Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman · 2019. 8. 26. · Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Photo Credits page 2: Chuck Kennedy/Getty;

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman



Chapter 1: Introducing

Government in America

• Government

• Politics

• The Policymaking System

• Democracy

• The Scope of Government in America

• Summary


Chapter Outline and Learning

Objectives

• Government

• LO 1.1: Describe the key functions of

government and explain why they matter.

• Politics

• LO 1.2: Define the various aspects of

politics.



Objectives

• The Policymaking System

• LO 1.3: Assess how citizens can have an

impact on public policy and how policies

can impact people.

• Democracy

• LO 1.4: List the key principles of

democracy, theories regarding how it

works in practice, and challenges it faces

today.



Objectives

• The Scope of Government in America

• LO 1.5: Explain the debate in America over

the proper scope of government.


Government LO 1.1: Describe the key functions of

government and explain why they matter.

• Government makes public policies

made for society.

• Governments must perform five basic

functions.

• Maintain a national defense.

• Provide public services.

• Preserve order.

• Socialize the young.

• Collect taxes. To Learning Objectives

LO 1.1

To Learning Objectives

LO 1.1


LO 1.1


LO 1.1



Politics LO 1.2: Define the various aspects of

politics.

• Politics is the process by which we

select our governmental leaders and what policies they pursue.

• Harold Lasswell defines politics as the struggle over who gets what, when, and how.


LO 1.2



The Policymaking System LO 1.3: Assess how citizens can have an

impact on public policy and how policies

can impact people.

• People Shape Policy

• Policies Impact People


LO 1.3



The Policymaking System

• People Shape Policy

• People have interests, problems, and

concerns.

• The four linkage institutions are political

parties, elections, mass media, and

interest groups.

LO 1.3




• People Shape Policy (cont.)

• Policy agenda is the issues that attract the

serious attention of public officials.

• The four policymaking institutions are the

legislative branch, executive branch,

judicial branch, and the bureaucracy.

LO 1.3




• Policies Impact People

• Public policy is a choice that government

makes in response to a political issue.

• Policy impacts are the effects a policy has

on people and problems.

LO 1.3


LO 1.3


LO 1.3



Democracy LO 1.4: List the key principles of democracy,

theories regarding how it works in practice,

and challenges it faces today.

• Traditional Democratic Theory

• Three Contemporary Theories of

American Democracy

• Challenges to Democracy

• American Political Culture and

Democracy

• A Culture War?

• Preview Questions about Democracy To Learning Objectives

LO 1.4



Democracy

• Traditional Democratic Theory

• Democracy is a system in which policy

represents and responds to the public’s

preferences.

• Five components of Traditional Democratic

Theory are equality in voting, effective

participation, enlightened

understanding, citizen control of the

agenda, and inclusion.

LO 1.4



Democracy


American Democracy

• Pluralist Theory is a theory of government

and policies emphasizing that politics is

mainly a competition among groups, each

one pressing for its own preferred policies.

• Groups must bargain and compromise to

get policies.

LO 1.4



Democracy


American Democracy (cont.)

• Elite and Class Theory contends that

societies are divided along class lines and

that an upper-class elite will rule.

• Policies benefit those with money and

power.

LO 1.4



Democracy


American Democracy (cont.)

• Hyperpluralism is a theory of government

and politics contending that groups are so

strong that government is weakened.

• Confusing and contradictory policies result

from politicians trying to placate every

group.

LO 1.4



Democracy

• Challenges to Democracy

• Increased complexity of issues make it

harder for citizens to make decisions.

• Limited participation in government,

especially voting.

• Escalating campaign costs stop people

from running for office.

• Diverse political interests result into policy

gridlock.

LO 1.4



Democracy

• American Political Culture and

Democracy

• Political culture is an overall set of values

widely shared within a society.

• Five elements of American political culture

are liberty, egalitarianism, individualism,

laissez-faire, and populism.

LO 1.4


LO 1.4


LO 1.4



Democracy

• A Culture War?

• James Q. Wilson believes that America is a

more polarized nation today than at any

time in living memory.

• Other scholars believe that there is

relatively little evidence of a so-called

culture war going on among ordinary

American citizens.

LO 1.4



Democracy

• Preview Questions about Democracy

• Are people knowledgeable about matters of public policy?

• If there are choices, do the media help citizens understand them?

• Is Congress representative of American society, and is it capable of reacting to changing times?

LO 1.4



The Scope of Government in America LO 1.5: Explain the debate in America over

the proper scope of government.

• How Active Is American

Government?

