The document outlines concepts in political science including defining political science, theories such as rational choice and elitism, and the dynamics between elites and pluralism in society. It discusses how societal changes and transitions impact governance and political behavior, as well as the importance of transparency in policies and military strategies. Key themes include the competition of ideas, the influence of power dynamics, and the role of individuals and groups in shaping public policy.

1. West Coast American Leadership Academy
Political Science 1 – US Government
Fall 2015 / Spring 2016 – Power Point 1

2. 1. Defining Political Science
2. Theory Defined
3. Rational Choice
4. Elitism & Pluralism
5. Spheres of Influence
6. Transitional Effects
7. Manipulation
8. Interdependency Theory
9. Power Theory
10.Transparency
Course Lecture Topics

3. Welcome To Class!
New semesters bring various
hiccups for everyone. This also goes
for your instructor. We are all
adjusting to new situations, course
schedule conflicts and other
adjustments. This course utilizes
various methods to deliver
information. Many of our materials
are media driven. You will find many
to be humorous, thought provoking ,
or even interesting. This first clip is
presented merely for fun. It is titled
“Welcome To School.”

4. Political Message
All citizens are allowed to author
campaign rhetoric in order to
influence public policy. Here is an
example from Campchaos.com.
The purpose may be solely
comical without any political
purpose. However, we must
remember that all individual
actors are part of the system. All
actions influence “The System.”

5. What Is Political Science?
1. Political science is a branch of the social sciences.
• Just like Sociology
2. Each branch is interested in individual and group behavior.
• Fundamental difference is the foundational theory
3. Sociologists are biased towards elitism.
4. Political scientists are biased towards pluralism.
• Elite theory is still utilized in contrast with pluralism
5. Political scientists examine influences of political behavior.
• Result of competing interests
• End result of conflict and compromise
6. Sociologists look at individual behavior.
• According to elite influence in general

6. Role Of Theory (1)
1. Everyone uses theory whether they know it or not.
2. Many of us devise our own theories
• Through childhood socializations up to adulthood.
3. Foundation of political science
• Pluralism / Rational Choice Theory
4. Think of theory as a pair of sunglasses
• Filtering unwanted information
• Helps us “see” the truth

7. Example Of Theory: Realism
1. Human Nature Is The Predominant Factor
• In a nation-state’s foreign policy
• These policies are focused upon self-interest
• The inherent motive for man is survival
• Applied policies are determined according to political determinations
2. Considered To Be A Synonym For Power Politics
• Construed as pragmatic and wrought with simplicity
• Abrupt philosophy focused on the inherent evils of mankind

8. Realism
This clip is from the movie
“Failsafe.” Walter Matthau
plays the role of National
Security Advisor who applies
rational choice and realist
theory to explain why striking
at the Soviet Union is
necessary to survive.

9. Rational Choice Theory (1)
1. What Is The Primary Goal Of The Individual?
• The answer may be summed up in one word: Survival.
• Survival is the foundation for all action.
• Individual parties make decisions based on rationality.
• It Assumes individuals base all decisions on self-interest.
2. Requirements To Make A Rational Choice:
• Perfect information
• Balancing our emotions
3. Rational Choice In One Sentence:
• “Decisions are based on self-interest…as we define our self-interest
to be.”

10. Rational Choice Theory (2)
Who Is Acting Rationally In This Example?
We have a nun and a real-estate mogul. The nun gives up all
her worldly possessions and dedicates herself to helping
those in poverty. Her justification may be great rewards in the
afterlife. The real-estate mogul does not believe in an afterlife,
but does believe in making as much money as , spending it all
on an overly extravagant and abusive lifestyle. Who is acting
rationally? Both individuals are for they are fulfilling their self-
interest…as they define their self-interest to be.

