PS 201 Joseph Boland

Introduction to US Politics Fall, 1998

Course Introduction Lecture Notes

• Course introduction
• This course is an introductory survey of American political institutions and political culture.
• First order of business: ask for volunteers to switch from this course to the PS 201 course being taught by Max Brown. His was added late and is under-enrolled while this course is over-enrolled.
• Course objectives
• A foundation for those majoring in political science.
• An overview for those who want to familiarize themselves with American politics.
• Beyond this, I hope the course engages us in a critical examination of the development and form of American politics.
• For those of us who are Americans, this is a process of social self-examination, of reflecting on how we have been formed as Americans, of understanding our political subjectivity. For any people professing belief in democracy and self-determination, knowledge of the political process and political culture are essential to citizenship. In a modest way, the course isn't only about US politics, but is a feature of US politics, because political education is essential to democracy. The dependence of democratic government on an educated citizenry has long been recognized. Jefferson in a letter to Madison:
• "Educate and inform the whole mass of the people. Enable them to see that it is in their interest to preserve peace and order, and they will preserve them. ... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of liberty. After all, it is my principle that the will of the majority should prevail" (in Lowi & Ginsberg, American Government, 5^th ed., p6).
• Democratic government depends not merely on the exercise of the will of the majority, but that the majority be democratic and capable of informed decision-making.
• And I hope the course enables all of us to achieve a better understanding of the institutional and cultural roots of American policies and beliefs and the dilemmas of American politics.
• Course structure:
• Classes and exams
• Meetings: We will meet four times a week and explore ten subjects ranging from the Constitution to welfare reform. For most of these, one session will be set aside primarily for class discussion. Lectures will focus mostly on the readings from the textbook, The Democratic Debate. Most discussion sessions will focus on a controversial question related to the week's lecture and framed by the readings in the second textbook, Points of View; a few will discuss films. Eight weekly discussion questions are printed on this syllabus. Four of these questions will be on your examinations, so you have a stake in completing the readings prior to the discussion sessions and participating actively in them.
• Readings: The primary text, The Democratic Debate, along with the Points of View reader, are available in the University bookstore. In addition, please regularly read the national and international news sections of one daily U.S. newspaper. I'll explain how to find online versions of these shortly.
• Exams: There will be two mid-terms and a final. The first mid-term will consist of multiple-choice questions, definitions, and short-answer questions; the second, a take home exam, will require writing a single essay based on one of two questions discussed in previous discussion sections. The first half of the final exam will consist of multiple choice and short-answer questions; the second half will involve writing an essay on a question from one of last four discussion sections.
• Miscellany:
• If you have special needs in note-taking, attending lectures and discussions, or taking examinations, please let me know early in the quarter.
• Please do not use previous editions of either textbook--the authors have made significant changes to both.
• Internet resources
• Course web site
• Course information.
• Online newspapers and magazines.
• Other resources.
• Use not required.
• Suggestions welcome.

• Course themes
• The text characterizes American politics as a conflict between elite democracy and popular democracy. The authors define these as follows:
• elite democracy: "a political system in which elites acquire power by a free and fair competition for people's votes. Once elected, elites are given the freedom to rule as they see fit" (2-3).
• popular democracy: "a political system in which the people are involved as much as possible in making the decisions that affect their lives" (3).
• See transparencies on characteristics of elite and popular democracy.
• This conflict over the interpretation and practice of democracy provides a unifying theme, an "interpretive framework" (10) for the discussion of political institutions and political culture.
• One might expect this conflict to be central to a democratic society.
• On the one hand, one could argue that what constitutes democratic principles and procedures is itself a matter for democratic decision.
• On the other, both elite and popular democratic theorists reject the premise that anything a majority decides must, just because the majority decided it, be democratic.
• The authors note that "majorities have often supported elite rule and undemocratic values" (3). They also recognize that "majority rule should be limited by basic rights" (3). And proponents of elite democracy have typically been highly skeptical of popular opinion. Alexander Hamilton asked rhetorically, "Are not popular assemblies frequently subject to the impulses of rage, resentment, jealousy, avarice, and of other irregular and violent propensities?" (Debate on the Constitution, v1 p314), and more recent elite democratic theorists have found among ordinary citizens authoritarian tendencies, weak support for civil rights and liberties, and a lack of issue-specific knowledge or interest.
• How, then, can democratic societies protect and sustain democratic values and practices? How we go about answering this question depends upon the kind of democracy we want and believe in.
• In addition: US politics in the context of globalization
• Reasons for paying attention to:
• Globalization is eroding the nation state system and may within the next 30 years sweep it away.
• The history of the United States is, after all, itself a major chapter in the history of globalization.
• Expansion of Europe; challenge to Eurocentrism; transformation of geographic, biological knowledge; beginnings of economic and political globalization.
• The United States has, in the past, sometimes played a positive role in efforts to achieve global cooperation:
• Wilsonian internationalism.
• The United Nations.
• Globalization processes (scorecard and signposts).
• Economic: globalized production, redistribution of production, global financial flows, growth of global corporations.
• Technological: global computer and communications networks.
• Cultural: rapid transnational proliferation of mass-market advertising and electronic entertainment produced by a handful of mega-conglomerates.
• "Pop culture is America's hottest export item today. US movies, music, TV programming and home video now create an US$ 8 billion trade surplus in this sector. Top sellers are Mickey Mouse, Madonna, Michael Jackson, McDonald's burgers, Levi's jeans and Coca Cola. In the past five years the overseas revenues of Hollywood studios have doubled. The US$ 20 billion music industry earns approximately 70 per cent of its revenues outside the United States. Clearly, there is a worldwide trend towards increasing demand for American entertainment" (Hamelink, New Information and Communication Technologies, 1997).
• Problems of globalization due to the character of American political culture.
• Special status of sovereignty due to history of isolationism, neo-isolationism, and "American Century".
• Wariness of 'statism', hence of global government.
• Legacy of Cold War: military-industrial complex, militarized foreign policies.
• Possible contributions to globalization:
• Democratic tradition
• Multicultural society
• Environmentalism