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Chapter One

Freedom, Order, or
Equality?
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The Globalization of American Government

Globalization is the increasing
interdependence of citizens and the
nations across the world. Every
government must consider the
international ramifications of a countrys
military, economic and social policies.

Politics is the authoritative allocation of
values for a society.

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The Globalization of American Government
(Contd)
Diplomacy today is based upon the principle of
national sovereignty, a political entitys
externally recognized right to exercise final
authority over its affairs; each governments right
to govern its people as it wishes, without
interference from other nations.

Increasing globalization has brought a human
rights emphasis to international politics.
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Purposes of Government
Government exists to control or to govern

The three major purposes of
governments are:
Maintaining Order, or establishing the rule of
law to preserve life and property
Providing Public Goods, and
Promoting Equality
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PCW 1.1: Politics in a Changing World:
The Globalization of Nations
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The Conceptual Framework for
Analyzing Government
Three concepts for determining the
fundamental issues or values of what
government tries to do and how it decides
to do it are order, freedom and equality.

The two models of democratic government
used to evaluate the governmental
process are the majoritarian and
pluralist models.
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The Concepts of Freedom, Order, and Equality
Freedom is used in two major senses:

Freedom of: the absence of constraints on
behavior - freedom to do something (liberty)

Freedom from: immunity from fear and want;
the fight against exploitation and oppression.
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The Concepts of Freedom, Order,
and Equality (Contd)

Order is viewed in the narrow sense of
preserving life and protecting property.

Social Order refers to the established
patterns of authority in society and to
traditional modes of behavior.
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CWW 1.1: Compared With What? - The Importance of
Order and Freedom in Other Nations
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The Concepts of Freedom, Order,
and Equality (Contd)
Equality is used in two different senses, to
support different causes:

Equality of opportunity: Each person has
the same chance to succeed in life

Equality of outcome: Government must
design policies that redistribute wealth and
status so that economic and social equality
are actually achieved
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Two Dilemmas of Government

The original dilemma of government
involves freedom versus order.

The modern dilemma of government
involves freedom versus equality.
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Ideology and the Scope of Government

People hold different opinions about the
merits of government policies.

Ideology is defined as a consistent set of
values and beliefs about the proper
purpose and scope of government.
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Figure 1.1: Ideology and the Scope of
Government
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Ideology and the Scope of Government (Contd)

Totalitarianism is the belief that
government should have unlimited power
and control all sectors of society and
individual behavior, such as in business,
labor, education, sports and the arts.
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Ideology and the Scope of Government (Contd)

Socialism is a theory of government that
believes the scope of government extends
to ownership or control of the basic
industries that produce goods and
services. Socialism allows for more private
ownership of productive capacity than
Communism.
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Ideology and the Scope of Government (Contd)
Capitalism is an ideology that supports
free enterprise and private business
operating without government regulation.

Communism involves a theory that gives
ownership of all land and productive
facilities to the people; the government
(the state).


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Ideology and the Scope of Government (Contd)
Libertarianism is an ideology that
opposes all government action except
what is necessary to protect life and
property.

Anarchism is an ideology that opposes all
government, in any form and values
freedom above all else.
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American Political Ideologies and the
Purpose of Government
Liberals are an ideology that believes in
government helping the disadvantaged and
support government spending on social
programs.

Conservatives are an ideology that believes
in private enterprise but not government job
programs, regulation of business or
legislation of working conditions and rates.
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Liberals vs. Conservatives
Want generous
government support of
social programs
Support government
activism but oppose
government regulation of
abortion
Are more tolerant of
alternative lifestyles and
would use coercive power
to support equality
Want smaller government
budgets and fewer
government programs
Oppose government
activism but support
government control of
sexually explicit material
Want government
coercive power to
maintain social order
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Ideologies: A Two-Dimensional Framework
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American Political Ideologies and the
Purpose of Government

Communitarians are an ideology that
believes government should be used to
promote moral values and to help the
disadvantaged. They favor government
that promotes order and equality.

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