shellacking
word that President Obama used to describe the huge losses the Democrats took in the 2010 midterm elections; 64 Democrats had lost their positions in the House of Representatives
quid pro quo
Something given with the expectation of receiving something in return
rudderless
Obama gave into Republican's demands as he was weakened
politics
the process through which individuals and groups reach agreement on a course of common, or collective, action- even as they disagree on the intended goals of that action; not always end in success--resources are too scarce to satisfy the competing claiman
Carl Von Clausewitz
1832- "war is not merely an act of policy but a true political instrument, a continuation of political intercourse, carried on with other means
bargaining
the negotiation of the terms of a transaction or agreement; prolonged exchange of proposals and counterproposals between teenagers and their parents; generally ends in a compromsie
compromise
an accommodation in which both sides make concessions
preferences
givens;" individuals and groups know what they want; must be reconciled if they are to agree to some common course of action; may reflect economic situation, religious values, ethnic identity, or some other valued interest
Problem of governance
reconciling preferences
James Madison
dominant role in drafting the Constitution- new government must be devised to represent and reconcile society's many, diverse preferences that are "sown into the nature of man
Importance of institutional design
unstructured negotiation rarely yields a collective decision all parties can accept; require too much time and/or effort, may expose each side, war can become side-effect
Yugoslavia's fall
1990s; among Serbs, Croats, and Muslims in Bosnia; collapse of communist government resurrected bad feelings; without government, they fostered hostility and fought; we are still trying to help rebuild institutions in the nations
institutions
a set of rules, known and shared by the community, that structure political interactions in particular ways
stable community
endures by establishing rules and procedures for promoting successful collective action
James Harrington
republican political theorist; 1656 treatise exploring how institutions might be constructed to allow conflicting interests to find solutions; girls and piece of cake
Framers of the Constitution
summer of 1787 in Philadelphia debating what new rules and offices to create for their government; guided by best guesses of how the alternatives would affect the states; resulted in the Constitution- collection of rules fundamentally akin to the one disc
Department of Education
arose from former Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in 1977 after Jimmy Carter proposed the split as a reward for early support from teacher organizations; Ronald Reagan had the full intent of returning education to its former ways but people b
rules and procedures
purpose is to guide an organization's members in making essentially political decisions- that is, decisions om which the participants initially disagree about what they would like the organization to do
constitution
establishes governing institutions and the set of rules and procedures these institutions must (and must not) follow to reach and enforce collective agreements
government
consists of these institutions and the legally prescribed process for making and enforcing collective agreements; may take many forms (monarchy, theocracy, dictatorship, democracy)
offices
in government institutions, and they confer on their occupants specific authority and responsibilities
authority
the acknowledged right to make a particular decision
power
refers to an officeholder's actual influence with other officeholders and the government's actions
institutional durability
tend to be stable and resist change because: authority is to offices, not individuals, so a university stays the same even when all of the people have changed; the individuals make plans on the expectations that things will stay the same; hard to agree on
First Congress
1789- James Madison observed that difficulties kept arising from wants and predicted that " time will be a full remedy for this evil
Environmental Protection Agency
1970- consolidated components of five executive departments and agencies into a single independent agency
president's office
1930s- Franklin Roosevelt requested for a staff; six assistents
now- more than 500 policy and political specialists and occupies two buildings
institution's responsibilities
uphold certain core values, government must protect certain individual liberties, logic based on principles about how members should engage one another politically to identify and pursue common goals; even though the specifics are often argued
Newtonian physics
force, counterweight, balance; carefully reasoned ideas to avoid the way Britain worked
Collective action problems
underlying logic of government and the problems that face them due to size and complexity
collective action
efforts of a group to reach and implement agreements challenge participants to figure out what to do and how to do it; former involves comparing preferences and finding some course of action that sufficient numbers of participants agree is preferable to p
coordination problems
simplest to overcome- members of the group must decide individually what they want, what they are prepared to contribute to the collective enterprise, and how to coordinate their efforts with those of others
prisoner's dilemma
arises whenever individuals decide that even though they support some collective undertaking, they are personally better off pursuing an activity that rewards them individually despite undermining the collective effort
coordinating collective action
problems increase with size of a group
House of Representatives
