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![Solving Collective Dilemmas using Federalism
Solving dilemmas in a Republic
• 1. The figure shows three
arrows coming from the
problem and pointing to
Institutions [A], [B], and [C],
respectively. Why is there
more than one institution
that the public can choose
to solve its collective
dilemma? Explain.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/americanpoliticalsystemppt-110919181530-phpapp01-180827171759/85/Americanpoliticalsystemppt-110919181530-phpapp01-14-320.jpg)
![Estimated number of victims[edit]
Stéphane Courtois states that "Communist regimes... turned mass crime into a full-
blown system of government."[4]:2
According to Courtois, the death toll amounts to 94
million.[4]:4
The breakdown of the number of deaths given by Courtois is as follows:
•65 million in the People's Republic of China
•20 million in the Soviet Union
•2 million in Cambodia
•2 million in North Korea
•1.7 million in Ethiopia
•1.5 million in Afghanistan
•1 million in the Eastern Bloc
•1 million in Vietnam
•150,000 in Latin America
•10,000 deaths "resulting from actions of the international Communist
movement and Communist parties not in power."[4]:4
Courtois writes that Communist regimes are responsible for a greater
number of deaths than any other political ideal or movement,
including Nazism. The statistics of victims include deaths through
executions, man-made hunger, deportations, and forced labor.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/americanpoliticalsystemppt-110919181530-phpapp01-180827171759/85/Americanpoliticalsystemppt-110919181530-phpapp01-83-320.jpg)
Uploaded byWayne Williams
Americanpoliticalsystemppt 110919181530-phpapp01
The document discusses several key concepts related to understanding American politics. It defines politics as the process of making collective decisions and allocating public resources. It also discusses institutions as codified constraints on behavior, including organizations within government and rules. The American political system is complex due to its federal nature with multiple branches and levels of government, as well as outside groups seeking to influence politics.
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Americanpoliticalsystemppt 110919181530-phpapp01
- 2. Understanding American Politics –Politics refers to the process of making collective decisions to allocate public resources and to create and enforce rules for the operation of society. – Institutions are codified constraints on behavior. The term institution can refer to several things, including organizations as large as a branch of the government and systems as specific as rules for conducting debates in Congress. – The American political system is complex, in part due to its federal nature and in part due to the wide array of branches at each level of government and the many organizations, businesses, and movements that seek to shape politics.
- 3. Objective: Students will… • Consider the Electoral College… •Over 50% majority wins all electoral votes, whilst less than the majority total votes from a state are discarded. • Had the institution for choosing the president been different, candidates winning the popular vote would win the presidency. Explore examples of political outcomes that are profoundly shaped by the institutions of government.
- 4.
- 5. • Collective Dilemmasand the Need for Government – A collective dilemma is a situation in which there is a conflict between group goals and self-interest. – Thomas Hobbes argued that concentrating power in a sovereign with final authority would prevent society from becoming a "war of all against all." – Governments exist to solve the fundamental problem that Hobbes articulated, as well as other collective dilemmas that society faces.
- 6. Types of Collective Dilemmas A collective-action problem refers to a situation where people are individually better off trying to freeride and benefit from a public good without contributing to it, but people as a group would be better off if they all contributed.
- 7. Types of Collective Dilemmas A prisoner’sdilemma is an interaction between two individuals in which neither actor has an incentive to cooperate, even though both would be better off if they cooperated. The collective-action problem can be thought of as a multi-person version of the prisoner’s dilemma
- 8.
- 9. A problem ofunstable coalitions is one in which three or more people must make a collective choice, but any voting coalition for an alternative could be divided by another proposal. One solution to this problem is choosing an agenda setter who limits the alternatives available to the group
- 10. • Principal-Agent Problems –A principal-agent problem is any situation in which one person (a principal) hires another (an agent) to do a job on the principal’s behalf. The agent, however, may have incentives to deceive the principal for personal gain. – In government, the bureaucracy is often thought of as an agent that implements policy on behalf of Congress and the president, who are principals. A bureaucrat, is an un-elected agent.
- 11. • Designing Institutions –Governments address collective dilemmas and principal-agent problems by establishing institutions. – The programs and decisions created by government are called public policies. – How institutions are designed early on can shape the kinds of public policies that are created later on. This process is called path dependence.
