Exam 4, Chapter 15 Flashcards
What is the main issue of politics
People are often forced to surrender some control of their lives to leaders and government
-individual needs often conflict with group needs
What is the goal of politics
to provide for common good
What is a political system
social institutions and procedures for achieving the goals of a group
-each society must have a political system to allocate valued resources
What is politics
exercise of power/authority
-“who gets what, when, and how”
What is power
ability to exercise one’s will over others
-whoever can control the behavior of others is exercising power
What are three sources of power
- Force
- influence
- authority
describe force, one of the three sources of power
use of coercion to impose your will on another
describe influence, one of the three sources of power
power through process of persuasion
describe authority, one of the three sources of power
recognized institutionalized power
-legitimate power through elected or publicly acknowledged positions
What is the commons
A common piece of land that is shared by individuals
What is the tragedy of the commons
That shared piece of land gets overused because nobody replenishes what they take from the land.
How does politics develop a system to address the tragedy of the commons
individuals surrender control to government oversight of shared resources, the problem is that power tends to be abused
What is trash can jenga
Whoever makes the giant pile of trash dump over is the one that has to take the trash out
What is the problem with taming the state
the state has monopoly on legitimate use of force, how to keep from using it to exploit its own people
What are the two requirements for taming the state
- clear set of rules/laws that limit the states power and means of exercising power
- A structure where power is dispersed among many powerful groups
What are the two types of states
elitist and pluralist
What is an elitist state
a single elite group rules, single minority rules, leads to tyranny
What is a pluralist state
rule by many competing elites, power is dispersed with diverse interested, power shifts among coalitions of many minorities, ***needed to tame the state
What are threats to democracy
- tyranny of the minority (elitist)
- privileged few take control of government and repress the many - tyranny of the majority
- danger that majority of citizens would use representative government to exploit minority groups
About women in politics
voters are bias against female candidates, but its related to other factors such as more incumbents are men
What are the three types of authority
- traditional
- legal-rational
- charismatic
Describe traditional authority
king/queen accepted as ruler by inheritance. Authority rests in custom, written law by not in personal characteristics
Describe legal-rational authority
power made legitimate by law, constitution gives congress/president to make laws
Describe charismatic authority
Glamour, charm, attractiveness of a person.
- power legitimized by emotional appeal
- person lead without relying rules
