Midterm Flashcards
(24 cards)
Politics
Easton definition
Authoritative allocation of values for a society
Politics
Dahl definition
Who gets what when how
Politics
Bismarck definition
The art of the possible, the attainable, the art of the next best
Politics
General definition
Process through which power and influence are used in the promotion of certain values and interests
Confirmation bias
Natural tendency to seek out sources of information that confirm our beliefs and reject sources that challenge our beliefs
Sources of political knowledge
Authority
Personal thought
Science
Problems with authority
Only valid to you
Bias
Not everyone is correct
Population changes “everyone”
Types of political knowledge
Authority:
1) specific
2) general
3) everyone
Personal thought:
1) rational
2) intuition
3) experience
Science:
1) scientific method
Types of political beliefs
Cognitive
Evaluative
Affective
Political belief orientations
Mass: low salience short attention spans and belief instability
Elite:
High salience, high abstraction, breadth and attention span is longer
Conservativism
Government should only be able to maintain order
Human nature:
Individual isn’t rational and are naturally unequal
Equality:
Dislike equality and believe it undermines individual liberty
Liberalism
Government:
Laissez-faire government and only there to provide basic safety and freedom
Human Nature:
Humans are rational and responsible and everyone should enjoy natural rights of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness
Equality:
Equality before the law but not in material possessions
Socialism
Government:
State regulates extensively promoting cooperation for the greater good
Human Nature:
People are social by nature
Equality:
Material, social, and political equality reduces conflict
CLUES Model
Consider the source
Lay out the argument and underlying values and assumptions
Uncover the evidence
Sort out the political implications
Important step of CLUES model
Uncovering evidence
Measuring beliefs
People opinion polls
World Values Survey
World Values Survey and Where is US?
X is survival vs. self-expression values
Y is traditional vs. secular-rational values
US is middle on y and left of 1 on x
Unconventional activity
Direct action
Protest/marches/rallies
Violence:
Terrorism
Riots
RevolutionsElectoral political actions
Voting
Campaigning
Petition
Donate money
Non-electoral actions
Lobbying/letter writing Public relations Litigation (courts) Protest/marches/rallies (nonviolent) Direct action (sit-ins, boycott, bicott) Issue campaigning Donate money (interest groups)
Voter turnout differences
Required voting Smaller population Election Day holidays Same day voter registration Less restrictive ID laws More engaged citizenry
Political parties
Run candidates for political office with the intent of gaining control
Interest groups
Seek to influence those who control political institutions.
THEY DONT RUN CANDIDATES FOR OFFICE
Pluralism
Type of democracy that is based on participation through competing interest groups