11. America Stands Strong
This is a speech about American
strength by Ronald Reagan, 40th
President of the United States

12. Elitism
1. Elitism does not promote elite rule.
2. The rules of a society obstruct social progress of masses
3. Elites are needed due mass ignorance and apathy.
4. Elites have two main goals:
• Preserve and enhance their positions of power
5. Masses are open to demagogues:
• When the economy is doing poorly
• The country is fighting a war that it is losing
6. Demagogues come from the far left or far right.
7. The Founding Fathers were against national referenda

13. Elitism Summarized (1)
1. Society is divided between the powerful few and the
majority weak.
2. Governing few are not typical of the governed masses.
Elites are not drawn mostly from the upper class
socioeconomic section of society.
3. Non-elites have to be given the opportunity to rise up to
elite positions. The masses have to believe that the
process is continuous or revolution may occur. Barriers
prevent finite elite positions from being overtaken by
unqualified individuals. This is a rat and cheese scenario.
Sufficient Cheese Sufficient Cheese Lack Of Cheese

14. Elitism Summarized (2)
4. Elites share a common belief on the basic values of the
elite. Any change of public policy will be incrementally slow
rather than revolutionary.
5. Elites may base their actions either on narrow, self-serving
motives and risk undermining mass support, or they may
initiate reforms, curb abuse, and undertake public-
regarding programs to preserve the system.
6. Active elites are not typically influenced from apathetic
masses. Elites influence masses more than the masses
influence elites.

15. Elitism Summarized (3)

16. Elitism / Information Flow (1)
1. Information flows from opinion elites down to opinion
leaders who are looked to the public for information.
2. News is first “created” by opinion elites and then sent to
opinion leaders to help disseminate the information.
3. Those at the very top of the elite network decide what
information is deemed as necessary to offer society.
4. These elites may be news makers themselves or in charge
of large media corporations.
5. Opinion leaders may be thought of as journalists, news
anchors, expert pundits or even celebrities who possess
legitimacy among those in society.

17. Elitism – Information Flow (2)

18. Governmental elites find it
necessary to manipulate the
masses if doing so serves a
vested interest. Here is a great
example of how a safety video
can serve as a tool for
manipulating the masses from
childhood. Who does the
monkey represent?
Manipulation Example

19. Mirror Myth
1. News media outlets “decide
what will be decided.”
2. Bias is exhibited throughout the
mainstream and nontraditional
news sources.
3. The news media stress that
they are nonbiased since they
only reflect reality.
4. Their choice of news subjects
proves their bias.

20. What We Call The News (1)
Securing market share is
vital, for without it, the
major media would lose
advertising revenue. It is
really our fault that the
major news networks
willfully focus on sex,
violence and various
negative pieces. Enjoy
this video, “What We Call
The News.”

21. Pluralism & Spheres (1)
1. Pluralism insures that groups are restricted from single
handedly influencing public policy.
2. Cross-cutting cleavages would form, as groups seek
compromise with others to build coalitions that would
succeed in affecting change.
3. Minorities are protected from an overwhelming majority.
4. Majority power-holders are essentially “checked.”
• Cross-cutting cleavages balance against overwhelming forces.

22. Pluralism & Spheres (2)

23. Campaign Example

24. Citizen Based Propaganda (1)
“The War On Terror” sparked a
great deal of media distributed via
the Internet. Elites no longer
maintain total control over
distribution. These videos are
meant to produce an “Us” versus
“Them” mindset.

25. Pluralism Summarized (1)
1. Society is divided into numerous groups with all making
demands on government while none of the participants are
able to dominate all decision-making.
2. Citizens do not directly participate in decision-making, but
they are able to vote for leaders to make decisions through
a process of bargaining, accommodation, and compromise.

26. Pluralism Summarized (2)
3. Competition among leadership groups helps protect
individuals’ interests. Countervailing centers of power – for
example, competition among business leaders, labor
leaders and government leaders – can check one another
and keep each interest from abusing its power and
oppressing the individual. Each of these individual
“spheres of influence” allies themselves with other spheres
that possess similar goals. See “Spheres Of Influence”.
4. Individuals may not participate directly in decision-making,
but they can exert influence through active participation in
organized groups, political parties and elections.

27. Pluralism Summarized (3)
5. Leadership groups are open; new groups can form and gain
access to the political system.
6. Political influence in society is unequally distributed, but
power is widely dispersed. Access to decision making is
often determined by how much interest people have in a
particular decision. Because leadership is fluid and mobile,
power depends on one’s interest in public affairs, skills in
leadership, information about issues, knowledge of
democratic processes, and skill in organization and public
relations.

