INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY 3E

Chapter 17 GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

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COLLEGE PHYSICS

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FIGURE 17.1

In 2018, Florida voters made a decision regarding the voting rights of people convicted of a felony (top left portion of image).

The referendum took a direct measure of the people's will, rather than navigating through representative process. However, passing a referendum and enacting the laws to carry it out are two different processes, which Floridians came to understand when the state government attached further obligations and restrictions to voting rights.

Q: WHO SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO VOTE?

1. All people, regardless of felony conviction or incarceration status.
2. Anyone who has completed an incarceration sentence
3. Anyone who as completed all criminal justice system involvement, including incarceration and parole.
4. Only people who have not been convicted of a felony.

Q: BY WHOM AND BY WHAT PROCESS SHOULD LAWS BE CHANGED?

1. Only by the legislature through the typical bill-to-law process.
2. Through legislative action and through executive orders.
3. Through legislative action and voter referendums, but not executive orders.
4. Through legislative action, voter referendums, and executive orders.

GOVERNMENT PROTESTS

In 2011, thousands of Egyptian citizens demonstrated in the streets and protested political repression by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (Photo courtesy of Jonathan Rashad/flickr

Government buildings are built to symbolize authority, but they also represent a specific perspective or message. The Capitol Complex in Bangladesh, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, was designed to capture the essence of an entirely new country. Rather than the fortress-like, Greek- and Roman-inspired structures of many government buildings, architect Louis Kahn set the rounded, asymmetrical, modern complex within an artificial lake, with many open spaces exposed to the elements.

(Credit: Lykantrop/Wikimedia Commons)

FIGURE 17.3

Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was one of the most powerful and destructive dictators in modern history. He is pictured here with fascist Benito Mussolini of Italy. (Photo courtesy of U.S. National Archives and Records Administration)

FIGURE 17.4

Young people and students were among the most ardent supporters of democratic reform in the recent Arab Spring. Social media also played an important role in rallying grassroots support. (Photo courtesy of cjb22/flickr)

WEBER’S THREE TYPES OF AUTHORITY

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FIGURE 17.5

After becoming the leader of the Indian National Congress, Mohandas Gandhi employed a range of nonviolent methods to gain better rights and treatment for women and poor people and especially for the independence of India.

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He used fasting as a form of protest, and was imprisoned by the ruling British government

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(Credit: Elliot and Fry/Wikimedia Commons)

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FORMS OF GOVERNMENT: MONARCHY

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•  monarchy: a government in which a single person (a monarch) rules until he or she dies or abdicates the throne.
• absolute monarchies: governments wherein a monarch has absolute or unmitigated power.
• constitutional monarchies: governments of nations that recognize monarchs but require these figures to abide by the laws of a greater constitution

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General note: Forms of government and economic systems are not the same. Usually there are some overlaps or correlations.

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FIGURE 17.6

Qaboos bin Said ruled Oman as its absolute monarch for fifty years, and oversaw the country's development from a relatively isolated nation to one that uses its vast supplies of oil to build wealth and influence. Queen Noor of Jordan is the dowager queen of this constitutional monarchy and has limited political authority. Queen Noor is American by birth, but relinquished her citizenship when she married. She is a noted global advocate for Arab-Western relations. (Credit A: Wikimedia Commons; B: Skoll World Forum/flickr)

FORMS OF GOVERNMENT: DICTATORSHIP

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• dictatorship: Power is held by a single person (or a very small group) that wields complete and  absolute authority over a government and population.

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• totalitarian dictatorship: is even more oppressive and attempts to control all aspects of its subjects’ lives; including occupation, religious beliefs, and number of children permitted in each family.

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FORMS OF GOVERNMENT: DEMOCRACY

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• democracy: a form of government that strives to provide all citizens with an equal voice, or vote, in determining state policy, regardless of their level of socioeconomic status.

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•  representative democracy: is virtually synonymous with republic and can also be used to describe a government in which citizens select representatives to promote policies that favor their interests.

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IS THE U.S. AN OLIGOPOLY?

The power in an oligarchy is held by a small, elite group. Usually they may ascend to positions of power because of military might, economic power, or similar circumstances.

