Slide 2 WestCal Political Science 1 - US Government 2015-2016

West Coast American Leadership Academy
Political Science 1 – US Government
Fall 2015 / Spring 2016 – Power Point 2

Course Lecture Topics
1. The Irony Of Democracy
2. Elites and Masses
3. Democracy and the Survival of Democracy
4. Elitism Being The Most Realistic
5. Elite Theory Supporting Upward Mobility
6. Defining The Elite Consensus
7. Elitism And Public Policy
8. Mass Behavior And Mass Threats
9. Pluralism In A Democracy
10.Elitism Versus Pluralism

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 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

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

Elitism Summarized – 2
1. Elites share a common belief on the basic values of the
elite. Any change of public policy will be incrementally slow
rather than revolutionary.
2. 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.
3. Active elites are not typically influenced from apathetic
masses. Elites influence masses more than the masses
influence elites.

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

Manipulation Example
How can we protect
ourselves against the
threats of germs and toxins?
Cold War America gears up
to fend off threats from
unconventional bioweapons.
This is another example of
how propaganda is utilized
to foster fear within society.

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.

Cinemocracy
Various forms of propaganda have
been utilized to drum up mass
support to better assure elite
legitimacy. Cinemocracy, the
relationship between motion
pictures and government is one way
governmental elites sell their
agenda. Enjoy this classic cartoon
where “Popeye The Sailor Man”
battles the Nazis.

Propaganda – Citizen Based
Technological advancements have
empowered common citizens with
creative minds to produce their own
propaganda. “The War On Terror”
sparked a great deal of media
distributed via the Internet. Elites no
longer maintain total control over
distribution. Many citizens may deem
these video as offensive. Keep in
mind that propaganda is meant to
produce an “Us” versus “Them”
mindset. Does this video have any
impact over your belief system?

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Cinemocracy
“Hemp For Victory” is a classic
example of Cinemocracy. This
government propaganda film
made during WWII touted the
virtues of hemp. The film was
aimed at farmers at a time
when the military was facing a
shortage of hemp. It shows
how hemp is grown and
processed into rope and other
products. Why do you think
hemp was later vilified?

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

Elite Stages
• Elites are the true minority.
– True for all societies
• Elites possess large capacities of power.
• The example shows maximum education.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

American Democracy – 1
Elitism in the United States is government by the few.
Elites and the Masses in American Political Life.
1. Elites have power to decide who gets what, when, and how.
2. The lives of the masses are shaped by elite decisions.
Democracy and the Survival of Democracy
1. Democracy is government by the people.
2. The survival of democracy is in the hands of elites.
Evidence About Political Life Supporting Elite Theory
1. The Irony of Democracy explains American political life using elite theory.
2. American political history and contemporary political science provide
evidence of life in a democracy shaped by elites.

Government Of The Few
Italian political scientist Gaetano Mosca expressed the
meaning of elitism.
1. In all societies there is a small ruling class and a more
numerous ruled class.
2. French political scientist Roberto Michels stated the iron
law of oligarchy.
3. American political scientist Harold Lasswell expressed
that government is always by the few.
4. Elites are of society’s upper classes that control
resources and societal institutions.

Fear Of Pure Democracy
1. The Founders feared that government by majority rule
would threaten the freedom and property of minorities
and individuals.
2. President Abraham Lincoln expressed the impracticality
of mass government.
3. Representative democracy inevitably leads to elite
government.
4. In Western democracies, elites have multiple institutional
bases of power.

American Elite Consensus
THE ELITE CONSENSUS OF THE UNITED STATES:
1. Liberty
2. Respect For Private Property
3. Limited Government
NOTE: Elites argue over the “MEANS” and not the “ENDS”
NOTE: Respect for private property does not necessarily
mean safeguarding one’s home or personal possessions
like a car. It really means providing adequate security to
safeguard a person.

Elite Repression – 1
Elites primarily concern themselves with maintaining and/or
enhancing their positions of power. This requires protecting the
power system in which they dominate. Stability of the system is
an issue of great concern. If the system is not stable then the
mass class may no longer view elites as “legitimate. Mass
activism inspires elite repression. Elites respond by limiting
freedom and strengthening security, banning demonstrations,
curtailing speech, etc. One can argue that sexual harassment
laws may be a form of elite repression. Why is this so?

