PSC 101 – Introductory Discussion

Defining “politics” and “government”

• Everyday uses of “politics” and “political”• Negative stereotypes of politicians• Relationship between politics and government

---Can one have politics without government?• ---Can one have government without politics?

(The Progressive Movement 1880s-1920s)• ---”Playing politics” vs. “getting things done”• ---”Playing politics” vs. “doing the right thing”

Your textbook’s definitions of politics and government

• Politics: “individual and collective efforts to influence the workings of government”--David Easton’s model of the political system--Does “politics” exist in nondemocratic countries? In hierarchical organizations?--Different definitions of “influence”: persuasion, coercion, bargaining

• Government: “the institutions that have the authority and capacity to enforce public policies (rules) for a specific territory and people”

Where does government get its authority and capacity?

• Your book’s answer: near-monopoly of force• Where else does government get its authority

from? (Legitimacy?)• --the democratic process

--religion?• --habit?• --family ties?• --rationality?

Why is government necessary? (why is it rational to obey government)

• Theories of political obligation• Social contract theory: Hobbes, Locke,

RousseauWe willingly (and rationally) give up some of our freedoms in order to protect the rest

• If not, we risk the “war of all against all”

• But why? Scarcity (material and moral) is the key

Why is government necessary cont’d

• 1.) Conflict over scarce resources• 2.) Conflict over “scarce” or “irreconcilable”

values• ---Attempts to compromise: Roe v. Wade, civil

unions for gays• 3.) Even in the absence of overt conflict, there

are “collective goods” to be provided, which are vulnerable to the ‘free rider’ problem (collective action problem) – nuclear defense, paved roads

Why govt. is necessary cont’d

• Debates between libertarians and others are about which things (education, roads, police, health care) are truly “collective goods” that the market does not sufficiently provide

• 4.) Even in the absence of “collective action” problems, we still have “coordination problems” (ex. Restaurants, Habitat homes, Katrina, Haiti, oil spill) – someone must be in charge

How political scientists study politics and government

• Political scientists do not have a monopoly on the study of politics!

• How is their approach distinctive?---Emphasis on causality rather than description---Emphasis on forming generalizations (theories) that operate across time and space (Sarah Palin example)

• ---Emphasis on replicability, which includes precision in concepts and measurement

• ---SOME SAY (not all PSCists agree) that it’s an emphasis on empirical, rather than normative questions

Correlation is not causation, but it’s a good start!

• We can’t do experiments very easily• So we rely on observing correlations• But watch out for• ---multivariate explanations• ---indirect causation• ---and worst of all, spurious correlations!

(ice cream consumption and crime rates, homeownership and political participation)

Why government is necessary cont’d