Terms of interest:	citizenship	suffarage
direct action politcs	Elite theory	Pluralism
laissez-faire capilatism	bourgeois	politics

equality of opportunity	political equality	popular sovereignty

Chapter 1:

American Political Culture and the Pluralist and Elite Theories.

Key Concepts from the text:

- Even though the relationship between the citizen and the government is central to American politics, the government does not necessarily do what the majority of the people want. -Government effects our lives every day. -Different types of government are defined by how powerful the government is and how free the people are. - Politics in America changed when more people won the right to participate. - The identity and characteristics of Americans have changed over time. - Liberty, equality and democracy are core American values, though they often come into conflict with each other.

In a very simple way you can think about the central question of this class: Why do we all have the expectations of freedom, privacy, liberty, etc? where do these ideas come from and why, really, do things work in our government and society as they appear to work.

There are many different theories in the study of American government and society but the two beginning points are two of the oldest theories about our government and society.

Many of the so-called Founding Fathers could be called Pluralists in that they beleived the important interplay of power takes place on the group level.

The Elite Theory offers an alternative view. It suggests we look at who is in charge of those groups and the assests of the country and identify them as the elite who are in control.

Pluralism and the Elite theory.

These two ways of asking questions and finding ways to answer them are really just starting points on how we get at the heart of the class - "Why do we - you and me - have the stuff we have - not just the physical stuff but all those expectations about liberty and freedom and all that?"

Consider the following mathematical statement when applied to the US government:

Public Opinion = Public Policy.

Is that true?

"The Will of the People" = "What government does"

Or is it more complicated than that?

click here for a slide show on pluralism and the elite theory

The Pluralist theory looks at the activity, membership, role and power of interest groups while the elite theory challenges us to look at who is in charge of most of those interest groups. It is all about perspective. Just like real life.

These two theories are not really mutually exclusive, in that we can see evidence of both. Also these are not the only two theories in political science to answer our central question (Why do we have what we have?).

Each chapter presents us with a compelling theory about how and why our government and society works. It is up to you to figure out which works best for your understanding of reality.

Informal power - the ability to persuade.

Former President Clinton may have been the commander-in-chief of the armed forces so why didn't he just order the military to accept gays? Was he a wimp, or is it because he knew that order would not be followed? He knew his own limits. Sure he had the formal authority, but what good is that if the order isn't carried out? Will the next order be viewed in the same light? 

Every successful Politician (from FDR to Hitler to Stalin to Clinton) has followed the Six Tactics of Persuasion. They are the same, even if the culture in which they are practiced is different. These tactic of persuasion can be sued by parents to send their child to bed or by presidents wanting senators to pass a bill. They are the key to every successful person's life, even if that person has never heard of them. 

The Six Tactics of Persuasion. (R. Neustadt , on Presidential Power )

So you want some one (or group) to do something. Your power and credibility is limited and finite (no matter who you are) so you should always be aware of it and conserve it. Use it to make it stronger, or mis-use it and lose it. 

What's the easiest way to get some one to do something? 

(1) Ask - explain your position.
It may not be enough to get people to do what you want, but if it is, then why do any more than that? 

Maybe asking isn't enough - do the second tactic -
(2) Make an emotional appeal.
Don't appeal to your own emotions. If you want others to do things then you must stay focused on others and appeal to their emotions. The Parent who says: "Do it 'cause I'm the Dad and I said so." Can only say this if he has done his work as a parent and the child has a positive definition of "dad." LBJ (President Johnson) used to have his staff wake him in the middle of the night so he could call senators and wake them to remind them: "tomorrow, your country needs you to vote…" All successful politicians stay focused on others, not on themselves. 

If the first two tactics don't work, you need to move to the third tactic.
(3) Make a vague promise.
Why a vague promise? So you don't have to keep it? No, just the opposite, make a vague promise so that you CAN keep it. I'm sure you've all been told by someone: "I'll look into it and see what can be done." And you knew they were blowing you off. Did you go back to that person? But if someone told you that and then came back to you and said: "I looked into it and we can't help you, but those guys over there can." That person has helped you (and those other guys) and has gained credibility from you (and those other guys). 

(4) Call in past favors.  This is where you use guilt, don't squander guilt at tactic #2. Guilt is finite. In order to call in past favors that means that politicians help people? What's this? Hitler helped people? Sadam Hussein helps people? Yes. All people? No only those people who keep him in power. Just like Clinton, Reagan, Churchill or whomever, just a different culture. If you want power, do things for people.  If you want to amass power and enhance your credibility, get positive things done for people. 

(5) Grant a current favor.
Unlike the promise, keep this specific and limited. If you start here, everyone will want something, so be careful what favors you grant. The more you do, the more people will ask, the more you will be able to do, the more past favors to call in…

(6) Threaten reprisals.
This doesn't necessarily mean violence, but violence is part of the human condition. If politics is like your book says: "deciding who gets what, when and how" then when someone doesn't get their's they may perceive violence has been done to them. A reprisal may be: "Do this or I won't talk to you again." But don't threaten anything you can't do, or wouldn't do. In fact what you think doesn't matter. The other must perceive you as having the ability and the will to carry out the threat. Don't threaten anything that will cost you more than what you get if the person does what you want. 

I believe it was Isaac Asimov who wrote: "Violence is the final refuge of the incompetent."

So you see, power can be used wisely or wasted. it is up to the one who uses power to do it well.

 

Each lecture web page has questions at the end. They are taken from the publisher's test bank and will be used in the first half of the final.

In general, if you can understand the question and be able to discuss it with informed people, than you should be okay. If not, than you should re-read the book, use the publisher's web resources, etc until you are able to do so.

Some things to think about:

1. Do you think you know what words like "freedom," "justice," "democracy" mean? Are they natural? Where do you derive your own meaning for those words? 2. What do you think are the most important reasons for low public trust in government? How could public trust in government be increased? 3. Combating terrorism has entailed restrictions on civil liberties. How can we reconcile civil liberties and national security? What sorts of limits on personal freedom do you think are acceptable? What sort of actions are not acceptable? How does national security affect Americans' support of liberty? 4. What values do Americans tend to share? Are there any values that all Americans share? why do we disagree so vehemently about the proper role of government in upholding those values?

meyerjn@lacitycollege.edu