01 Americans and Political Values

Review questions

1. What are different forms of government?
2. Rights and responsibilities of citizens in a democracy
3. US population social composition and how it changes through time
4. Liberty, equality, and justice in US Government
5. Americans attitude toward government

Government

1. Government is the formal institution and procedures a territory and its people are ruled.
2. A government can be as simple as regular meetings, or complex structures of laws, procedures, and bureaucracies.
3. Politics is the struggle to rule, to govern.
4. Types of government:
   1. Autocracy: ruled by a single individual
   2. Oligarchy: ruled by a small group
   3. Democracy: everyone play a significant role in governing, usually through selecting leaders
5. Limits to the government:
   1. Constitutional government: most limits and rules
   2. Authoritarian: fewer limits
   3. Totalitarian: no limits
6. Limits on government are freedom to its citizens
7. Political power: the influence in government
8. Power ultimately in the people: popular sovereignty. In the US, majority rule, minority rights.
9. Types of democracy:
   1. Representative: elected leaders, effective for large countries
   2. Direct: vote directly, effective for small countries
10. Competing ideas and believes are pluralism.

Components of citizenship:

1. Informed and active membership is the basis for citizenship.
2. Political knowledge is needed to know what you can ask for in politicians, what each groups interests are, and the best ways to act.
3. Most Americans know very little about the current issues, or even the basic government works.
4. Disinformation makes it harder for people to be informed.
5. Political efficacy is the belief that people can influence their government.

Who are Americans?

1. Early days: mostly Europeans settlers, Africans forcibly brought to America, and unknown amount of native Americans.
2. Over time, the demographic changed due to immigration.
3. Americans varies in race, ethnicity, religion, age, socioeconomic status, and location in the US.
4. There used to be restrictions to who can become Americans, such as the Chinese Exclusion act of 1882 and nonwhites could not become citizens of the US.

Liberty, Equality, and Justice

1. Most Americans affirm liberty, equality, and democracy. These are the political cultures coined during the founding.
2. Liberty means personal and economic freedom. This is achieved with limited government.
3. Laissez-faire capitalism gave the government very limited power.
4. Equality of opportunity: everyone is given a fair chance for their talents and fullest potential.
5. Political equality: everyone is the same under law.

Americans attitude toward their government

1. Historically, Americans were very reluctant to grant the government too much power, and have often been suspicious of politicians.
2. But there were times Americans supported their government.
3. High point in 1960s, ditched since 2001, lowest in 2015, resulted in an array of parties in the 2016 election.
4. Today, people feel they are unable to influence the US government.