Chapter 11, soc 2010, Henslin

Politics and the EconomyPolitics and the Economy

Chapter 11 overview1

Power, Authority, and

Violence

Types of Government

The U.S. Political

System

Who Rules the United

States?

The Transformation of

Economic Systems

World Economic

Systems

Capitalism in a Global

Economy

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO GET ½ OF A CHAPTER?

TO EXIST: EVERY SOCIETY MUST HAVE A SYSTEM OF LEADERSHIP. SOME PEOPLE MUST HAVE POWER OVER

OTHERS.

Politics: Establishing Leadership

2

Authority: Coercion:

Legitimate Power

Power that people accept as right

Illegitimate power

Power that people do not accept as just

Power, Authority and Violence3

By now… you should know the definition of power

For example: a mugger and a judge all have the power to take $250 from

you… what is the difference?


Legitimate Force and the State

Weber: The government (also called the State) claims a monopoly on legitimate force or violence.

The State claims both the exclusive right to use violence and the right to punish everyone else who uses violence.

This is a critical point to understand

with politics. If someone owes you $ you

can’t take the money by force but the

State can.

4

“VIOLENCE IS THE ULTIMATE FOUNDATION

OF ANY POLITICAL ORDER” (BERGER, 1963)

Quote of the Day:


3 types of authority (legitimate power)

Traditional Authority –.

Rational-Legal Authority –

Charismatic Authority -

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Traditional Authority

Authority based on custom

We will always know who is next in line

Hallmark of tribal groups

Declines with industrialization (but never dies out)

“We’ve always done it this way”

Examples:

Parents exercise authority over their children

Birth into a particular family makes an individual Queen or King

7


Rational –Legal Authority

Not based on custom but based on written rules

We may not know who is next in line, but we know how they will

be elected.

Matters that have been agreed to by reasonable people & written

into law.

Authority comes from the position someone holds not from the

person.

Examples:

Anything Bureaucratic

U.S. Presidents, Congress, Senate …

Catholic Church and the Pope

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Charismatic Authority

A person becomes an authority figure because of his/her

outstanding traits

Transfer of authority is problematic

2 ways authority can be transferred:

The authority figure can appoint someone

The authority figure can build an organization out of which comes rational-legal

authority; this is referred to as Routinization of Charisma

Charismatic leaders pose a threat to traditional

and rational-legal leaders

9

Monarchies Dictatorships

King &

Queen

Early

societies were

smaller

City-state

Dictatorship= one person

Oligarchy= small group of people

E.g. Hitler

Types of Government10

Democracies

Derived from 2 Greek

words Demos= common people

Kratos = power

2 Types

o Direct

o Representative

o Idea of citizenship


Democracies (note: we are skipping Monarchies)

Historically Athens and Greece practiced democracy

Direct Democracy- works well with small size everyone comes

together votes publically (think town hall meeting today)

Representative Democracy- You vote for electorates who cast a

ballot for President.

Citizenship- MVP: The idea that by virtue of birth and residence people have basic rights.

Universal Citizenship- everyone having the same basic rights by being born in a country

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Dictatorships and Oligarchies: 12

Characterized by a seizure of Power

Dictatorship – Rule by one Hitler or Saddam Hussein

Oligarchy – Rule by a fewo Military Coops or South Africa (Apartheid)

Dictatorships and Oligarchies are

examples of Totalitarianism

(total control of people by

the government)

REPUBLICANS

•OLDER

•MIDDLE TO UPPER

SOCIAL CLASSES

•CONSERVATIVE

•LESS

GOVERNMENT

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DEMOCRATES

Younger

Minority Groups

Women more than men

Liberal

Working classes

More government

After the founding of the U.S. many political parties emerged

(like the Federalist) however by the time of the Civil War only 2

political parties dominated.


Political Parties and Values

Although Democrats and Republicans represent somewhat different philosophical principles, each party represents slightly different slices from the center.

Democrats and Republicans agree on fundamental matters: both support free public education (k-12), strong military, freedom of religion, speech, and assembly, and private ownership of property.

Also very few politicians from either party are advocating to overthrow the government.

14


Voting Patterns: Who Votes?

