Lessons 1&2: Politics

Lessons 1 & 2: Politics http://www.teflideas.com @TEFL101

Lesson 1: Systems of Government
Learning Objectives
• To enlighten students as to different forms of government around the world
• To understand the fundamental principles and responsibilities of governments
• To learn some vocabulary related to politics

1 – Quotations
Introduce the following quotes on by one and ask the students to explain their understanding of them and see if
they can think of an example of any of the quotations in practice.

Power has only one duty - to secure the social welfare of the People. Benjamin Disraeli, British Prime Minister
from 1874 to 1880.

In War you can only be killed once, but in politics, many times. Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister from
1940 -1945 and 1951-55

Sir, I disapprove of what you say but will defend to the death your right to say it. Voltaire, French philosopher
1694 -1778

Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. William Pitt, British Prime Minister from 1783 to 1801

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2 – Questions
Ask the students the following questions and explore examples and opinions.

Q1. What is a republic?
Q2. How is the government of Great Britain different to a republic?
Q3. What does the word ‘democracy’ mean?
Q4. What does a Liberal government and Conservative government mean?
Q5. What do people mean when they talk about ‘left wing’ and ‘right wing’?
Q6. What is the responsibility of a government? defence or poverty alleviation?
Q7. What are the other responsibilities of a government?

Possible answers and points of reference:

Q1. A republic is a state with no monarchy - the head of state is a president. In a democracy the president is elected, either directly by the
people or by a council of some sort. In some republics like the US and China, the president is also the head of government. Alternatively, some
countries operate a semi-presidential republic where a prime minister, premier or chancellor wields power over government.

The Roman Republic had two consuls, appointed for a year by the senate. During the year of their consulship each consul would in turn be
head of state for a month at a time, thus alternating the office of consul major (the consul in power) and of consul suffectus (the subordinate
consul who retained some independence, and held certain veto powers over the consul major) for their joint term.

Q2. Great Britain operates a system of government called a limited monarchy. This is combined with a representative democracy. In the UK a
hereditary monarch is accepted as the head of state as is the case in the Netherlands, Spain, Japan and Thailand.

The system of parliamentary democracy adopted in the UK is known as the Westminster System. Other countries which use this unique model
of legislative procedures include Canada, India, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Ireland and Jamaica.

Q3. ‘Democracy’ comes from the Greek demo meaning people and krato meaning ‘government’. Mention that Switzerland operates a form of
direct democracy in which the public have the right to decide on a lot of new legislation through regular referendums, this form of power
distribution tends to be mistrusted by most governments.

Q4. Demonstrate these characteristics on the board for students:

Liberalism Conservatism
Individual rights Preservation institutions*
Freedom of speech Freedom of businesses
Limits to the power of govt. The status quo
Free trade Low tax
Market economy little social welfare spending
Transparent government small government
Dislike of traditions (radical) Prefer gradual change (reform)

* Institutions in this context refer to religion (particularly Judeo-Christian), schools, businesses, the Establishment, the family, morals, national
customs and beliefs

Q5. Demonstrate these opposing political ideologies on the board:

Red man Blue man
Working man Business man
Left wing Right wing
Socialist Capitalist
Labour Conservative (as in the party)
radical conservative (small ‘c’)
Welfare state ‘Trickle down’ effect
High tax (redistribution of wealth) Low tax (creation of wealth)
‘Us’ society ‘Me’ society
Nationalisation Privatisation
Protectionist / intervention Free trade / Laissez faire
Trade Unions Corporations

Q6. Whether a government’s primary responsibility is defence or poverty alleviation is one of the fundamental questions in political theory. Do
a straw poll to see what the students think then take on the role of Devil’s Advocate to stimulate debate one way or the other. Perhaps
introduce this famous edict by Niccolo Machiavelli:

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“A Prince ought to have two fears, one from within, on account of his subjects, the other from without, on account of
external powers. From the latter he is defended by being well armed and having good allies.”

Q7. Make a list of responsibilities then ask students to prioritise. The list may look something like this:

1. Ensure economic growth by protecting property rights
2. Political stability (wars and revolutions are not usually conducive to growth – this has been one of the biggest factors holding back
African nations)
3. Prevent crime
4. Alleviate of poverty and address income disparity
5. Provide public services such as roads, infrastructure, an effective military, street lighting, lighthouses, i.e. Public Goods
6. Enforce environmental protection

3 – Vocabulary

Write the following words on the board Monarchy, Dictatorship, Technocracy, Feudalism, Oligarchy, Anarchy,
Theocracy, Democracy, Fascism, Federation

Then work through the slides to match the definitions with their terms.