• Preview Questions about the Scope

of Government



The Scope of Government in America

• How Active Is American

Government?

• Spends $3.8 trillion yearly.

• Employs 2.8 million civilians and 1.4 million

in the military.

• It owns one-third of the land in the United

States.

• It occupies 2.6 billion square feet of office

space.

LO 1.5


LO 1.5



The Scope of Government in America

• Preview Questions about the Scope of Government

• What role did the Constitution’s authors foresee for the federal government?

• Does the public favor a large, active government?

• Is Congress too responsive to the demands of the public and organized interests?

LO 1.5



LO 1.1 Summary

• Describe the key functions of

government and explain why they

matter.

• All governments perform include maintaining a

national defense, providing public services,

preserving order, socializing the young, and

collecting taxes.

• These functions matter because they impact

our lives.



Which of the following is an

example of a public good?

A. College education

B. Automobile insurance

C. Home ownership

D. National defense

LO 1.1



Which of the following is an

example of a public good?

A. College education

B. Automobile insurance

C. Home ownership

D. National defense

LO 1.1



LO 1.2 Summary

• Define the various aspects of politics.

• Politics determines who our leaders are and

what policies they pursue.

• The who of politics is the voters, candidates,

parties, and groups; the what is the benefits

and burdens of government; the how is the

various ways in which people participate in

politics.



Politics determines who we select as

our governmental leaders and

policies these leaders pursue.

A. who

B. what

C. when

D. how

LO 1.2



Politics determines who we select as

our governmental leaders and

policies these leaders pursue.

A. who

B. what

C. when

D. how

LO 1.2



LO 1.3 Summary

• Assess how citizens can have an impact

on public policy and how policies can

impact people.

• Citizens’ interests and concerns are

transmitted through linkage institutions to the

policy agenda of the policymaking institutions.

• The policies that are made then influence

peoples’ lives.



All of the following are

considered linkage institutions

EXCEPT

A. the media.

B. interest groups.

C. political parties.

D. courts.

E. elections.

LO 1.3



All of the following are

considered linkage institutions

EXCEPT

A. the media.

B. interest groups.

C. political parties.

D. courts.

E. elections.

LO 1.3



LO 1.4 Summary

• List the key principles of democracy,

theories regarding how it works in

practice, and challenges it faces today.

• Key principles of democracy are equality in

voting, effective participation, enlightened

understanding, citizen control of the agenda,

and inclusion.



LO 1.4 Summary




• The theories regarding how democracy works

in practice are the pluralist theory, elitist and

class theory, and hyperpluralist theory.



LO 1.4 Summary




• Challenges democracy faces today are

complexity of issues today, citizens’ limited

participation, escalating campaign costs, and

the policy gridlock resulting from diverse

political interests.



According to Robert Dahl’s traditional

democratic theory, an ideal democratic

process should satisfy all of the following

criteria EXCEPT

A. equality in voting.

B. effective participation.

C. enlightened understanding.

D. majority rule.

LO 1.4



According to Robert Dahl’s traditional

democratic theory, an ideal democratic

process should satisfy all of the following

criteria EXCEPT

A. equality in voting.

B. effective participation.

C. enlightened understanding.

D. majority rule.

LO 1.4



LO 1.5 Summary

• Explain the debate in America over the proper scope of government. • Politicians debate if the scope of government

responsibilities is too vast, just about right, or not comprehensive enough.

• This debate concerns whether the goals that are agreed to be important are best achieved through government action or rather through means other than government.



The annual budget of the federal

government is nearly .

A. $4 trillion

B. $5 trillion

C. $6 trillion

D. $7 trillion

LO 1.5



The annual budget of the federal

government is nearly .

A. $4 trillion

B. $5 trillion

C. $6 trillion

D. $7 trillion

LO 1.5



Photo Credits

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3T: AP Photo;

3TC: Getty Images;

3TB: Jewel Samad/Getty Images;

3B: Joseph Sohm/Corbis;

5: Colorblend Images/Getty Images;

7: AFP/Getty Images;

8: AP Photo;

9: AP Photo;

10: AFP Getty Images;

12 AFP Getty Images;

14: Chris Wildt/www.cartoonstock.com;

16: Alex Wong/Getty Images;

18: Joseph Sohm/Corbis;

20: Robert Trippett/Sipa;

21: David Horsey;

23: Jewel Sammad/Getty Images


Text Credits

U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Surveys. Data can be found at

http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/socdemo/voting/publications/historical/index.html.

Documents

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman · 2019. 8. 26. · Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Photo Credits page 2: Chuck Kennedy/Getty;