Political science assignment
Abdullah94k
ch_2_politics_and_choice.pptxPolitics and Choice
CH 2: Riemer, Simon, & Romance
Making Choices in Politics
Connection between values, facts, and judgments in the political arena;
Choice in politics can be tragic, creative, burdensome, and perilous;
Choices political actors make are numerous;
Not always easy to choose what is “right.”
Five Important Themes
Political obligation (Socrates); why people obey or disobey those who demand their political allegiance; what makes government legitimate?
Creativity in politics (James Madison); the achievement of a more fruitful, ethical, empirical, and prudential understanding of politics; can we reconcile liberty and authority?
Responsible exercise of freedom (citizens under Adolf Hitler); entails the sensible response of citizens to social, economic, and political tasks and problems; do we exercise freedom responsibly or abandon freedom for authoritarian rule?
Power politics (JFK & the Cuban Missile Crisis); political pattern of acquisition, preservation, and balancing of power characteristic of the competitive-conflictive behavior of the US and the Soviet Union; how do we work out sane, sound strategies and tactics in a nuclear age?
Importance of accurate information and sound assumptions in political decision making (George W. Bush); sound political judgment relies upon accurate assumptions and reasonable assumptions in political decision-making; decisions made on the basis of inaccurate information and faulty assumptions run the risk of failure.
How does political choice illustrate the intimate connection among values, facts, and judgement?
Case #1: Socrates Choice
The life and teachings of Socrates comes to us through the writings of Plato;
Accused of corrupting the youth of Athens and not believing in the gods; refuses to abandon his “mission” (teaching the youth);
Sentenced to die by drinking hemlock (poison);
Accepts his fate rather than ask for imprisonment, a fine, or exile;
Refuses an opportunity to escape because, in escaping, “he would desert the just principles by which he has lived;” Socrates can’t justify escaping because that action would weaken the laws, the government, and the state and Athens cannot endure if its lawful decisions have no power;
Socrates is indebted to his political community for birth, for nurture, and education, and for fulfillment in citizenship; he would find no happiness in fleeing from ‘well-ordered cities and virtuous men;’
Socrates concludes that because of what our political community gives to us, we are obligated to obey its laws;
Socrates's choice not to escape illustrates the problem of political obligation; why should we obey the political community that makes claims on our allegiance?
Socrates says that because of the contribution that the political community makes to our life, growth, and fulfillment, we are required to obey its laws.
The thirteen colonies during the American Revolution articulated another position on political obligation;
When a government violates the trust that brought it into being, when it persistently violates the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and when it is not responsive to redress of grievances, the people have a right to revolt and overthrow such a government and establish a new one, based on their consent and dedicated to the protection of their rights;
We owe obedience only to governments of our own making that protect our basic rights and, pursuant to our will, advance life, growth, and fulfillment.
Case #2: James Madison
Key question for Madison when drafting the Constitution was how to reconcile liberty and authority in a large state;
Madison was strongly committed to popular government and human freedom in a new and large American nation that required power and authority for survival;
Prevailing viewpoint that republican form of government was only possible in a small political community; monarchy necessary in a large state to limit personal freedom; incompatible with self-government and liberty;
Madison’s theory of the extensive republic – a federal republic governing a large territory – constituted a creative breakthrough in political thought;
Under a federal republic, the US could have liberty, self-government, and justice at the state and local level and also have a powerful central government able to protect the common interests of the whole Union;
A large republic would necessitate representation; constitutional limitations would be placed on power through the separation of powers;
Case #3: The German Citizen and the Nazi Regime
Freedom is defined as power over one’s own destiny; choice presupposes freedom; freedom requires responsible judgment;
Under difficult circumstances, does the average citizen have the common sense, virtue, wisdom, and strength to choose responsibly?;
Under the Weimer Republic, Germany struggled to make democracy work after WWI; economic distress was rampant;
The Democratic Party disintegrated; the Nazis condemned the ineffectiveness of the other parties in Germany (Social Democrats, Communists, and Catholic Center Party);
Hitler able to take advantage of Germany’s disarray; promised “miraculous” results;
Heart of Nazi strength was the middle class: small businessmen, small farmers, the self-employed, white-collar workers, civil servants, and the inhabitants of small towns;
Nazi supporters felt threatened by a loss of their status, by liberal values, and by economic depression; responsible choice in this case turned out to be a disaster for Germany;
The case of Nazi Germany raises the question of which values, which circumstances, and which leadership judgments make the responsible exercise of freedom possible and probable?
Case #4: JFK and the Cuban Missile Crisis
US has six alternatives to address the Cuban Missile Crisis: (1) do nothing, (2) engage in diplomacy, (3) approach Fidel Castro, (4) blockade Cuba, (5) launch an air attack, and (6) invade Cuba;
In deciding between and air attack and the blockade, Kennedy chose to go with a blockade; he addressed the nation on 22 October 1962 and set forth his choice;
Kennedy made the right choice but his decision underscores the dangers and difficulties of achieving national security in the nuclear age.
Case #5: George W. Bush and the Decision to Invade Iraq
Final outcome of the Iraq War remains unclear; in recent years there has been a significant reduction in the level of violence as a result of changes in strategy and tactics;
First three to four years of the war, however, were problematic because of faulty judgments and the inability to gather undisputed facts;
Two primary assumptions given for going to war in Iraq: (1) link between the regime in Baghdad and al Qaeda and (2) Iraq’s stockpile of WMD; neither assumption proved to be completely accurate;
Was also an assumption that the military operation would be over quickly, political power would be turned over to the Iraqis, democracy will take hold, and the bulk of American forces will return home after a relatively short period of time; this also proved to be an inaccurate assumption.