• a lack of government
• rule where the people as a whole hold the power
• a government advised by unelected experts, scientists or engineers
• an old system where people were born with a permanent position in society
• rule by a small group of people who share similar interests
• a country with several independent regions
• rule by an individual who has total power over the country
• rule by a religious elite
• a system often led by a dictator where the upper classes suppress the lower classes and emphasise aggressive
nationalism and racism.
• rule by person who has inherited the role of leader and expects to pass it on to their child (heir)

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4 – Taboo
Distribute the cards, one to each each student. Then give them a minute to work out how they are going to explain
the concept in red without saying any of the words on the cards.

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1. Tax - [money, salary, government, pay, spend]
2. President – [leader, elected, king, chairman, boss]
3. Debate – [argument, quarrel, fight, words, speech]
4. Law – [rules, court, lawyer, prison, judge]
5. Party – [group, club, leaders, fun, government]
6. Communism – [revolution, Marx, Engels, Mao, China]
7. Capitalism – [money, America, market, rich, system]
8. Washington – [capital, America, city, government, President]
9. Government – [leaders, rulers, president, chiefs, Beijing]
10. Democracy – [people, vote, system, America, Europe]
11. Monarchy – [king, queen, royal, family, palace]
12. War – [fight, battle, army, gun, win]

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5 - Soundbites & Spin
Introduce the concept of soundbites; hard-hitting phrases inserted into speeches, policy statements or the news
that are designed to evoke a particular reaction in listeners.

Explain that spin is used regularly by governments to make negative news come across in a positive light. In other
words, spin is the use of euphemisms, delaying or burying bad news, non-denial denial, selective use of facts,
assuming unproven truths, media manipulation and all other sorts of equivocation and evasion techniques.

Another interesting aspect is ‘Dog-whistle politics’ in which codified language is used by politicians to appeal to
certain sections of society while being ignored by most other voters. An example of this is the frequent use of
biblical phrases by George W Bush.

Ask students what they think these phrases really mean:

• Liberation of Iraq
• Read my lips: No new taxes
• Developing country
• Fiscal restraint
• Social justice
• Collateral damage

Answers:

Collateral damage – civilian deaths
Liberation of Iraq – Invasion of Iraq
Read my lips: no new taxes – Expect new taxes. This was delivered by George HW Bush on his presidential
campaign
Developing country – poor country
Fiscal restraint – spending cuts (common Conservative rallying cry)
Social justice – higher taxes (common Leftist rallying cry)

6 - Prime Minister’s Questions on Youtube
If you have internet access in the room, show a few of these clips so students can get an idea of the gladiatorial
nature of British parliament.

Weak, Weak, Weak http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpZhugomNJE
Stalin to Mr Bean http://youtube.com/watch?v=P9ZErdQy96U
Blair on Iraq http://youtube.com/watch?v=4PnSgEjX3I8
Order… Order http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpVycRpa2L8
The Iron Lady says ‘No’ http://youtube.com/watch?v=U2f8nYMCO2I

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Lesson 2: The Debate - Social Order
‘In a civilised society, one must always have people above to be obeyed and people below to be commanded.’
Is this statement true?

Goals of the Lesson

 For students to become more familiar with the concepts of elitism and egalitarianism in society
 For students to practise debating, using persuasive devices and functional phrases
 For students to find some form of consensus on the issue

Preamble
The following information is adapted from various internet sources including Wikipedia.

Elitism is the belief that a select group of people with outstanding personal abilities, intellect, wealth, specialised
training or experience, or other distinctive attributes are those whose views are to be taken the most seriously or
carry the most weight; whose views and actions are most likely to be constructive to society as a whole; or whose
extraordinary skills, abilities or wisdom render them especially fit to govern. Members of the upper classes are
sometimes known as the elite.

Elites may grant themselves extra privileges at the expense of others. This form of elitism may be described as
discrimination. Additionally, the ‘elite’ often possess little practical knowledge of what they profess. They may
hold the belief that they are above the rules that apply to the masses. The ‘Do as I Say, Don’t Do as I Do.’ and ‘Its
Not My Fault’ are core beliefs that lead them through life with little or no accountability for their actions. A view
of self worth drives their view of the world and those in it. Elitist people or groups believe they are better than the
rest of society, and therefore put themselves before others.

Elitism endorses the exclusion of large numbers of people from positions of privilege or power. Thus, many
populists seek the social equality of egalitarianism, populism, socialism, or communism. They may also support
affirmative action, social security, luxury taxes, and increasingly high progressive taxes for the wealthiest members
of society. All of these measures seek to reduce the gap of power between the elite and the ordinary.

Pluralism is the belief that public policy decisions should be (or, descriptively, are) the result of the struggle of
forces exerted by large populations (workers, consumers, retirees, parents, etc.) directly or indirectly in the policy-
making process. This is contrasted with elitism which is the belief that decisions should be (or are being) made
essentially according to the interests or ideas of elites.