435 members; delegates to a Rules Committee for scheduling the flow of legislation onto the floor and setting limits on deliberations and amendments; "leader" in setting the body's agenda
Senate
100 members; informal discussions among members and party leaders suffice
focal point
focus identified by participants when coordinating their energies to achieve a common purpose
concept of prisoner's dilemma
1950s; most widely employed concepts; can only successfully break if each party is confident that the other will live up to an agreement; 1941- I Wake Up Screaming
Solution: make reneging and defection very expensive; create institutions that help parties
Thomas Hobbes
1651 treatise on the origin and purposes of government, Leviathan; examined the straits to which society is reduced when its government is unable to enforce collective obligations and agreements; "a state of nature...solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and sh
failures in collective action
stem cell research
abortion
failure to solve slavery in the 1850s
Social Security
free-rider problem
form of prisoner's dilemma; afflicts large groups; defect from the agreement by withholding a contribution to the group's undertaking while enjoying the benefits of the collective effort; whenever someone recognizes that their small contribution to the co
tragedy of the commons
form of the prisoner's dilemma; concentrates on individuals' costless consumption of a public good (commons) that results in its ruination; sheep or cattle use all the pastures; ex: collapse of the cod fishing industry off of New England; avoiding lies in
regulation
setting up rules limiting access to the common resource and monitoring and penalizing those who violate them; House strictly rations access to the floor with rules prescribing time limits to debates and germaneness of motions
privatizing
less costly and more effective alternative solution; converting it from a collective good to a private good; 1622 the residents of Pilgrim Plantation were close to starving so William Bradford announced an end to communal farming so the families had to wo
Google's library idea
digitize books for a "commons;"- ability to search every book online, sometimes reading excerpts or the whole thing; 2 oppositions: other companies such as Amazon had own designs for libraries and authors and publishers
successful collective action
designing a system that achieves the benefits of a collective effort while minimizing its costs
costs of collective enterprises
each person's monetary contribution to an enterprise (tax payments), overhead costs of enforcing agreement (lawyers, combat free riding)
transactions costs
time, effort, and resources required to make collective decisions; rise sharply with number of participants; Sixteenth Amendment created federal income tax in 1913; Framers enacted high transaction costs to make some collective activities more difficult
conformity costs
difference between what a person ideally would prefer and what the group with which that person makes collective decisions actually does; individuals pay conformity costs whenever collective decisions produce policy outcomes that do not best serve their i
Articles of Confederation
nation's first constitution; allowed any state to block national action on important policies such as taxes; free riding; fifty-five delegates except RI; This document, the nation's first constitution, was adopted by the Second Continental Congress in 178
after September 11
shifted back to reducing transaction costs and increasing conformity costs
command (CA)
refers to the authority of one actor to dictate the actions of another; gives its holder comprehensive control of those within the scopes of its authority; reduces transaction costs, but imposes huge conformity costs (Castro); only provision is the "comma
veto (CA)
embodies the right of an official or institution to say "no" to a proposal from another official or institution; unilateral; it is a "negative" or blocking action that preserves the status quo; may override a veto with 1 2/3 vote in both chambers; "veto
agenda control (CA)
refers to the right of an actor to set choices for others; gain both positive (introduce a choice) and negative influence over collective decisions; limits the choices available
voting rules (CA)
unanimous consent to take up legislation out of turn- unanimous
passage of ordinary bills and amendments- majority of members present
rule 22 (cloture to set time limit on debate)- 3/4 of the full Senate
veto override- 2/3
majority rule
refers to simple majority (1/2 +1); principle that decisions should reflect the preferences of more than half of those voting
tyranny
impose very high conformity costs; ruling power exploits its authority and permits little popular control
plurality rule
a type of electoral system in which victory goes to the individual who gets the most votes in an election, but not necessarily a majority of the votes cast
supermajorities
A majority larger than a simple 51% majority, which is required for extraordinary legislative actions such as amending the Constitutions or certain congressional procedures. i.e. Senate requires at least 60 votes to stop a filibuster.
delegation (CA)
the act of one person or body authorizing another person or body to perform an action on its behalf; for example, Congress often delegates authority to the president or administrative agencies to decide the details of policy; often addresses common collec
principles
those who possess decision-making authority
agents
those who exercise it on behalf of the principles
agency loss
the difference between what a principal would like an agent to do and the agent's performance; shirking or slacking off; whistleblower laws generously reward members who report instances of malfeasance
representative government
Power is held by the people and exercised through the efforts of representatives elected by the people.
