AN INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE

PS 2000

“THE CHIEF END OF POLITICS IS TO ALLOW PEOPLE TO BECOME

RESPONSIBLE AND MATURE.” STUART MILLS

Citation: Shively, P. (2011).

Power and choice: An

introduction to political science

(12th ed.). New York, NY:

McGraw-Hill.

UNIT 1: THE IDEA OF POLITICS

Political Science is the

study and analysis of

politics within states.

A state in this course is

defined as a country.

The United States,

Great Britain, and

Germany are all states.

Map of Europe provided courtesy of the University of Texas Libraries, The University of

Texas at Austin. Retrieved from http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/europe/txu-oclc-

247233313-europe_pol_2008.jpg

POLITICAL SCIENTIST

Political scientists read

newspapers, watch the

news, listen to talk

radio, and even

participate in the

political process.

They analyze words and

use them precisely.

POWER

Power is the ability of

one person to cause

another to do what the

first wishes.

Two forms of power are

coercion and

persuasion.

The No Child Left

Behind Act is a look at

both forms of power.

This image is a work of a United States Department of

Education employee, taken or made during the course of an

employee's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal

government, the image is in the public domain. Retrieved from

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nochild.jpg

AUTHORITY

If you have power you

must also have authority.

This is the general

agreement among others

that a person or group

has the right to control or

make decisions for the

rest of the group.

Authority can be manifest

(seen) or implicit (implied

or not seen).

IDEOLOGIES

An Ideology is an organized set of related

ideas that modify one another.

They help us to make sense out of politics and

to gather allies.

Ideologies change to fit what we need and

reflect what we want.

LIBERALISM

Liberalism in America is different than any other place. In America we have liberals and conservatives under the name of liberalism.

To liberals power is bad and should be limited.

An example of liberals in America would be the Democratic Party and their desire for big government. Typically in the U.S., liberals

align themselves with the

Democratic party

CONSERVATISM

Conservatives are noted

for wanting to maintain

order with common

values.

This ideology is seen as

the core of the

Republican Party.

Conservatives accept

and welcome power.

Conservatives in the U.S.

align themselves with the

Republican party, as a rule.

SOCIALISM & COMMUNISM

Karl Marx was a great socialist writer.

He said that the working class should take over the government ,and then the government should take over industry.

In 1917 Lenin took this idea and, during the Bolshevik revolution, took control of Russia and then turned it into a Communist country.

Bannerjee, P., (2009). Hammer and Sickle. Retrieved from:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CPI_%28M%29.png

FASCISM

Fascism is a style of politics and a movement.

It has been linked to such leaders as Adolf Hitler (Germany), Benito Mussolini (Italy) and Francisco Franco (Spain).

With this ideology there is usually a charismatic leader who uses terror and violence to advance their movement.

This form of government does not usually last long.

Jugoslavije, M. R. N., (1937). Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler [Photograph].

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC. Retrieved from :

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Benito_Mussolini_and_Adolf_Hitler.jpg

NEOLIBERALISM

The United States saw a surge in neoliberalism during the 1990s.

There is usually a cut back on government regulation of the economy, a privatization of state-run businesses, and independence for banks from the direction of the government.

China and other countries have been using modified versions of neoliberalism.

RELIGION

Religion and politics have

created more wars than any

other ideas combined!

Many countries in the Middle

East, North Africa, and South

Asia are run on faith-based

politics.

While religion is considered an

ideology, it is also a belief

system.

An ideology is not set in stone

and will grow and change

throughout life and experiences!

Religion

Politics

CITATION

Shively, P. (2011). Power and choice: An

introduction to political science (12th ed.).

New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

http://commons.wikimedia.org (Pictures)