Feudalism
The social and economic system which characterized most European societies in the Middle Ages is called
feudalism. Every man knew his place and was a servant of his lord. Feudalism is a society in which every man is
bound to every other by mutual ties of loyalty and service. Feudal society was characterized by military
landholders and working peasants. The nobility included bishops -- the church was one of the greatest of medieval
landowners. At the bottom of the social pyramid were the agricultural labourers, or villeins, and beneath them, the
serfs.

Fascism
The Nazis employed a concept called Führerprinzip which was used by the German army and by German society
as a whole. Every leader would have absolute responsibility for their own area and answer to no-one except their
superiors. Subordinates must show absolute obedience. Military organisations still use a similar principle to this
day because it is efficient and can harness great synergies. In practice though, Führerprinzip often led to
micromanagement and an inability to formulate coherent policy.

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Discuss this classic socialist poster from the 1920s

Tall Poppy Syndrome

Tall Poppy Syndrome is a term used in Australia, New Zealand and Canada in which the majority have a desire to
punish the successful. Someone is a target of tall poppy syndrome when his or her assumption of a higher
economic, social, or political position is criticised as being presumptuous, attention seeking, or without merit.

This phenomenon is often interpreted as resulting from resentment and envy of others’ success. On the other side
of the coin, however, such critics see themselves, not as envious, but as justly deflating the pretensions of those
who take themselves too seriously or flaunt their success without due humility. Apparent cases of tall poppy
syndrome are thus often explained as resentment not of success but of snobbery and arrogance. Those whose
approach to success is seen as suitably humble can escape.

Critics of the tall poppy syndrome sometimes declare that the United States is relatively free of tall poppy
attitudes. Americans are thought to appreciate the successful, seeing them as an example to admire and emulate.

By Luan Hanratty 8


Functional Debating Phrases
Taken from PMQs between Gordon Brown and David Cameron

• That’s absurd
• That’s pretty small beer
• It’s self-evidently nonsense
• You are damaging your credibility
• This is the rebuttal to the Conservatives
• They don’t like it, Mr. Speaker
• Isn’t it true you…?
Teacher’s Instructions
After discussing the Preamble split the class into two teams and have each team prepare an argument either in
favour of, or against the topic. By doing this you are making the students play Devil’s Advocate and encouraging
Aristotle's dictum that the mark of an educated mind is being able to entertain a thought without accepting it.

Alternatively, if there is an even split of opinion in the room you can just allow the students to move to the side of
the room they agree with and create a parliamentary-style debating chamber. Using all the space you have and
giving the teams enough time are the keys to success here.

After at least ten minutes, ask each team to nominate their captain who will set out the opening proposal. The
opposing team captain has to counter this proposal. Let the teams take turns to put forward their ideas but only
allow one person to speak at a time. If you have a large amount of lower level students in the class it is better to
reverse the order so the ‘weaker’ students get to speak first and outline some basic arguments, leaving the more
complex points to the higher levels during the second half of the debate.

The person who is speaking should really be standing to adhere to a sense of oratory in the room, creating more of
an impact on the listeners. Any attempts at using rhetoric (i.e. the use of exaggeration, display or bombast to create
an effect) should be highly praised. Any logical fallacies that crop up should be turned over to the opposing team to
be torn apart.
Vocab
 Confucianism – adhering to the teachings of the ancient Chinese sage and proto-teacher, Kong Zi.
 Primitive – basic, rudimentary and lacking in all refinement and sophistication
 Hierarchies – natural pyramids of order and power found in nature, society and business & commerce.
 Aristocracy – an small group of landowners whole earn income from rents and rule via hereditary succession
 Mutiny – uprising among armed forces in with the ruling officers are executed by the rank and file and the
existing order is replaced
 Achievers – people who attain goals and represent success in human life.
 Chaos – the opposite of ‘order’. Utter confusion characterised by a succession of random, unpredictable events
 Feudal – an old social system where by peasants or slaves would perpetually survive on subsistence means
while their overlords reaped a large percentage of their production
 to Corrupt – to slowly destroy and erode the virtue of something
 Elitism – advocacy of rule by a small band of powerful individuals
 to Subjugate – to bring a group of people under complete control and domination. To conquer and master.
 Institutions - Sociology. a well-established and structured pattern of behaviour or of relationships that is
accepted as a fundamental part of a culture, as marriage: the institution of the family.
 Morale – group spirit
 Coincidence - a striking occurrence of two or more events at one time apparently by mere chance
 Arrogant - making claims or pretensions to superior importance or rights; overbearingly assuming; proud

By Luan Hanratty 9


The Argument
The following ‘for / against’ notes are for the teacher to help each side during their preparations. Use the points to
give clues to each member so they can develop their attacks. You may want to photocopy and cut up these points
so you can distribute one to each person.