28. Pluralism Summarized (4)
7. Multiple leadership groups operate within society. Those
who exercise power in one kind of decision do not
necessarily exercise power in others. No single elite
dominates decision making in all issues.
8. Public policy does not necessarily reflect majority
preference, but is an equilibrium of interest interaction –
competing interest group influences are more or less
balanced, and the resulting policy is therefore a reasonable
approximation of society’s preferences.

29. Elitism Versus Pluralism (1)
1. Elitism asserts that the most important division in society is
between elites and masses.
2. Elitism emphasizes the importance to leaders to maintain
their position of power – Pluralism emphasizes this devotion
to their group interests.
3. Elitism asserts that mass membership of organizations
rarely exercises influence on elite leadership. That these
organizations have no democratic processes and are
controlled by leaders who operate for their own self-interest.
Pluralists offer no evidence that the giant organizations
represent the interests of their individual members.

30. Elitism Versus Pluralism (2)
4. Elitism takes into account of all power holders – private and
public. Pluralism focuses on governmental leaders and
those who interact directly with them.
5. Elitism emphasizes shared characteristics of leaders on top
of their interest in preserving the social diversity among
leaders, differences in backgrounds, ideologies, and
viewpoints. Pluralism also argues that decisions made by
leaders are a product of their role perception, institutional
constraints, interest group pressure, public opinion, etc.
Elitism focuses on leadership consensus – Pluralism
focuses on elite conflict.

31. Spheres Of Influence
1. Competing spheres of influence
protect minority rights against
majority factions.
2. Alliances will form among once
competing spheres in order to
“check” another sphere or
individual elite base that acquires
too much power.
3. Individual spheres of influence are
always on the alert for one of their
peers assuming too much power.

32. Competing Spheres
1. Competing Spheres of Influence
essentially check each other
within the political system.
2. This is essential for the protection
of minority rights especially as it
pertains to majority factions.
3. Elites are those who hold
positions of power in society.
4. Our Founding Fathers considered
the protection of minority rights as
those few individuals who
retained control over society.

33. Transitional Effects – 1
1. Competition produces great returns for humanity.
2. The result has been America progressing from a
predominantly agricultural society to an industrial, nuclear,
and information based society.
3. Innovation has led to advancements that have greatly
influenced every aspect of society.
4. Society has benefited from constant advancements in
energy harvesting, computers, communication, water
purification, medicine, etc.

34. Transitional Effects – 2
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
Every significant discovery has in turn greatly influenced
societal norms of behavior Masses today view internet
communications as a vital necessity. It is nearly impossible to
operate in a complex society without easy access to the web.
The majority of masses did not have this belief fifteen years
ago. Only society determining that the internet allowed for
greater efficiency was it adopted as a societal norm. Those not
willing to adapt became obsolete.

35. Stabilization
1. Sudden instability is the greatest threat to humanity.
• It threatens to cause irreparable harm to the individual.
2. Elimination of one’s sustenance throws the individual into a
state of war, because their survival is now threatened.
3. Nation-states consist of multiple spheres of interest in turn
consisting of individual units consisting of people.
4. Survival is the primary goal of man and nation-states.
• The primary concern is that of stability
• This philosophy has prevented a major war for over 70 years
• Instability is the primary cause of all conflict

36. Spheres Of Influence
1. Spheres consist of individuals
who share a common set of
interests and/or belief systems.
2. Individual participants are the
absolute micro-level.
• Family, work, school, political
parties, religion, etc.
• The individual member serves as
the conduit between spheres.
• Various social interactions
influence individual behavior.

37. Elite Stages
1. Elites are the true minority.
• This is true for all societies.
2. Elites possess large capacities of power.
3. The example shows maximum education.