Elite Repression – 2
The majority of the mass class
may actually favor elite
repression to some degree,
especially during times of
national conflict (war). Shortly
after Pearl Harbor, President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
authorized the internment of
Japanese Americans living on
the West Coast, which the
Supreme Court upheld. Could it
happen to another group of
citizens again?

Political Messages
Technology allows the common
individual to cheaply create and
distribute propaganda worldwide.
Cartoons have a tendency to make
light such terrible subjects that include
warfare. “Little Saddam & Bush” and
“Saddam On The Run” were produced
and distributed prior to Persian Gulf
War II. The intent was to increase
mass support for a US led invasion of
Iraq. Do these cartoons influence your
personal opinion one way or the
other? Would they have impact over
political leaders? Why or why not?

The First Elite Class – 1
The Founding Fathers were a truly exceptional elite
1. The Founding Fathers were wealthy, educated,
talented, and resourceful.
2. The Founding Fathers established a survivable and
stable federal government.
3. The Founding Fathers established a constitutional
government not based on heredity.

The First Elite Class – 2
1. The elites were merchants, planters, lawyers, and bankers.
2. A small middle class was composed of successful farmers,
shopkeepers, and independent artisans.
3. The great mass of White Americans was small farmers and
workers in fishing, lumbering, and commerce.
4. The bottom of the white social structure consisted of
indentured servants and tenant farmers.
5. Black slaves were an important component of the
American economy considered property in the new
democratic nation.

Priorities Of The Founders
The Founding Fathers’ preferences for constitution
forming were government, the economy, and nationalism.
1. The fundamental role of a republican form of government
was to protect liberty and property and to suppress threats
against dominant economic elites.
2. The strong central government was to open western land to
speculation, protect shipping and manufacturing, and
ensure the return of runaway slaves.
3. The politically and economically strong central government
was to play a respectable role in the international
community and exercise power in world affairs.

Formative Constitutional Elements
The formative elements of a national elite were evident at the
Annapolis Convention and the Constitutional Convention.
1. The prestige of George Washington qualified him to preside
over the Constitutional Convention.
2. The Founding Fathers had extensive governing experience.
3. The Founding Fathers had attained high educational
achievements and were legally trained political decision-
makers.
4. The Founding Fathers formed a major part of the nation’s
wealthy business and financial leadership.
5. The Founding Fathers viewed political, economic, and military
issues from a nationalist perspective, looking beyond their
state loyalties.

Government Consensus
1. Delegates agreed that the fundamental end of government
is the protection of liberty and property.
2. Delegates believed that there was a contractual relationship
between the people and their government, and that the
ultimate legitimacy of government is popular sovereignty.
3. Delegates believed that a republican government was a
representative, responsible, and nonhereditary government.
4. Delegates believed that dividing government power among
separate branches capable of checking each other was the
greatest assurance against tyranny.
5. Delegates believed that only a strong national government
could exercise its will directly on the people.

Conciliation & Compromises
The Connecticut compromise was that representation in the
House of Representatives would be based on population and
representation in the United States Senate would be equal with
two senators from each state.
1. The compromises on slavery were that three-fifths of the
slaves of each state would be counted for the purpose of
representation and taxation, and that the slave trade would
not end before 1808.
2. The compromise on tariffs was that exported articles should
not be taxed and only the national government could tax
imported articles.
3. The delegates agreed that there would be state, not national,
qualifications on voting according to property holdings.

Elite Constitution
The Constitution was an elitist document.
1. Elites enjoyed constitutional benefits from congressional
levy of taxes, regulation of commerce, protection of
money and property, creation of the military, protection
against revolution, protection of slavery, limitation of
states in monetary and business affairs.
2. The elite’s support for a strong national government
was realized by constitutional arrangements such as
national supremacy, republicanism, separation of
powers and checks and balances, and judicial review.
3. Elites skillfully used an extraordinary procedure, limited
participation, and a Bill of Rights to achieve
constitutional ratification.

Slide 2 WestCal Political Science 1 - US Government 2015-2016

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