- 12. Types of GovernmentInstitutions Political Systems- Authoritarianism, dictatorship, monarchy, oligarchy, and one- party states. –Democracy refers to rule by the people. A true Republic, is constitutionally based and represented by those elected by the people who legislate to ideally protect political and civil liberties; two common criteria for evaluating how democratic a nation is.
- 13. Types of GovernmentInstitutions • Authoritarianism- Govts do not represent the people, nor do they have a voice in their government. • Dictatorship- An authoritarian political system in which one individual reigns with sovereign power. • Monarchies-King or queen rules on the most critical matters. There is no competition for his or her position. • Oligarchies- Power resides with a small group, often shared with a parliament or monarch. • One Party States- another form of monarchy.
- 14. Solving Collective Dilemmasusing Federalism Solving dilemmas in a Republic • 1. The figure shows three arrows coming from the problem and pointing to Institutions [A], [B], and [C], respectively. Why is there more than one institution that the public can choose to solve its collective dilemma? Explain.
- 15. • 2. For each of the three institutions, there is only one arrow pointing to a single possible outcome. Why isthere only one outcome per institution? Explain.
- 16. The Federalism Approachto Collective-Action Problem Solving (pg. 23)• State Power • Leaders of small states argued in the Constitutional Convention, 1787 for the need of 2 Senators for each state. • Designing this institution helps protect against benefitting larger states at the expense of smaller states. • Leaders of large states wanted Congressional representation based on population (Path Dependence until ‘60s.) • Federal Power • Baker v. Carr, 1962 • Wesberry v. Sanders ‘64 • Together, these decisions mandated that all districts within a state (House and state- level house and senate) had to be roughly equal in size. • Prior to this, rural areas
- 17. • Analyzing Politicsand Government – In the context of this chapter, the 2009 stimulus debate in the federal government can be understood through two collective-action problems: one among the public, which dislikes taxes but likes government programs, and another among politicians, who do not want to oppose a popular program for electoral reasons but may oppose it for the sake of a balanced budget. – The story also illustrates that, while institutions are designed to solve collective dilemmas, some dilemmas will be solved while others will persist.
- 18. What Happens When Institutions Can’t or Won’t Solve Dilemmas? Where do yougo if your representative, Congressman and or Senator, can’t fix your problem? What might be the potential political result of them not fixing the problem?
- 19. THE AMERICAN POLITICALSYSTEM PARTICIPANTS Individuals Groups Organizations INPUT LINKAGE INSTITUTIONS Voting Political Parties Interest Groups Media POLICY AGENDA GOVERNMENT Congress- statutes President- orders/decisions Courts- opinions Bureaucracy- rules and regulations POLICY IMPACT OUTPUT
- 20. WHAT DOES THISMODEL SAY ABOUT PARTICIPATION IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS?
- 21.
- 23. HOW Methods WHO Participants INDIVIDUALS • Candidates • Officeholders •Supporters • Voters GROUPS (DEMOGRAPHICS) • Affluent/Poor • Whites/Blacks/Hispanics/Asian • Elderly/Young • Working Class/Labor/Business Blue Collar/White Collar • Men/Women • Farmers/Bankers/Real Estate Construction/Sales • Catholics/Protestants/Jews • Northerners/Southerners • Liberals/Conservatives ORGANIZATIONS (FACTIONS) • AFL-CIO • AARP • ACLU • NRA • DNC Gets WHAT Values BROADLY: ADVANTAGES FOR ONESELF OR FOR ONE’S GROUP AT THE EXPENSE OF OTHER INDIVIDUALS AND/OR GROUPS (WINNERS & LOSERS) • Deference • Prestige • Recognition • Influence • Access • Jobs • Contracts • Public Policy • Justice • Status Quo WHEN Immediately Later And • Platforms • Campaigns • Speeches • Rallies • Public relations • Media exposure • Registration • Voting • Campaign Finance • Lobbying • Grass Roots Politics • Coalition Building • Compromise • Logrolling • Intimidation • Rewards • Sanctions • Bribery • Violence • Expanding the conflict
- 24. Agenda factors Scopeof conflict Other competing conflicts Influence and intensity of competing groups Range of government power and resources Conflict among private groups 1Losers seek to expand the struggle to attract reinforcements The issue gains visibility through the media 2New forces are mobilized, including candidates, parties, and interest groups New balance of power created leading to renewed conflict 4 Policy impact on groups and the public The issue reaches the agenda of government 3The government maintains the status quo- or enacts new programs
- 25. MAIN LINKAGE INSTITUTIONS • POLITICAL PARTIES •INTEREST GROUPS • ELECTIONS • MEDIA WHY CALLED “LINKAGE” INSTITUTIONS?
