The Five Principles of Politics

Chapter 1: The Five Principles of Politics Government is Complex American government is extraordinarily complex:  It is divided federally with multiple levels of government at the national, state, county, city, and local levels.  It is also subject to the separation of powers between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches (not to mention the subdivisions in each of those branches). Government is everywhere Americans have a traditional dislike and skepticism of “big government” that has led to the division of governmental power both federally and among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Nevertheless, American government has grown as interests on both the left and the right have championed its expansion. Democrats and liberals are more likely to advocate expanding the government in the areas of social programs and government regulation of business. Republicans and conservatives are more likely to advocate expanding the government in the areas of defense, police powers, and social regulation. What is Government? GOVERNMENT is the institution in society that has a monopoly on the legitimate use of force. LEGITIMACY, the widespread perception that the government has the right to rule, is enhanced by popular participation and consent of the governed. COERCION is the government’s use of force. Common examples of government coercion include: • Taxation • Conscription Why Is Government Necessary? The Hobbesian view: Government exists to maintain order. The Lockean view: Government exists to protect individual liberty and property. Among many others, David Hume argued that governments also exist to produce public goods. The American State Americans have come to empower the American state to accomplish these multiple aims of government: 1. All states, including the United States, rely on coercion to govern. 2. Governments, especially constitutional governments, rely on legitimacy and consent to govern. The Founders and a Powerful State Despite their fears of “big government,” the framers of the Constitution established a central government far more powerful than the status quo and with a potential for significant growth. “Government ought to be clothed with all the powers requisite to complete execution of its trust.” — Alexander Hamilton (Publius), Federalist 23 “Money is regarded, with propriety, as the vital principle of the body politic; as that which sustains its life and motion and enables it to perform its most essential functions … A complete power, therefore, to procure a regular and adequate supply of revenue as far as the resources of the community will permit, may be regarded as an indispensable ingredient in every Constitution.” — Alexander Hamilton (Publius), Federalist 30 The American Government in Context Like all governments, the American government relies on some mix of legitimacy and coercion. Nevertheless, governments differ in important respects. Most notably, governments differ in respect to their inclusiveness and their willingness to recognize limits on their own authority. Types of Government: Levels of Inclusiveness Low Inclusiveness AUTOCRACY High Inclusiveness OLIGARCHY DEMOCRACY Governments can be categorized in ascending levels of inclusiveness. AUTOCRACIES are governments controlled by one person. OLIGARCHIES are governments of the few. DEMOCRACIES are governments run by the people. Types of Government: Recognition of Limits Few Limits TOTALITARIAN Broad Limits AUTHORITARIAN CONSTITUTIONAL Governments can also be categorized in descending order of the limits they recognize on their own authority. TOTALITARIAN governments recognize little or no limits on their authority. AUTHORITARIAN governments recognize (often reluctantly) some limits on their authority. CONSTITUTIONAL governments recognize and often codify broad limits on their authority. An Introduction to the Five Principles of Politics Throughout the semester, both the textbook and many class discussions will use the following Five Principles Of Politics to illuminate some of the central questions of American government and politics. The Rationality Principle: All political behavior has a purpose. 1. Political behavior is goal-oriented. 2. Political actors make instrumental choices about how to act. The Collective-Action Principle: All politics is collective action. 1. Government requires collective social action. 2. As the number and diversity of the relevant actors increase, so does the collective action problem. The Institution Principle: Institutions routinely solve collective action problems. 1. 2. Institutional arrangements provide for a division of labor, rules regarding decision making, and checks on the powers of political actors and institutions. These routines and structured relationships enable cooperation that alleviates impediments to collective action. The Policy Principle: Political outcomes are the products of individual preferences and institutional procedures. 1. Outcomes are the products of the intermingling of individual goals and institutions. 2. Individuals have competing goals that are shaped, channeled, and filtered through relevant processes. The History Principle: History matters. 1. Historical processes shape institutions. 2. History provides a normative context through which we can understand and interpret political events and outcomes.