Solution manual for american government power and purpose 11th edition by lowi ginsberg shepsle and ansolabehere

Solution Manual for American Government Power and Purpose 11th Edition by Theodore J.Lowi, Benjamin Ginsberg, Kenneth A.Shepsle and Stephen Ansolabehere Link full download Test bank:

Solution Manual for American Government Power and Purpose 11th Edition by Theodore J.Lowi, Benjamin Ginsberg, Kenneth A.Shepsle

and Stephen Ansolabehere

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Link full download Solution Manual:

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CHAPTER 1 Five Principles of

Politics CHAPTER OVERVIEW AND THE PRINCIPLES OF POLITICS

Chapter 1 begins with several observations about the complexity of American national government First, the federal division of power in America and the sovereign authority of the competing centers of political power mean that understanding American government requires attention to not only the national government but also the state, county, town, and city levels of government as well Second, at each of these levels, a complex array of departments, agencies, offices, and bureaus makes governing decisions, implements government policies, and performs sometimes overlapping tasks and functions And third, the complexity

of American government is no accident; on the contrary, it was a core element of the Founders’ constitutional design By dividing power federally and separating

it among legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government, the Founders hoped that a variety of voices would be heard and that the competition between multiple interests would keep any particular interest from dominating the others

In this way, the very complexity of American government is associated with the protection of liberty and the opportunity to influence political decisions

Still, if the complexity of American government helps to protect individual liberty and the right to participate in politics, it also imposes a burden on citizens, who must determine where key decisions are made, which actor(s) make these decisions, and how best to exercise influence over them The very complexity that protects a citizen’s liberty and ability to participate in his or her own governance

is itself an impediment to effective influence

In an effort to help students appreciate American government in all of its complexity and to chart a course toward a better understanding of it, this chapter

provides working definitions of basic key terms such as government and politics

Government is defined in the chapter as “the institutions and processes that rulers

establish to strengthen and perpetuate their power or control over a land and its

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inhabitants.” Of course, different types of governments exist We can differentiate among governments, first, by asking “Who governs?” Governments in which all political authority is vested in a single individual are known as autocracies, whereas governments in which political authority is shared among a small group

of elites are oligarchies Governments in which more people participate and in which political authority is broadly shared among the populace are democracies

A second point of differentiation involves asking, “How much government control is permitted?” Governments that recognize broad limits on their authority are constitutional governments; governments that recognize few limits but are kept in check by other political and social institutions are known as authoritarian governments; and governments that are free of both legal limits and powerful counterforces in society are called totalitarian governments

Politics refers to the conflicts and struggles over the leadership, structure, and

policies of governments The chapter introduces the five principles of politics that provide the theoretical framework for the remainder of the book These principles are

1 The rationality principle: All political behavior has a purpose Political

actors, be they citizens or professional politicians, engage in instrumental acts that are designed to achieve a goal or some combination of goals In many instances, political behavior and action are the results of conscious, and sometimes even calculated, choices on the part of these purposive individuals

2 The institution principle: Institutions structure politics Institutional

arrangements provide for a division of labor, rules regarding the process of deciding relevant questions, and the means by which those to whom authority and responsibility for action have been delegated are checked by other actors These routines and structured relationships enable cooperation and facilitate bargaining and decision making

3 The collective action principle: All politics is collective action In order to

produce public goods and make collective decisions, people must come together Collective action in political contexts is often achieved through both informal and formal bargaining procedures As the number and diversity of the relevant actors increase, so, too, do the problems associated with collective action

4 The policy principle: Political outcomes are the products of individual preferences and institutional procedures Purposive, goal-oriented behavior

works its way through the rules and processes of government Individuals

have different goals that are shaped, channeled, and filtered through relevant processes Both goals and processes shape outcomes

5 The history principle: How we got here matters Historical processes are the

backgrounds that help explain the ways in which individual goals and insti-

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tutional processes develop Indeed, government and institutional rules and procedures are historically determined, as are political (and international) loyalties and alliances and the political beliefs, ideologies, and perspectives that citizens and officeholders use to evaluate contemporary political events Political goals, institutional choices, and policy outcomes can all be seen as

a partial result of the “path” of history Although history may be a useful guide for interpreting events and planning political actions, it can also hamper our responses to new events and exigencies

The chapter concludes by framing the textbook’s approach to analyzing politics

as it relates to constructing arguments and gathering evidence Building our arguments on the five principles of politics, we must then turn to evidence from the empirical world to verify, refine, or nullify those arguments Matching argument and evidence is the repeated task of this textbook as it explores the various aspects of American government and politics

DISCUSSION TOPICS AND QUESTIONS

1 Both conservatives and liberals like government—they just like different aspects of government When it comes to regulation, most forms of intervention into the economy, and social welfare, liberals tend to prefer government action to nonaction Still, when it comes to the role of government in terms of defense spending, crime, and social regulation (for example, abortion politics), conservatives are more likely to call for greater government spending and involvement Consider the politics surrounding homeland security Who is in favor of a stronger role for the national government? Who is opposed? Why do you think the Department of Homeland Security has elicited opposition from both the Left and the Right? Given the complexity of this question, what do you think explains the persisting dominant view that “liberals want more” and “conservatives want less” government?