- 26. How do PoliticalParties link us to government?
- 27. How do InterestGroups link us to government?
- 28. How do Electionslink us to government?
- 29. How does Medialink us to government?
- 30. How does Congressmake policy?
- 31. What are someways the President can make policy?
- 32. When the Courtissues an opinion, is it making policy?
- 33. What is theirrole in policymaking?
- 35. What Exactly AreWe Guaranteed? • 7 Principles of the Constitution • Popular sovereignty • Limited government • Separation of powers • Checks and balances • Judicial review • Federalism • Republicanism
- 36. Do we havea right to Limited Government? • The idea of Popular Sovereignty (rule by the people) is associated with the idea of republicanism and social contract philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
- 37. Why is LimitedGovernment Important? • Limited government is a common practice through Western Culture, but it also has roots in Hebraic Law. Another non-Western example of Limited Government was the Magna Carta, which restricted the King's power to be above the law.
- 38. How is LimitedGovernment related to Federalism? • http:// study.com/academy/lesson/constitutional-provisions-for-limited-govern
- 39. The Art of LimitedGovernment-
- 40. Marbury vs. Madison JudicialReview • An important part of Checks and Balances, allowing the Judicial branch to check the power of both the Legislative and Executive branches for potential unconstitutionalities. Established after the Marbury vs. Madison ruling. • Writ of Habeas Corpus The means if you are arrested have the right to a written statement showing what crimes you are charged with before you are imprisoned before trial.
- 41. Republicanism • "The UnitedStates shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government,..." (Article IV Section 4). • People have the power in government . • Republicanism uses elected Representatives, who represent the people in the House of Representatives and the Senate.
- 42. Political Terms toKnow optimal outcome equilibrium a set action with the characteristic that no player wish to change their behavior given the behavior of the other players in the model if no other outcome exists that makes some actors better off without making anyone worse suboptimal outcome if another outcome exists that makes some actors better off while making the other actors worse off
- 43. Free Rider problem Individualshave incentive not to contribute to a collective effort yet enjoy the fruits of everyone else's contribution
- 44. Tragedy of theCommons • an economic problem in which every individual tries to reap the greatest benefit from a given resource. As the demand for the resource overwhelms the supply, every individual who consumes an additional unit directly harms others who can no longer enjoy the benefits
- 45. Whom has Powerof the Purse? • Article I, Section 9, Clause 7 (the Appropriations Clause) • Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 (the Taxing and Spending Clause).
- 46. Logrolling Standard bargaining strategy in which 2sides swap support for dissimilar policies.
- 47. Constitutional Veneration Individuals are much less supportiveof a proposal when it would effect a constitutional change
- 49. Blind reverence Subtly encourages citizens tocede their authority to change the Constitution to the very government officials Constitution is meant to constrain.
- 50. Game Theory Tool usedto model strategic interactions between actors; one actor's preferred outcomes will depend on actions of the other
- 51.
- 53. Games of pure conflict Player's preferencesare diametrically opposed; most boring game ever. Also called zero-sum gain… same in politics.
- 55. Nash Equilibrium If bothplayers have dominant strategies, then it's easy to determine a game's outcome; both are
- 58. POWER: A Hardor soft option? HARD POWER- Coercion SOFT POWER-Diplomacy
- 61. Confederation There is anational gov. but most decisions made at state level; lower- level gov. has primary authority. Example: Canada is proclaimed to be a confederation in 1867, by an act of British Parliament.
- 62.
- 64. Federalism ‘Robust' balance between a confederationand unified; significant policymaking powers reside at sub-national level
- 65. The Size Principle The largerand more diverse a constituency, the more diluted the influence of any faction.
- 67. How Can aPolitical Faction Manipulate the Masses into Giving up Liberties?
