Professor Mac Only
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Chapter1PoliticalThinking.pptChapter 1
Political Thinking
Political Thinking
- Critical thinking focused on deciding what can reasonably be believed and then using this information to make political judgments
- Opinions not reached through critical evaluation are likely to be incomplete at best
Obstacles to Political Thinking
- Unwillingness of citizens to make effort
- James David Barbour (a political scientist whose book The Presidential Character made him famous for his classification of presidents through their worldviews. From 1977 to 1995, he taught political science at Duke University) warned these citizens were dangerously unready when the times come for choice
Obstacles to Political Thinking
- Others pay attention but in counterproductive ways
- Paradox of modern communication
- Political spin
- People prefer messages that conform to their word view but cannot know if view correct without considering other views
What Political Science Contribute to Political Thinking
- Learning begets desire to know more
- Political Science: Systemic study of government and politics
- Political Science is descriptive and analytical—seeks to depict and explain
Tools for Political Thought
Political Science provides tools
Reliable information about how the US political system operations
Systemic generalizations about major tendencies in American politics
Terms and concepts that precisely describe key aspects of politics
Political Culture
- A set of shared views and normative judgments held by a population regarding its political system.
- Does not refer to attitudes toward specific actors, such as a president, but rather it denotes how people view the political system as a whole and their belief in its legitimacy.
Political Cultures
- American political scientist Lucian Pye defined political culture as the composite of basic values, feelings, and knowledge that underlie the political process.
- Hence, the building blocks of political culture are the beliefs, opinions, and emotions of the citizens toward their form of government.
America’s Core Values: Liberty
- Liberty: principle that individuals should be free to act and think as they choose, provided they do not infringe unreasonably on the freedom of well-being of others
- “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” –Declaration of Independence
- “The blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity” – The United States Constitution
America’s Core Values: Individualism
- A commitment to personal initiative and self sufficiency
- Political Theorist Tocqueville observed that in the US, as in no other country, individualism is tied to a desire for economic independence to remain in charge of themselves
America’s Core Values: Equality
- The notion that all individuals are equal in their moral worth and therefore are entitled to equal treatment under the law.
- Thomas Jefferson stressed in the Declaration of Independence
America’s Core Values:
Self-Government
- The principle that the people are the people are the ultimate source of governing authority
- “We the People” – U.S. Constitution
Politics & Power
- Politics: The means by which society settles its conflicts and allocates the resulting benefits and costs
- French Philosopher Michael Foucault called politics “war by other means”
- Power: The ability of persons, groups, or institutions to influence political developments
Democracy
- A form of government in which the people govern
- Republic, also known as indirect democracy or representative democracy, is when citizens elect representatives to make laws for them. This is what most modern countries have today.
- Direct democracy is where citizens themselves vote for or against specific proposals or laws. Some c ity states in Ancient Greece had this system.
Majoritarianism
- When political leaders respond to the policy desires of the majority
- A traditional political philosophy or agenda that asserts that a majority of the population is entitled to a certain degree of primacy in society, and has the right to make decisions that affect the society.
Pluralism
- Holds that on most issues the preference of the special interest largely determines what the government does
Other terms
- Authority: the recognized right of officials to exercise power
- Party polarization: refers to the cases in which an individual's stance on a given issue, policy, or person is more likely to be strictly defined by their identification with a particular political party (e.g., Democrat or Republican) or ideology (e.g., liberal or conservative).
Political Participation
- Political Thinking is a key to responsible citizenship
- To prepare yourself for effective political thinking, reflect on your current habits
- Where do you get your news and political information?
- How often do you talk or think about politics?
- How frequently do you encounter opposing views?
- How do you make political decisions?
Video Recommendations
- PBS. (2015) Why Student Government? Crash Course US Government and Politics. Rerieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrk4oY7UxpQ&t=185s