2 It was often said that “Mussolini made the trains run on time.” However,anyone who has spent some time around a bureaucratic agency or department at some level in American government is familiar with jokes about the inefficiency of bureaucratic institutions Discuss how this characterization of the efficiency of totalitarian governmental systems exemplifies the inverse of a collective-action problem Collective decisions are more problematic the more those involved have to reconcile the

perspectives of numerous and diverse voices Put in this light, how does this make you feel about the “inefficiency” of government? In what ways is this

an example of institutions created to solve the problem of collective action?

3 Time and again, surveys demonstrate that Americans like government actionin the particular but not in the abstract When asked if, in general, they feel

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government should play a greater or lesser role in society, most Americans usually express the view that government should “stay out of” their lives, the economy, and so on However, when asked more specific questions regarding whether or not the government should help the homeless, provide assistance

to the elderly, protect patients’ rights, and so on, most Americans seem to want greater government involvement Is this paradox a contradiction in American political thought? How might an understanding of it affect the strategies of politicians who want more and less government, respectively?

4 The policy principle suggests that political outcomes are the product of the

interaction of individual goals and established rules and processes Might it

be the case that the rules themselves shape the very goals of individuals? Students go to college and take courses on American government, literature, and so on, ostensibly to achieve a broader goal of learning Instructors, colleges, and universities usually establish processes that facilitate such learning One notable process is the assigning of letter grades to students as a means of providing both observable standards of comparison of students as well as incentives for students to learn But sometimes students will focus more on getting a good grade (satisfying the rule/process aspect) rather than focusing on the broader goal of learning Can process become a goal? How might this general point be applied to understand the behavior of political actors?

GETTING INVOLVED

Have students explore several of the five “Principles of Politics” by interviewing political actors Encouraging them to think broadly in terms of who constitutes a

“political actor,” have students identify a locally elected officeholder, a leader or member of an interest group, a campaign worker or volunteer, or even a candidate for student government Students should use the interview to explore especially

the rationality principle What goals motivate the interviewee’s interest and

activities in politics? How are his or her actions explainable in terms of those goals? To what extent is there evidence of mixed or conflicting goals in the political actor in question? Students might also use the interview to explore the

collective-action principle If the interviewee is a leader, students might ask

questions about how he or she brings people together for common purposes If the interviewee is a follower, then questions might explore which leadership

mechanisms are particularly effective motivators For example, why, despite the attractiveness of “free riding,” does the interviewee participate in collective efforts? How do institutional arrangements promote such collective action? Have students write a brief paper or otherwise report back to the class on their first-hand observations of how well the principles explain political behavior By the same token, have them explore (individually and as a class) what kinds of be5

havior are more difficult to explain in terms of the principles of politics That is, what are the limits of such rational-choice approaches?

CLASS ACTIVITIES, DEMONSTRATIONS, AND SIMULATIONS

1 Have students examine the Web site of the Department of Homeland Security

at www.dhs.gov Use some of the following suggestions for classroom discussion and analysis

a Note the day’s terrorism threat advisory Discuss the various levels of terror-ist threat advisories and why the terrorism threat level is what it is at the time you access the site Has there been a recent change in the threat warning? What caused or helps to explain the last significant change in the threat level? Ask students to consider the effectiveness of the “color-coded” threat warning system

b Draw students’ attention to the various political aspects of the Web site (forexample, “from the press room,” the Homeland Security blog, and the public-outreach sections for citizens, first responders, business, and governments) Note recent press releases and public-outreach activities Have students consider why such a broadly supported executive department feels the need to pay so much attention to political matters

c Have students explore the Web site, directing them to the “About the Depart-ment” heading on the main page Have them click on the “Department Components and Agencies” link to note the wide variety of agencies and departments (from Agriculture to Treasury and from Commerce to Defense) that come under DHS’s purview Use this listing (and the specific programs mentioned) as an opportunity for students to consider the complexity of government and its pervasiveness in their everyday lives