direct democracy
A form of government in which citizens rule directly and not through representatives
referendum
The name given to the political process in which the general public votes on an issue of public concern.
initiative
places a proposal on the ballot when the requisite number of registered voters have signed petitions to place on the issue on an election ballot
republic
a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them; allow some degree of popular control and also avoid tyranny
parliamentary government
This type of government is where the authority is held by a bicameral legislature called a Parliament. In Great Britain, it includes a House of Commons and a House of Lord
cabinet
persons appointed by a head of state to head executive departments of government and act as official advisers
separation of powers
Constitutional division of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, with the legislative branch making law, the executive applying and enforcing the law, and the judiciary interpreting the law
politicians
persons who hold offices in government; specialize in discovering collective enterprises that unite citizens with different values and interests; "public servants"- entrepreneur
coalition
a combination, union, or merger of unlike-minded interests who nonetheless agree for some specific purpose
Adam Smith
1776- laid out the intellectual foundation for capitalism by declaring in his treatise The Wealth of Nations that the exchange of goods and services among private parties in an open marketplace generates a public good in the form of prosperity
private goods
homes, cars, clothes, food, and sources of entertainment; things people buy and consume themselves in a marketplace that supplies these goods according to the demand for them; privatizing helps prevent overexploitation
public goods
Goods, such as clean air and clean water, that everyone must share; costs are borne collectively and that no one can be excluded from their benefits (freeway); national defense; government has sufficient resources to undertake expensive projects and has c
fire protection
homeowners subscribed to a local protection service; voluntary services started traveling and protecting
collective goods
goods that, once provided, are available to all group members, regardless of their individual contributions
1780
American Revolution; Continental Army teetered on collapse; great losses; General Benedict Arnold switched sides and became a byword for treason; New Year's Day 1781- 1300 mutinous troops; not severe enough issues
Battle of Yorktown
October 17, 1781- victory over the British with the help of the French navy
home rule
self-government in local matters by a city or county that is part of a national government; Britain's first concern was to control America's foreign commerce and also provided military security with the world's largest navy; gave Americans little experien
first colonial representative assembly
Virginia in 1619; by 1650 all had elective assemblies; British appointed governors, colonial councils, and judges
state assemblies
experience in self-governance and elected politicians experienced in negotiating collective agreements
Boston Massacre
a riot in Boston (March 5, 1770) arising from the resentment of Boston colonists toward British troops quartered in the city, in which the troops fired on the mob and killed several persons
French and Indian War
Was a war fought by French and English on American soil over control of the Ohio River Valley-- English defeated French in1763. Historical Significance: established England as number one world power and began to gradually change attitudes of the colonists
Albany Congress
A conference in the United States Colonial history form June 19 through July 11, 1754 in Albany New York. It advocated a union of the British colonies for their security and defense against French Held by the British Board of Trade to help cement the loya
Stamp Act
an act passed by the British parliment in 1765 that raised revenue from the American colonies by a duty in the form of a stamp required on all newspapers and legal or commercial documents
Boston Tea Party
Boston patriots organized the Boston Tea Party to protest the 1773 Tea Act. In December 1773, Samuel Adams warned Boston residents of the consequences of the Tea Act. Boston was boycotting the tea in protest of the Tea Act and would not let the ships brin
Continental Congress
the legislative assembly composed of delegates from the rebel colonies who met during and after the American Revolution; they issued the Declaration of Independence and framed Articles of Confederation; First issued a Declaration of American Rights and an
bicameral
an adjective describing a legislative body composed of two chambers
Thomas Paine
Patriot and writer whose pamphlet Common Sense, published in 1776, convinced many Americans that it was time to declare independence from Britain.
Declaration of Independence
the document recording the proclamation of the Second Continental Congress (4 July 1776) asserting the independence of the colonies from Great Britain
confederation
a political system in which a weak central government has limited authority, and the states have ultimate power.