Happy reminder: Sociologist don’t care about personal politics… the look at LARGE

groups of people and demographic trends.

By Race:Non-Hispanic Whites & African Americans Most Likely to Vote

Latinos Least Likely to Vote

By Education: College graduates are almost twice as likely to vote has high

school graduates

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Voting Patterns: Who Votes?

By Gender: Women are slightly more likely to vote than Men

By Social Class

The poor are least likely to vote

Greater social integration = more likely to vote

16


Who Votes for

President?

Pg 290-291


Voting Patterns:

Who do people vote for?

By Gender: Political Gender Gap Men are more likely to favor Republican

Women are more likely to vote Democratic

By Race: (in 2004)

African Americans = 90% Democrat and 10% Republican

Whites = 42% Democrat and 58% Republican

Latinos = 58% Democrat and 42% Republican

Asian Americans = 77% Democrat and 23% Republican

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Who

votes for

which

Party?


Voting Patterns by Region of U.S.20

See page 289


Voting Patters: In Conclusion

Voting Patterns reflect life experiences (especially people’s economic conditions)

Looking at the big picture- people are fairly consistent

The more people feel they have a stake in the system, the more

likely they are to vote

Voter Apathy = Indifference to voting is present in the U.S

21


Lobbyist and Special Interest Groups

Special Interest Groups:

People Who Think Alike on a Particular Issue and Mobilize

for Political Action

Lobbyists:

People Paid to Influence Legislation who work for Special

Interest groups Often times, lobbyists are people who are retired from the government

The main criticism of Special Interest groups and

Lobbyists = THEY BUY VOTES

22


Political Action Committees (PAC’s)

Organizations that solicit contributions from many

donors- each contribution being within the legal limit

PAC’s are formed to solicited contributions from many

and then use that large amount of $$$ to influence

legislation

Most PACs Stand for Financial Interests of Specific

Groups

23


Take a look at how Lobbyists & PAC’s Work

Top 100 Companies and Organizations for Lobbying

Altria Group

Video Clips Thank you for smoking

24

BACK TO OUR 3 THEORIES

AND SOME DEAD WHITE DUDES…

So… who actually rules the U.S.?

25


Functional Analysis

Pluralism = Diffusion of power among many

Prevents any group from gaining too much control

Government (or State) was created out of the basic needs

of the social group

Believes that the U.S. is ruled by many different groups

There is a check and balance between the main branches

of the government: Legislative, Judicial, and Executive (school house rock video clip)

26


Conflict Theory

The Power Elite (C. Wright Mills) rule the government

The Power Elite are made up of top governmental

officials, heads of the military, and CEO’s of large

corporations

Information gets passed along to the members of this

group

No major decisions get made without their approval

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Remember my crazy

glasses from last week?

W A R A N D T E R R O R I S M A R E T O O L S U S E D T O T R Y A N D A C C O M P L I S H P O L I T I C A L G O A L S

A N E S S E N T I A L C H A R A C T E R I S T I C O F T H E

S T A T E I S T H A T I T C L A I M S A M O N O P O L Y O N V I O L E N C E .

“V IOLENCE IS THE U LTIMATE F OU NDATION OF ANY POLITICAL

OR D ER ” (BER GER , 1963)

War

29


War and Terrorism

Three Essential Conditions of War (Nicholas Timasheff)

1. Antagonistic Situation – Two or more states confront

incompatible objectives

2. Cultural Tradition of War – Leaders of a group see war as

an option for dealing with serious disputes with other

nations

3. Fuel – Heats the antagonistic situation to a boiling point

30

Why do Nations Go to War?

1.Revenge

2.Power

3.Prestige

4.Unity

5.Position

6.Ethnicity

7.Beliefs

31


Cost of War and Terrorism

Cost of War

Moral Cost

Breeds Callousness and Cruelty

Neutralization Techniques:

Characterization of Struggle Between Good and Evil

Dehumanization- the process of reducing people to objects that do

not deserve to be treated as humans

Terrorism - Use of Violence to create fear in an effort to

bring about political objectives

Most often used by weaker groups to attack more powerful groups

32


Suicide Terrorist

We hold assumptions about people who are suicide bombers. Common stereotypes include: poverty, loners/ have no family and uneducated.