2 Have students consider the five principles of politics as a means of understanding nonpolitical behavior Although these principles are key to understanding behavior in the political realm, they can be applied to other aspects of our lives as well Is all behavior purposive, subject to collective-action difficulties, rules, and historical forces? Ask students to write three reasons that they have taken your American government class Interpret their list of reasons in light of some of the five principles of politics With luck, some will talk of their inherent interest in the subject and their desire to learn

more Interpret these assertions in terms of goals In many institutions,

students take American government courses because of state, university, or

major or minor program requirements Interpret their taking of your class in

terms of the rules that have been established Personalize the outcome of this

relative mix of goals and rules in terms of your own decision making regarding how you have structured the course, what you have attempted to include and exclude in light of these realities, and so on This early discussion

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splendid opportunity to introduce yourself to your students, apply some of the common terms that will be employed throughout the semester, and outline your own goals and rules for the course

SAMPLE LECTURE

Government is everywhere Government structures and regulates the American economy Government seeks to improve the quality of the air we breathe and the water we drink, and to protect the environment Through the Department of Homeland Security, government seeks to protect us from the threat of terrorism Government makes covert policy through the CIA, the National Security Council, and the office of the Director of National Intelligence, and conducts investigations into the lives of American citizens through the FBI Government even balances the needs of society against individual rights to privacy Sometimes society wins; sometimes privacy wins Still, it is frequently the case that the interests of the government win out over competing societal institutions, groups, and individuals Even when we, as citizens, believe that our rights have been violated by the government (or some other actor in society), we seek redress through some other government agency or institution Government can be both a threat to and a protector of the common good, individual rights, economic freedom, and individual liberty I don’t say this to be an alarmist warning you of the threat to your liberties from “Big Brother.” Rather, what I mean to say is that the scope of government activity has expanded greatly throughout the twentieth century and

that extremely few aspects of contemporary life are not affected both positively

and negatively by the government

In some ways, it is odd to think that the U.S government—which grew out of colonial Americans’ fear that a “tyrannical” British government was slowly stripping them of their rights—would erect, expand, and maintain such a far-reaching government in American society But as we begin the twenty-first century, this is where we stand Many conservatives and liberals alike are concerned that provisions in the Patriot Act of 2001, the workings of the Department of Homeland Security, and the potential for warrantless wiretapping have expanded the role of government in our everyday lives In its efforts to provide security and order, they claim, the government stands as an imposing threat to our liberty If order and liberty are, as the textbook argues, trade-offs in any government, then how did we get to this point in American history? Even prior to the war on terrorism, the twentieth century saw enormous growth of

governmental power in the United States In the course of fighting two world wars and a cold war and addressing domestic policy needs, including the Great Depression, the American national government has expanded greatly Although they might not measure up to other advanced industrial democracies—such as Scandinavian countries, for example—in the scope of government services and involvement, the contemporary 7

governing institutions in the United States are influential and pervasive in American society

Americans are ambivalent about the role and scope of government A people deeply suspicious of government activity and fundamentally conservative in their overall outlook toward government (at least on an abstract level), Americans have seen their way clear to providing for greater government regulation of the economy, a stronger government role in law enforcement and national defense, and an increasing role for government in social policy The odd thing about it is that as much as some of us might lament the general trend in government expansion, we frequently welcome increased government involvement in specific policy areas and spheres of social life Few now would question the fundamental belief that the national government should protect child labor, regulate food and drug safety, protect the rights of minority groups, help citizens plan for retirement, and assist the poor and elderly in obtaining medical services, although they are largely twentieth-century innovations Even in somewhat more controversial areas such as protecting the environment, providing assistance in education, imposing a progressive income tax, and protecting workers from unsafe working conditions

or unfair employment practices, we might debate the proper role of the national government or the wisdom of its actions, but we are less inclined to argue that the

national government has no role in such affairs We argue at the margins We see

the need for government action, and we see the potential for failure and abuse Because of its pervasiveness in society and its importance in myriad aspects of our lives, government, its role, functions, processes, and purposes need to be better understood We begin this journey of understanding with the question, What is government? The German social scientist Max Weber defined government as the institution in society that has a monopoly on the legitimate use of force Thus, the key components of government involve the need for some coercive capacity to force people to do that which they are not inclined to do and a sense on the part of the broader society that it is within the government’s rights to employ coercion to accomplish governmental and societal goals In exchange for these powers, the government is expected to maintain public order, protect property, and provide public goods Although most governments seek to achieve some mixture of the maintenance of order, the protection of property and liberty, and the production

of public goods, each of these things can be defined very differently in different cultures, historical periods, and contexts Because of these different definitions, there are many types of governments in the world We speak of democracies, oligarchies, and autocracies, as well as of constitutional, authoritarian, and totalitarian governments Distinguishing among different types of governments requires attention to both the number and the diversity of the people who are

