American Government and Politics
Notes:
The Principles of Politics
- All political behavior has a purpose (Rationality Principle); “Everyone has a goal”.
- Institutions structure politics (Institution Principle);
- All politics is collective actions (Collective-action Principle);
- Political outcomes are the product of individual preferences & institutional procedures (Policy Principle);
- How we got here matters! (History Principle);
Sentences to remember
- “Game Theory” (Involves Math, Econ, and Pols)
- “Change politics means changing institutions!”
- “Interests, Interactions, Institutions!” (my favorite one)
- “Politics is the process; Policies are the answer.”
- Political Science - “Take something broad and narrow it down.”
- “Constitutional Crisis”
- “Majority Rule is a type of institution!”
Book Sections:
Institutional Design: The role of rules and procedures in politics.
Institutional Durability: “Institutions tend to be stable and resist change” because… “Authority is placed on the institution not the individual”.
Collective Action Problems:
| Coordination Problems |
The Prisoner’s Dilemma |
| Group Size |
Institutions/Enforcements/Coercion |
| Leaders/Politicians |
Free-Rider Problems
- Incentives/Rewards |
| Uncertainty/Insufficient information |
Tragedy of the commons |
| Focal Point |
|
The Cost of Collective Action
- Transaction Costs
- Conformity Costs
Representative Government
- Representative Government
- Direct Democracy
- Republic
- Tyranny
- Parliamentary Government
The Work of Government
- Private Goods
- Public Goods
- Collective Goods
Collective Action and America’s Constitution
- Fixes previous problems/failures
- Transaction vs. Conformity Costs