Transcript Unit 1
The Study of American
Government
WILSON, CHAPTER 1
DISTRICT 127
Understanding Power:
What is power?
The ability of one person to get another person to
act in accordance with the first’s intentions
What is authority?
The right to use power
What is legitimacy?
Political authority conferred by law or by
state/national constitution
What makes the US Government and
Constitution legitimate?
Understanding Democracy:
What is meant by democracy as the Framers used
it?
Representative Democracy
What is direct democracy? (Participatory
Democracy)
Government in which all or most citizens participate
directly
Representative democracy?
a government in which leaders make decisions by
winning a competitive struggle for the popular vote
Why was direct democracy feared by the Framers?
How is Political Power distributed?
Majoritarian Politics
Elected officials become delegates of the people, acting as the
people would act were the matter put to a popular vote.
Marxist view – Karl Marx
View that the government is dominated by capitalists
Power elite view – C. Wright Mills
View that the government is dominated by a few top leaders,
most whom are outside of government
Bureaucratic view – Max Weber
view that the government is dominated by appointed officials
Pluralist view
The belief that competition among all affected interests
shapes public policy
Is Democracy Driven by Self-Interest?
John Locke – Natural Rights (Life, Liberty, Property)
– 2nd Treatise of Government – Motivated by SelfInterest – Freedom leads to inequity and eventually
chaos - Give up Freedom to govern through Social
Contract – Gov’t validity is based on ‘consent of
governed’
Alexis d Tocqueville – challenges our assumption
that people always act in self-interest, points out the
great emotion and conviction in equality within the
American system
Questions?