Using CIA data Marc Sageman found these are not true. Many are middle/upper class, 90% with families, 73% married, and 63% had gone to college.

Four steps that many terrorist went through: Moral outrage

Ideology (interpreted moral outrage with radical militant interpretation of Islamic teaching

Shared outrage and ideology (like-minded people)

Group decision

33

ECONOMY – OUR SYSTEM OF PRODUCING AND DISTRIBUTING

GOODS AND SERVICES.

HOW DOES THE BIG PICTURE AFFECT YOUR CHANCES TO GET

A JOB?

Economy34


A little History: Transformation of Economic Systems

Preindustrial Societies: Birth of Inequality

Industrial Societies: Birth of the Machine

Post industrial societies: Birth of Information Age

Biotech Societies: Merger of Biology and Economics

35


Preindustrial and Industrial Societies

Preindustrial = Subsistence Economy

Hunting and Gathering Societies

Pastoral and Horticultural Societies

Agricultural Societies

Industrial Societies: Birth of the Machine

Brought Previously Unseen Surpluses

Factories Exploited Labor

More Efficient Machines Led to Conspicuous Consumption

36


Postindustrial and Biotech

Postindustrial Societies: Birth of Information Age Service Sector Vast Surplus of Goods Extensive Trade among Nations Wider Variety and Quantity of Goods Information Explosion

Biotech: Marriage of biology and economics Deciphering of human genome Genetically engineered crops Greater inequality between rich and poor nations

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Figure 11.3 The Revolutionary Change in the U.S. Workforce

How stuff

has

changed ?


World Economic Systems

Capitalism: Three components Private Ownership of Means of Production Market Competition Pursuit of Profit

Laissez-Faire Capitalism – Government is not involved in decision making

Welfare or State Capitalism – Individuals have certain rights but are overseen by the government –this is the U.S. economy

39


World Economic Systems

Socialism - Three components:Public Ownership of Means of ProductionCentral PlanningDistribution of Goods without Profit Motive

Needs are Decided by Central CommitteeDesigned to Eliminate Competition Everyone Works for the Government

40

Capitalist Socialist

Market forces should determine both products and prices

Profits are good for humanity

Believe socialist violate basic human right of freedom of decision and opportunity

Profit is immoral

Marx- item’s value is based on the work that goes into it-only way to have profit is to pay the worker less than the value of their labor

Believe capitalist violate basic human right of freedom from poverty.

Compare Ideologies (Belief Systems)41

Capitalism Socialism

Leads to Social Inequality

Tiny Top Layer Exploits

Vast Bottom Layer

Few Who Own the Means

of Production Reap Huge

Profits

Does not Respect

Individual Rights

Others Control People’s

Lives

Give Everyone an Equal

Chance to be Poor

Criticisms 42


Convergence of Capitalism & Socialism

Capitalism and socialism are growing similar

As nations industrialize they start to look very similar.

For example China (where making a profit used to be illegal). “Capunism” = capitalist joined with the Community party

Changed in capitalism also support this idea: Unemployment benefits, subsidized housing, minimum wage,

social security

43


Capitalism in a Global Economy

Corporation – is a business that is treated legally as a

person.

A corporation can make contracts, incur debt, sue, and be sued

Corporate Capitalism – a term that indicates how

corporations have come to dominate the economy

Multinational corporations- corporations that operate

across national boarders.

44


Characteristics of Corporate Capitalism

Separation of Ownership and Management

Corporations have Outgrown National Boundaries

Corporations have become More Detached from Interests and

Values of Country of Origin

Corporations have Become a Powerful Political Force

45


Globalization of Capitalism is bringing many changes:

Stagnant Paychecks – The U.S. worker is making more

today but because of inflation he/she is taking less home

Jobs have been outsourced outside of the U.S. and many

U.S. workers have lost their jobs

Global superclass- leaders of top multi-national

corporations have extreme wealth and power

46

Ominous Trends in the U.S.


Figure 11.4: Stagnant Pay

CheckAverage Hourly

Earnings of U.S. Workers in Current and

Constant Dollars

Chapter 11, soc 2010, Henslin

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