Pol Sci Definitions
Terms
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- Political Ideology
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-a comprehensive and consistent set of political ideas about what constitutes the most equitable and just political order
-ex, pure liberal and pure conservative
-pure liberal = one who is liberal on social conduct issues as well as economic policy issues
-pure conservative = one who is conservative on social conduct issues as well as economic policy issues - Social Darwinism
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-an extrapolation of Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection, whereby people should be free to compete in the economic arena for survival
-natural selection = economic competition
-Industrial Age Conservatism, unregulated economic development
-differs from Darwin’s theory in that natural selection is not truly “progress†in a specific direction, whereas Social Darwinism is described as social progress; the new, evolved society is better than any past - Liberalism/Neoliberalism
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-Classical Liberalism
-“government that governs least, governs bestâ€
-influenced by Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations (1776)
-“invisible hand†(self-interest) of the marketplace used to determine the value of goods and commodities
-laissez-faire approach by government towards marketplace
-government functions to maintain sanctity of property rights
-Neoliberalism
-supported by Clinton and Gore
-creation, not distribution of wealth
-supports free trade
-favors opening of foreign markets by political means, using economic pressure, diplomacy, or military intervention - Contemporary Conservatism/Contemporary Liberalism
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-Contemporary Conservatism
-supported by Dole, Gingrich
-still remains at its core a defense of economic individualism against growth of welfare state
-reduced spending on social programs
-tax policies to encourage economic growth
-strong defense
-reduce affirmative action
-the duty of government: promote a virtuous citizenry
-Contemporary Liberalism
-supported by Cuomo, Kennedy
-positive state involvement in the economic system
-social welfare programs to supply basic needs
-high tolerance towards fringe groups
-noninterventionist foreign policy - New York Times v. Sullivan (1964)
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-key decision supporting freedom of the press
-concerned an ad in the New York Times that alleged that Martin Luther King Jr.’s arrest for perjury was part of a campaign to prevent King’s efforts to encourage blacks to vote
-Sullivan, Montgomery city commissioner, filed a libel action suit against the newspaper, claiming that the ad defamed him personally
-outcome: First Amendment protects the publication of all statements about the conduct of public officials except when statements are made with actual malice, or with knowledge that they are false or in reckless disregard of their truth or falsity
-this standard of proof is difficult to reach - Libel/Slander
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-Libel
-any written, printed, or pictorial statement that damages a person by defaming his character or exposing him to ridicule
-Slander
-utterance of a defamatory statement injurious to the well-being or reputation of a person
-injured party
-must prove in court that the communication caused actual damage and it was also false or defamatory
-higher burden of proof for celebrity or public official
-ex, McLibel case
-Environment group distributed pamphlet claiming McDonald’s sells unhealthy food and exploits workers, McDonald’s wins two hearings, but does not collect damages out of embarrassment - New York Times v US (1971)
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-also called Pentagon Papers Case
-NYT leaked documents revealing US government had portrayed Vietnam War unrealistically
-prior restraint = government action to prevent materials from being published
-question was if freedom of the press under First Amendment was subordinate to prior restraint
-Supreme Court ruled in favor of NYT, ruling that papers were not a threat to national security and thus excluded from prior restraint, and were protected under First Amendment - Campaign Strategies
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-objectives:
1) to win over the undecided or weak partisans among voters (people who have not made up their minds) = 1st objective of Republicans
2) to motivate one’s own supporters to turn out on election day = 1st objective of Democrats
-most crucial aspect is voter turnout: low turnout favors Republicans, since they are more likely than Democrats to vote - Dealignment/Realignment
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dealignment
1) overall decline in attractiveness of either party
2) large number of voters with negative or neutral images of parties
3) growth in belief that neither party can provide solutions for important problems
-realignment
1) long term change when electorate shifts away from traditional party ties
2) it is up to the party to realign its platform to reflect the genuine interests of the electorate it is supposed to represent
-these trends show the percentage of voters declaring “neitherâ€, the Democratic party losing adherents, and pure independents and independents who lean toward the Republican party, as the real growth sectors of the electorate - Lobbying Techniques
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-main activity of interest groups, defined as “any communication directed at a government decision maker with the hope of influencing decisionsâ€
-does not control lawmaking, but influences
1) access: being in close accessibility to government decision makers, allowing lobbyists to get to know them