38. Pluralism Alliances
1. Alliances will form among once
competing spheres in order to
“check” another sphere or
individual elite base that acquires
too much power.
2. Certain situations may also call
for spheres realize they share a
common agenda with one or
more of their respective peers.
Individual
Interdependent Spheres
Government Business

39. Political Message
Those activists who work with
both major parties are either
much more liberal or
conservative than the average
typical voter. Democratic
activists are more liberal and
Republican activists are more
conservative.

40. Power Theory – 1
1. To exert power one must first possess adequate reserves
• This is defined simply as “capacity of power.”
2. Achieving higher positions is dependent on various factors
that may include: education; wealth; profession; charisma
and other talents either developed or engrained from birth.
3. This “capacity of power” is not determined according to a
single resource, ability or possession.
4. It is a combination of different variables that serve to make
up the individual.
5. This is just like a battery consisting of energy resources
drawn upon when it comes time to draw power in order to
achieve a set objective.

41. Power Theory – 2
Like a battery powering a
flashlight so does one’s
individual “capacity of power”
serve to assist one in achieving a
set goal or in this case
influencing or affecting political
behavior to maintain, expand or
protect one’s standing in order
to survive in society.

42. Power Theory – 3
Power equals resources (capacity of power) times compliance
squared, divided by force. Every accounting of power theory is
taken into consideration in the construction of this formula. We
have explored the contention that the pursuit of self-interest
encourages man to engage in political behavior. This serves
as the foundation for rational choice theory, which in turn has
led us to power theory. One may argue that the pursuit of
power maintains the never ending cycle of political: conflict;
compromise; alliances; and wars.

43. Power Theory – 4
Many have countered this argument with a direct assault on
the statement that “there is no morality in politics”. These critics
are both right and wrong. It is true that morality has no direct
correlation with political science if the pursuit of self-interests
and power resources maintains utmost priority. On the other
hand they may be correct if one party sells their pursuit as a
moral cause in order to achieve their agenda. For example,
one may argue that good may come from conflict even if it
leads to the destruction of a nation-state and the slaughtering
of thousands or millions of people if the seed of democracy is
planted and nurtured to maturity.

44. Transparency – 1
America has grown from the days of a colony to major
power, superpower, and hegemon, to its present empire
status. American power is felt throughout the international
community. Playing poker requires one to adopt what is
commonly known as a “poker face”. Players will hide their
true emotions, even faking their true intentions to catch other
players off guard. Some have even taken to wearing
sunglasses. The exact opposite tactic that the United States
has adopted is “Transparency”. This involves disclosing all
routes the nation-state will undertake with regards to all
forms of public policy pertaining to its political, economic and
military strategies.

45. Transparency – 2
Alexander Hamilton initiated this
policy as the chief financial
philosopher of the United States
even if he did not coin the term.
Hamilton is regarded as the
chief architect of our economic
policy, which in turn was
developed in order to win the
confidence of domestic US
business and financial elites as
well as gaining the confidence
of international business.

46. Transparency Example – 1
America possesses the most
technologically advanced
military hardware. This video
demonstrates one of the first
deployable force fields for
light armored vehicles
(LAVs). Welcome to the 21st
Century.

47. Transparency Example – 2
America is not the only nation
that utilizes Transparency.
This video shows the Israeli
Defense Force demonstrating
a new type of gun that can
shoot around corners. A brief
interview with the inventor of
this amazing weapon follows
the demonstration.

48. Transparency Example – 3
Some forms of transparency are
both political and military in
nature. The military sponsored
the development of the Massive
Ordinance Aerial Burst (MOAB). It
is commonly referred to as “The
Mother Of All Bombs”. It is the
largest conventional bomb in our
arsenal. There is a psychological
component to this bomb. A
mushroom cloud forms following
successful detonation. It looks
somewhat like a nuclear device
being detonated.

49. Transparency Example – 4
Javelin is a fire-and-forget missile
with lock-on before launch and
automatic self-guidance. The
system takes a top-attack flight
profile against armored vehicles
(attacking the top armor which is
generally thinner) but can also
take a direct-attack mode for use
against buildings or fortifications.
This missile also has the ability to
engage helicopters. Javelin is
supplied by Raytheon/Lockheed
Martin's JAVELIN Joint Venture.