Shay's Rebellion
this conflict in Massachusetts caused many to criticize the Articles of Confederation and admit the weak central government was not working; uprising led by Daniel Shays in an effort to prevent courts from foreclosing on the farms of those who could not p
nationalists
frequently embrace capitalism and fight for ethnic self-determination. They desire economic opportunity within the context of a strong national identity. Nationalism stays, ideology does not
popular sovereignty
The concept that political power rests with the people who can create, alter, and abolish government. People express themselves through voting and free participation in government
Virginia Plan
The Virginia Plan was presented to the Constitutional Convention and proposed the creation of a bicameral legislature with representation in both houses proportional to population. The Virginia Plan favored the large states, which would have a much greate
New Jersey Plan
Opposite of the Virginia Plan, it proposed a single-chamber congress in which each state had one vote. This created a conflict with representation between bigger states, who wanted control befitting their population, and smaller states, who didn't want to
commerce clause
The clause in the Constitution (Article I, Section 8, Clause 1) that gives Congress the power to regulate all business activities that cross state lines or affect more than one state or other nations.
necessary and proper clause
Clause of the Constitution (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3) setting forth the implied powers of Congress. It states that Congress, in addition to its express powers, has the right to make all laws necessary and proper to carry out all powers the Constitut
checks and balances
A system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other branches in order to prevent abuse of power
take care clause
The constitutional requirement (in Article II, Section 3) that presidents take care that the laws are faithfully executed, even if they disagree with the purpose of those laws.
Great Compromise
the agreement by which Congress would have two houses, the Senate (where each state gets equal representation-two senators) and the House of Representatives (where representation is based on population).
Electoral College
a group selected by the states to elect the president and the vice-president, in which each state's number of electors is equal to the number of its senators and representatives in Congress
supremacy clause
constitutional declaration (Article VI) that the Constitution and laws made under its provisions are the greatest law of the land
judicial review
review by a court of law of actions of a government official or entity or of some other legally appointed person or body or the review by an appellate court of the decision of a trial court
Bill of Rights
The first ten amendments of the U.S. Constitution, containing a list of individual rights and liberties, such as freedom of speech, religion, and the press.
logroll
work toward the passage of some legislation by exchanging political favors such as trading votes
Federalist
supporters of the constitution during the debate over its ratification; favored a strong national government
Antifederalist
name given to those who were against the ratification of the Constitution
Federalist No. 10
An essay composed by James Madison which argues that liberty is safest in a large republic because many interests (factions) exist. Such diversity makes tyranny by the majority more difficult since ruling coalitions will always be unstable.
factions
Interest groups arising from the unequal distribution of property or wealth that James Madison attacked in Federalist Paper No. 10. Today's parties or interest groups are what Madison had in mind when he warned of the instability in government caused by f
pluralism
A theory of government that holds that open, multiple, and competing groups can check the asserted power by any one group.
externality
an economic side effect of a good or service that generates benefits or costs to someone other than the person deciding how much to produce or consume
states' rights
According to the compact theory of the Union the states retained all powers not specifically delegated to the central government by the Constitution.
federalism
a form of government in which power is divided between the federal, or national, government and the states
unitary government
system of government in which all authority is placed in a central government. Countries with unitary governments, such as Great Britain and France, have regional and local governments which derive their power from the central government.
dual federalism
Doctrine holding that the national government is supreme in its sphere, the states are supreme in theirs, and the two spheres should be kept separate
shared federalism
a system in which the national and state governments share in providing citizens with a set of goods.
nationalization
The action of bringing land, property and industries under the control of the nation
enumerated powers
Powers specifically given to Congress in the Constitution; including the power to collect taxes, coin money, regulate foreign and interstate commerce, and declare war.
elastic clause
clause in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution that gives Congress the right to make all laws "necessary and proper" to carry out the powers expressed in the other clauses of Article I
Tenth Amendment
The Constitutional amendment stating that "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
cutthroat competition
Competition among states that involves adopting policies that each state would prefer to avoid. For example, states engage in this when they underbid one another on tax breaks to attract businesses relocating their facilities.
race to the bottom
dynamic downward spiral in areas of state oversight regarding the welfare of the state in which the tendency of firms to seek the lowest level of restrictions on their operations leads to the tendency by governments to reduce regulations on corporations i
preemption legislation
Laws passed by Congress that override or preempt state or local policies. The power of preemption derives from the supremacy clause (Article VI) of the Constitution.
grants-in-aid
Programs, money, &resources provided by the fed. govt to state &local govts to be used for specific projects &programs
block grant
a grant of federal money to state and local governments to support social welfare programs
matching grant
A grant of money given by the federal government to a state government for which the federal government provides matching funds, usually between one and two dollars, for every dollar the state spends in some area.
Hartford Convention
Meeting of Federalists near the end of the War of 1812 in which the party listed it's complaints against the ruling Republican Party. These actions were largley viewed as traitorous to the country and lost the Federalist much influence