2) information peddling: certain information which the lobbyist possesses which may be useful to a decision maker, such as knowledge of a legal process, expertise on an issue, or information of a groups position on an issue
3) grass roots mobilization: mobilizing constituents to put pressure on the legislator on the lobbyist’s behalf
-such as TV, ads and commercials
4) campaign support: providing legislators with contributions from organized interests
-for seat in House = 1 million, for seat in Senate = 5 million - PACs
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-political action committee, a private group organized to elect or defeat government officials in order to promote legislation, often supporting the group’s special interests
-organizations established by interest groups to channel the contributions of their members into political campaigns
-important to campaign finance
-while an individual can donate $1,000 to a candidate, a PAC can donate $5,000 to a candidate - Civil Rights
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-defined as positive acts of government designed to protect persons against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by government or individuals
-14th Amendment = most significant development
-equal protection clause
-ex 1) 13th Amendment (1865), abolished slavery
2) 14th Amendment (1868), equal protection clause
3) 15th Amendment (1870), allowed black males of age to vote
4) Civil Rights Act (1873), outlawed segregation by privately owned businesses offering to serve the public - Johnson v McIntosh (1823)
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-Thomas Johnson sued William McIntosh for ownership of land that Johnson previously bought from Native Americans, while McIntosh was granted the land from the US government
-question was whether Native Americans had the power to give or sell land that had been “discovered†by European powers
- Supreme Court held that private citizens could not purchase lands directly from Native Americans, as since the US government had acquired ownership of the land through Doctrine of Discovery, Native Americans could only sell their land to the US government
-Doctrine of Discovery
-US government acquired ownership, where Chief Justice John Marshall described the doctrine as “unoccupied lands†being “occupied by Native Americans, but unoccupied by Christiansâ€, allowing for western powers to justify the taking of land from Native Americans, considering them to merely be “tenets†of the land owned by the US government
-Supreme Court ruled in favor of McIntosh - Indian Removal Act (1830)
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-described as an act that authorized the President to negotiate land-treaties with Native Americans living within the boundaries of the existing US
-though Native Americans were not explicitly forced to relocate, as in theory any emigration was to be voluntary, many tribes were pressured into signing removal treaties and relocating, leading to the Trail of Tears - Worcester v Georgia (1832)
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-case where Supreme Court held that Cherokee Native Americans were entitled to federal protection from the actions of state governments
-state law required whites living in Cherokee territory to obtain state licenses, but two missionaries argued that the law was unconstitutional because states have no power to pass laws concerning sovereign Indian Nations
-Supreme Court ruled that only the national government of US had power over Indian affairs
-the Cherokee nation was a “domestic dependent nation†that was not subject to Georgia authority - Indian Reorganization Act (1934)
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-also called the Wheeler-Howard Act, a federal legislation that secured rights to Native Americans
-reverses the Indian assimilation policy of the Dawes General Allotment Act of 1887, thus formally recognizing Native American self-government
-main provisions were to restore land assets to Native American management, and restore self-government on a tribal basis - Indian Civil Rights Act (1968)
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-also known as the Indian Bill of Rights, guarantees Native Americans many of the same civil rights listed in the US constitution
-includes free exercise of religion and speech, freedom from unreasonable search and seizures, a speedy and public trial, freedom from cruel and unusual punishment - Attempts to Deny Voting Franchise
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1) Severance of tribal relations
-some states required that Native Americans prove they have assumed a “civilized†way of life by severing their relations with their tribe
2) Lack of state power over Indian conduct
-those who do not pay taxes cannot vote
3) Fear of political control shifting to Indian majorities
-fear that minorities will take control of the local government
4) Guardianship
-since Indians were under federal guardianship, could not qualify as voters
5) Residency
-must be a resident of the state to vote - Bourgeois/Proletarians
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Bourgeois
-the wealthy social class in a capitalist society
-the class of modern capitalists, owners of the means of social production and employers of wage-labor
Proletarians
-the working class
-the class of modern wage-laborers who, having no means of production of their own, are reduced to selling their labor power in order to live - Justice According to Marx
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-raising the proletariat to the position of ruling class, to establish democracy
-removing class distinctions, as political power is “merely the organized power of one class for oppressing anotherâ€.