white ✤ Plessy was 7/8 white, 1/8 black ✤ Violation of the 14th Amendment? --> Court says no ** No evidence Homer was deprived of life, liberty, & property (going from A to point B) ** There is a difference between political & social equality ** Social equality cannot be forced; not w/in government's rights --> John Marshall Harlan's Famous Dissent ** If this is our/court's decision, that approves/allows segregation in all things everywhere ** Constitution is colorblind
Markets and the Good Society
✤ Markets emphasize individual freedom over other conceptions of virtue, fairness, or the good (which come into play only if individuals happen to prefer those things).
Recessions are...
✤ Recessions are costly ✤ Lost employment of resources/income ✤ Lost output ✤ Recessions may also have some benefits ✤ Allow for readjustments which can lead to increased standard of living in the future ✤ Like going to the dentist -- painful now, helpful later
The New Deal's Legacy
✤ Reduced human suffering and provided relief ✤ Changed expectations about the relationship between the people and government ✤ Hoover worries that the rise of government means the loss of economic freedom ✤ Saved the nation from more extreme alternatives? ( Communism and Fascism) ✤ By itself, the New Deal did not end the Great Depression. Nor was it the only reason for the growth of government.
Themes of the Counter-Culture Movement
✤ Rejection of traditional morality ✤ Drug use ✤ Sexual revolution ✤ "Live for today" ✤ "Turn on, tune in, drop out"
1967
✤ Summer of Love in San Francisco ✤ Opposition to the Vietnam War ✤ Rejection of mainstream culture ✤ Creation of alternative society
Suburbia
✤ The American Dream! ✤ Homes with several bedrooms and a lawn! ✤ All the major appliances! ✤ Parks, playgrounds, schools, churches, shopping malls nearby! REST OF THE STORY
Progressives included both political parties. Examples:
✤ Theodore Roosevelt (Republican) ✤ Woodrow Wilson (Democrat)
Possible Government Responses
✤ Use the courts to recover damages ✤ Require information labels and warnings ✤ Control production and marketing of goods --> Two possible errors in regulation: 1. Allow a harmful drug 2. Prevent a good drug ✤ FDA perceives the cost of allowing harmful drugs to be very high ✤ FDA biases decisions against allowing drugs onto the market ✤ Lives may be lost when drugs that could have helped are kept off the market
1968
✤ Vietnam ✤ Height of war's escalation ✤ Student unrest ✤ Ex. Conflict at Columbia University, student riots in Paris ✤ Assassinations ✤ Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert F. Kennedy ✤ Was the country spinning out of control?
Change Raises Question: Is this Democracy?
✤ Woodrow Wilson: "Individuality seems for the time being lost in complex organizations" ✤ Farmers felt powerless against railroads and banks. ✤ Workers felt exploited by large, impersonal corporations ✤ Cities often unhealthy and dangerous, controlled by political machines REPONSES: ✤ Populism ✤ Progressivism
Roosevelt's 4 freedoms
✤Freedom of speech and expression ✤ Freedom of religion ✤ Freedom from fear ✤ Freedom from want
"The 2nd Bill of Rights" by FDR
✤The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries, or shops or farms or mines of the nation; ✤ The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation; ✤ The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living; ✤ The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad; ✤ The right of every family to a decent home; ✤ The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health; ✤ The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident and unemployment; ✤ The right to a good education.
William Graham Sumner and Social Darwinism
✤What do social classes owe to each other? ✤ "Every man and woman in society has one big duty. That is, to take care of his or her own self." ✤ Civil liberty is present when "each man is guaranteed the use of all his own powers exclusively for his own welfare." ✤ "The aggregation of large fortunes is not at all thing to be regretted. On the contrary, it is a necessary condition for many forms of social advance."