- 73. Grants-in-Aid Federal Government Provide money to astate for a specific purpose
- 76. President Lyndon Johnson’s1964 “War on Poverty” and Cloward-Piven’s 1966 political strategy, the total recipients on welfare rocketed from 4.3 million to 10.8 million from 1965 through 1 . Today, roughly $1 trillion annually is given to more than 107 million Americans who receive some type of government benefits – not including Social Security, Medicare or unemployment. In 2007, there were 26 million recipients alone of food stamps before Obama took office. There are now a record 47 million and climbing. And that doesn’t include the expansion of other entitlements (like Obamacare) In 2012, Forbes already summarized Obama’s “success” of skyrocketing the welfare society: •An increase of 18 million people, to 46 million Americans now receiving food stamps; •A 122 percent increase in food-stamp spending to an estimated $89 billion this year from $40 billion in 2008; •An increase of 3.6 million people receiving Social Security disability payments; •A 10 million person increase in the number of individuals receiving welfare, to 107 million, or more than one-third of the U.S. population; • A 34 percent, $683 billion reduction in the adjusted gross income of the top
- 80. Obamacare, will resultin government expansion and expenditures by 2022 to the tune of: •Federal expenditures on Obamacare will total $2.3 trillion, a $1.4 trillion increase from the program’s initial estimates; •The combination of budget cuts and sequestration will reduce defense spending by $1 trillion, while total government spending will increase by $1.1 trillion; •Taxes will be increased by $1.8 trillion; •Yet, the national debt will increase by another $11 trillion. The Heritage Foundation summarized well: “In 1964, programs for the poor consumed 1.2 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). Today, spending on welfare programs is 13 times greater than it was in 1964 and consumes over 5 percent of GDP. Spending per poor person in 2008 amounted to around $16,800 in programmatic benefits.” In the next 10 years, America will spend another $10.3 trillion on programs for the poor.
- 81. The Heritage Foundationsummarized it : “In 1964, programs for the poor consumed 1.2 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). Today, spending on welfare programs is 13 times greater than it was in 1964 and consumes over 5 percent of GDP. Spending per poor person in 2008 amounted to around $16,800 in programmatic benefits.” In the next 10 years, America will spend another $10.3 trillion on programs for the poor.
- 83. Estimated number ofvictims[edit] Stéphane Courtois states that "Communist regimes... turned mass crime into a full- blown system of government."[4]:2 According to Courtois, the death toll amounts to 94 million.[4]:4 The breakdown of the number of deaths given by Courtois is as follows: •65 million in the People's Republic of China •20 million in the Soviet Union •2 million in Cambodia •2 million in North Korea •1.7 million in Ethiopia •1.5 million in Afghanistan •1 million in the Eastern Bloc •1 million in Vietnam •150,000 in Latin America •10,000 deaths "resulting from actions of the international Communist movement and Communist parties not in power."[4]:4 Courtois writes that Communist regimes are responsible for a greater number of deaths than any other political ideal or movement, including Nazism. The statistics of victims include deaths through executions, man-made hunger, deportations, and forced labor.
- 84. Block Grants State orlocal gov. receives a specific amount of money to spend for some purpose
- 85. Matching Grants Federal gov. matches moneyspent by states on specifically approved federal projects.
- 87. Unfunded Mandates States may be askedto pay for the administration of the policies
- 88. Direct Orders Requirements that canbe enforced by legal and civil penalties
- 89. Developmental Programs Provide the physicaland social infrastructure necessary to facilitate economic growth (Bridges, roads, police)
- 90. Redistributive Programs Reallocate resources from the "haves"to the "have- nots" (Welfare, progressive income taxes, Socialism,
- 91. Sanctuary Jurisdictions Places that have policieslimiting how local law enforcement can cooperate with federal immigration agents.
- 92. Selection Effect When somecharacteristic of a group is due to the likelihood of joining or being selected into a group.
- 93. Regression line Line that best fits the patternof the data in the scatterplot
- 99.
- 100. Poster Project Assignment Create avisual info- graphic poster, showing causes and effects of the ideas of enlightenment philosophers and the flow of ideas that contributed to ideas and actions of our Founding Fathers at the start of the American Republic.