Instructor's Manual to accompany
GOVERNMENT BY THE PEOPLE Structure, Action, and Impact 2020 Presidential Election Edition TWENTY-SEVENTH EDITION
DAVID B. MAGLEBY Brigham Young University PAUL C. LIGHT New York University CHRISTINE L. NEMACHECK The College of William & Mary
1 Constitutional Democracy Chapter Overview Politics and government matter—that is the single most important message of this book. By emphasizing the foundations of American politics, Magleby’s text helps students understand the complexity of contemporary U.S. government and politics. To that end, Chapter 1 establishes the foundation for the balance of the text by introducing questions fundamental to the study of politics and government. We begin by exploring the scope and nature of constitutional democracy in the United States. We then trace the historical development of constitutional democracy in the United States, identifying problems under the Articles of Confederation and how those problems were resolved in the Constitution. We conclude by evaluating arguments for and against the ratification of the Constitution. By the end of the chapter, students should have the foundation necessary to begin to explore some of the more complex questions in U.S. politics.
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Lecture Suggestions A Grand Experiment in Self-Government (Structure) 1.1
Describe the nature of the “grand experiment in selfgovernment” in America.
LECTURE 1: Government comprises those institutions that make authoritative public policies for society as a whole. In the United States, four key institutions operate at the national level to make such decisions: Congress, the president, the courts, and the federal administrative agencies (the bureaucracy). Lecture on the fundamental questions arising about government from Harold Laswell’s famous definition of politics as “who gets what, when, and how.” How should we govern? What should the government do? Include specific examples in your discussion.
LECTURE 2: Some countries, like the former Soviet Union, claim to be representative democracies. They even hold regular elections boasting near universal voter turnout and resounding victories for the ruling party. Obviously, representative democracy requires more than just holding occasional elections. ▪
Outline the major features of representative democracy, including the requirements that candidates be selected by the voters, that elections are open to competition from candidates and parties with competing ideologies, that candidates and voters have the freedom to express their own views, and that representatives are subject to regular reelection.
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Differentiate such democratic systems with political systems that attempt to legitimate themselves through claims of democracy while masking authoritarian and antidemocratic features.
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LECTURE 3: Government is the institution charged with making authoritative decisions that extend to all of society. While other institutions may make decisions that apply to specific groups, only government can make wide-ranging decisions that affect everyone. However, the ability of the state to make binding decisions depends on the legitimacy it enjoys. The source of legitimacy has been a central question of interest to political scientists since the days of Machiavelli, who famously asked if it is better for a prince to be feared or loved. Differentiate between the three sources of authority outlined by Max Weber: ▪
Charismatic authority is based on the personal qualities of the individual. Examples might include Adolph Hitler or Gandhi.
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Traditional authority establishes legitimacy by belief in the sanctimony of immemorial traditions. Most monarchs claim traditional authority, as does the pope.
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Legal-rational authority is based on the consistent performance of impersonal rules through institutions. Most contemporary democracies, and indeed the very notion of the rule of law, are rooted in legal-rational authority.
U.S. Government and Politics in Context (Structure) 1.2
Describe the importance of citizen participation in constitutional democracy.
LECTURE 1: Perhaps the least controversial element of government policy centers on the provision of public goods—things that everyone can share, such as clean air or national defense. Because of the nonexcludability of public goods, people have little incentive to pay for them. Consequently, the nature of public goods makes them difficult for the private sector to provide. Instead, they are often provided by the government and paid for through tax revenues. In recent years, however, a number of alternative mechanisms have been developed to shift public goods into private goods to be provided through the market. The creation of carbon markets, for example, attempts to privatize negative externalities associated with pollution to create a cleaner environment. Similarly, the widespread use of private military contractors changes the historical role of the government in the maintenance of national defense. 3 ..
Discuss the nature of public goods and the historical role of the government in providing them. Then consider alternative mechanisms for the provision of public goods. LECTURE 2: Contemporary politics often centers on the appropriate role and size of government in American society. The media usually characterize Republicans as favoring a smaller government and Democrats as favoring a larger one. However, such a picture is often overly simplistic, as Republicans and Democrats both favor a government that performs specific functions corresponding to their parties’ platforms and worldviews. ▪
Engage in a lecture and discussion centering on the appropriate role of government in the United States and cover the following questions and information:
Is the scope of government currently too broad or too narrow? What does government being “too big” mean? Do students think the U.S. government is currently “too big”? Why?
By what criteria might we measure the size of government? By some measures government today is smaller than it has been historically. In 1988, the year President Ronald Reagan left office, the federal government had approximately 2.22 million employees. By 2014, that number had fallen to 2.07 million. (See the U.S. Office of Personnel Management at www.opm.gov and search “historical tables” for figures since 1940.)
By other measures, the size of the government has grown. Federal spending was 18.2 percent of gross domestic product in 1988. By 2017, it had risen to approximately 19.2 percent (See the Presidency Project at the University of California Santa Barbara at www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/budget.php for historical figures from 1930 through 2017.)
Why, despite evidence to the contrary, do Americans hold the view that the size of the federal government has grown beyond control?
LECTURE 3: Start by asking your students to describe their typical daily schedules. For instance, they wake at 6:00, have breakfast, get ready for school, check their e-mails, and leave 4 ..