influential in making government decisions and to the limits that society places

on government action

First, we can categorize governments in terms of the number of people in-

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cluded in decision making Ascending in the number of participants involved in the “politics” of a regime, types of governments would include those that are ruled

by a single individual (autocracy), those in which decision making is limited to only a small group (oligarchy), and governments in which the political decision making is relatively widespread (democracy) Second, we might categorize governments based on the limitations of government authority Decreasing in terms of the recognition of such limits, types of governments would include: constitutional governments, in which there are strong limits on government action; authoritarian governments, in which competing power centers in society place some, though not many, limits on government action; and totalitarian governments, in which governments eliminate the societal competition endemic

to authoritarian systems and monopolize all relevant political and societal power Generally, scholars refer to the complex institutions that comprise the government as “the state.” The concept of “the state” refers to the source of all government authority Still, it is an abstraction There is no one place where one goes to petition “the state.” There is no address to which one can send a letter to

“the state.” Rather, what we mean by “the state” is in reality a complex arrangement of institutions and processes that have authority for action and legitimacy in purpose Indeed, were we to try to mail our letter to “the state” it would require one state actor, the U.S Postal Service, to deliver the letter to yet another authoritative state actor In many ways, the complexity of the state requires that we break the government down into its component parts, processes, and institutions in order to understand it Later in this course, we will turn to an understanding of some of these important institutions For now, the abstract concept needs to be better understood We will achieve this understanding by delving deeper into two of Weber’s main topics of concern: the use of force (or coercion) and legitimacy

Both coercion and legitimacy are requisite for governance As much as we like

to believe that the United States is exceptional, and as much as in our everyday lives we tend to ignore the coercive aspects of government, the American state is

no exception in this regard We all know what will happen to us if we consistently and flagrantly defy the rules of society as reflected in governmentally sanctioned laws A state actor (most likely in a uniform) will come take us away, by force if necessary, for the purposes of state-administered judgment of our actions and state-imposed punishment Moreover, we also know when we pay sales tax or look at our paychecks, and especially on April 15 of every year, that the government has “requisitioned” our funds to provide for its continued functioning And as much as we may dislike in specific instances both the government’s capacity to punish and tax us, rarely do individuals question the overall “right” or legitimacy of the government to do these very things Were other private, nongovernmental actors in society to attempt to punish us for our actions or take

our money under threat of force, fine, or imprisonment, we would likely resist Indeed, we would look to the government for assistance and protection

The means of coercion and revenue collection are just as key to the function-

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ing of American national government as they are to other governments Indeed, acquiring and justifying the central government’s capacity for coercion and revenue collection was critical to the framers of the U.S Constitution If we were

to look at Federalist 23, and Federalist 30, two prominent selections from the Federalist Papers, we would see that among the Federalists, key figures believed

that the central government under the Articles of Confederation lacked the

fundamental powers to govern In Federalist 23, Alexander Hamilton (as Publius)

argued for a strong central government to replace the weak central government established by the Articles of Confederation Tellingly, Hamilton’s concerns here are related to the coercive capacity of the central government He wrote:

The principal purposes to be answered by union are these—the common defense of the members; the preservation of the public peace, as well against internal convulsions as external attacks; the regulation of commerce with other nations and between the States; the superintendence of our intercourse, political and commercial with foreign countries The authorities essential to the common defense are these: to raise armies; to build and equip fleets; to prescribe rules for the government of both;

to direct their operations; to provide their support

In order to be a government, Hamilton argued, the central government established

by the Constitution needed a capacity for coercion that could be employed both internally and externally Of course, armies, fleets, soldiers, and sailors, not to mention all of the other functions of government, cost money In addition to providing for “common defense” and repelling “internal convulsions,” in order to

be a government, the United States also needed a means of collecting revenue

Hamilton turned to this subject in Federalist 30 Describing money as “the vital

principle of the body politic; as that which sustains its life and motion and enables

it to perform its most essential functions,” Hamilton defends the central government’s potentially expansive need to secure the funds for its own survival, arguing, “A complete power, therefore, to procure a regular and adequate supply

of revenue, as far as the resources of the community will permit, may be regarded

as an indispensable ingredient in every constitution.” Again, this was not a mere policy point but one that Hamilton felt was essential to the functioning of the government In order to maintain order and protect property, and to produce public goods, the government needed the power to tax He wrote: “How is it possible that a government half supplied and always necessitous can fulfill the purposes of its institution, can provide for the security, advance the prosperity, or undertake or execute any liberal or enlarged plans of public good?”

From the Weberian point of view and from the definition of government that stresses that all governments employ coercion and have a means of collecting revenue, Hamilton does not merely argue for the strengthening of the national

government Instead, he argues that the central government needs the very

fundamental tools of government Indeed, Hamilton wrote in Federalist 23, that

once it