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The 400 wealthiest American families own more than the ‘lower’ 150 million Americans combined (Zucman 2019); the top 1% own more than the bottom 50%.

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Political action committees and lobbyists provide funding for candidates, write model legislation, and sway government action and legislative voting.

• For example, Donald Trump ran on the promise (and took office promising) to drastically lower drug prices through new types of government action.
• After a January 2017 meeting with pharmaceutical lobbyists, he dropped that promise.
• Other presidents and Congress members have done the same – they’ve been promising lower prices for decades, but the U.S. still has among the highest drug prices in the world.

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USA Today/Arizona Republic found that from 2010-18, over 10,000 bills were pushed through legislatures after being written and promoted by outside groups.

• 78 percent of Congress's decisions benefit the top 10 percent of Americans
• But only 5 percent of laws and policies have been shown to benefit the larger 90 percent of people while not benefiting the wealthiest Americans

(Represent.US 2014)

FIGURE 17.7

The Breakers, the famous Newport, Rhode Island, home of the Vanderbilts, is a powerful symbol of the extravagant wealth that characterized the Gilded Age. (Photo courtesy of ckramer/flickr)

NORTH KOREA

Dictator Kim Jong-Il of North Korea was a charismatic leader of an absolute dictatorship. His followers responded emotionally to the death of their leader in 2011. (Photo courtesy of babeltrave/flickr)

FIGURE 17.9

Americans' voting rights are a fundamental element of the U.S. democratic structure. In elections people care about, the turnout can be very high, and people go to great lengths to ensure their vote is counted. (Credit: GPA Photo Archive/flickr)

VOTER PARTICIPATION AND SUPPRESSION

one person, one vote: a concept holding that all people’s votes should be counted equally.

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• On a regular basis, about 50% of the voting-eligible population does not vote.
• Presidential elections usually get the most turn-out, and mid-term Congressional elections, state/local elections get much lower participation.
• People cite lack of interest, lack of information, inaccessibility of voting locations, and other issues in voting.

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The Voting Rights Act was intended to ensure fair participation in elections, including monitoring of states with histories of blocking voting by minority populations. The Supreme Court repealed major portions of it in 2013.

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While only twenty-six voters of 197 million federal election voters were found to have committed voter fraud, certain states and politicians are focused on limiting voting and incorporating challenging benchmarks based on fears of fraud.

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Urban areas often have fewer ballot drop-boxes and voting locations than other areas, especially considering the number of people.

FUNCTIONALISM

According to functionalism, the government has four main purposes:

• planning and directing society
• meeting social needs
• maintaining law and order
• managing international relations:

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Functionalists seek consensus and order in society, and view government and politics as a way to enforce norms and regulate conflict.

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Functionalists see active social change, such as the sit-in on Wall Street, as undesirable because it forces change and, as a result, undesirable things that might have to be compensated for.

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FIGURE 17.10

Although military technology has evolved considerably over the course of history, the fundamental causes of conflict among nations remain essentially the same. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

CONFLICT THEORY

power elite: small group of powerful people who control much of a society

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Marx saw a historical pattern in which revolutionaries toppled elite power structures, after which wealth and authority became more evenly dispersed among the population.

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In this pattern of change through conflict, Marx indicated that people tend to gain greater personal freedom and economic stability (1848).

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FIGURE 17.11

What symbols of the Boston Tea Party are represented in this painting? How might a symbolic interactionist explain the way the modern-day Tea Party has reclaimed and repurposed these symbolic meanings? (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM

Symbolic interactionism focuses its attention on figures, emblems, or individuals that represent power and authority.

• Images that represent the power and authority of the United States include the White House, the eagle, and the American flag.
• The Seal of the President of the United States, along with the office in general, incites respect and reverence in many Americans.

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Symbolic interactionists are interested in the face-to-face aspects of politics:

• In reality, much of politics consists of face-to-face backroom meetings and lobbyist efforts.
• What the public often sees is the front porch of politics that is sanitized by the media through gatekeeping.

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Symbolic interactionists are most interested in the interaction between these small groups who make decisions.

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