Yes. In civilised society we must have people above to be obeyed and people
below to be commanded

 If I am in the army and someone needs to say ‘go’ the others need to go. It is likely that we
will all die without this. Command and obey is a survival strategy that benefits the group.
Without it evolution would not happen and we would not exist.

 It is true that all men are created equal but some are more equal than others. Some people
are not intelligent (intellectually or emotionally) enough to lead others. Some people do not
have the ability to make things happen in organisations. It is through teamwork that
mankind achieves things and teams need leaders. Society is basically one big team so of
course we need people to lead and people to follow.

 Confucianism teaches that we should have unquestioning obedience towards our superiors.
This creates a harmonious and orderly society. Humanity has developed from primitive
beginnings by being organised into hierarchies. This is of course natural. In nature only the
strongest can survive. This is the only efficient way.

 Who is going to do all the low paid jobs if everyone refuses to be commanded? Who is going
to do all the hard manual work? Who is going to fight in the army? If people have a choice,
they won’t do it. We need an educated elite to control the economy while the masses do the
hard work. This is how ants work and ants are the most successful animals in history.

 In the old days, the Fear of God stopped people from stealing and killing all the time
because people believed they would go to hell if they did. America was settled by god
fearing farmers who worked hard because they believed it would save their soul in heaven.
This proves that is it necessary for people to obey a higher power. Especially because there
are so many simple uneducated people in the world, it is important that the clever people
can do the difficult thinking for them.

 Leaders are born, not made. The masses are usually jealous of achievers. It’s best to live in a
competitive society. A competitive society is a civilised society because the best people get
to the top. There will be always be simple, lowly people but they should have the
opportunity to work for the bigger people so they can prove what talents they might have
and climb out of the pigs’ trough.

 Plato said that the best form of government was rule by a small group of philosophers
because only the cleverest could know what is best for the state. We should respect experts
and follow their advice and policies. This is practical and sensible. If everyone has a say in
government we would have chaos.

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No. We should not always have people being obeyed and commanded in civilised
society

 Is there is a permanent group of people who are commanders with others simply to serve
them? No. We are not living in feudal times. All men are created equal – although not equal
in abilities we are all created with equal rights and that is the only truly fair society.

 In an emergency people need to be obeyed but when those in charge try to make every
thing into an emergency so that they can stay in power... that is hardly civilised behaviour. It
is natural for leaders to abuse their power in this way because power corrupts and absolute
power corrupts absolutely.

 Yes, people naturally organise themselves into hierarchies of power, but this is by no means
a qualification for civilised societies. Instead, a truly ‘civilised’ society would be one where
everyone is equal. The first countries to do this were the USA and France after their
democratic revolutions at the end of 18th century.

 Elitism is not my definition of ‘civilised’. Command / obedience = subjugation. Why do you
have to subjugate and threaten people in a civilised society? Why would you talk about
‘above’ and ‘below’ if everyone were fully respected? I call this primitive thinking.

 People need to think for themselves. Questioning authority is healthy. The fear of god
made us primitive and kept us there. A freer a society is a richer society. Hopefully in the
future we will live in a truly civilised ‘flat world’ where everyone has the same opportunities
in life. Surely this is the best future for mankind? Feudalism and slavery were common
when the world was not as civilised as now. Thank god these terrible institutions have gone.

 I had to attend a poorly-funded school and my father was a wage worker and made a
minimum wage. Why should I be denied opportunities for the rest of my live just because
of the situation I was born into? I have skills to offer the country but I am not given the
chance to. Clearly, a level playing field benefits the whole country.

 The leaders answer to no one. Everyone should be accountable for their actions otherwise
we have dictatorship. Everyone, even the rulers, must be subject to the same law. This is
the only way we can guarantee a stable, fair and wealthy society. It’s bad for morale if a
small group of people rule the masses even if they do know better. Majority unity is better
for morale and general public happiness.

 In Australia people say that “Tall poppies get their heads chopped off” which means that no
one is better than anyone else. Australia is the world’s most equal society and it is also one
of the best places in the world to live. This is no coincidence. Arrogant and self-important
people have no place in a truly civilised society where people have respect for each other.

By Luan Hanratty 11


The Vote

Take the vote by call – this is the way it’s usually done in Parliament. If it is too close to call, take a show of hands.
If that is still too close, you can organise a proper ballot. Either way, it’s usually interesting to see how much of a
swing in opinion has taken place since all the arguments have been tabled.

By Luan Hanratty 12

Lessons 1&2: Politics

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Lessons 1&2: Politics