Chapter 10 Government and Politics Why Government? (pp. 332-334) It is difficult to imagine a society without any government, although anarchists
advocate the abolition of government. Government serves a number of functions:
protection of the citizenry, the securing of order, the distribution of power
in an equitable fashion, and the provision of a safety net. Problems of Government and Politics (pp. 335-342) Political parties and government bureaucracy play a central role in the
way representative democracy functions in the United States. The actual distribution of power in American society contradicts the expectation
that the government should ensure equality. Many social scientists believe that
America is a pluralistic society in terms of the distribution of power. In contrast
to the pluralist view, the power elite model asserts that power is concentrated
in a small group of political, economic, and military leaders. While there is
some validity to both the pluralist and the power elite positions, neither seems
to capture fully the realities of power distribution. An important part of the task of securing order is the building of trust.
Americans view government with more skepticism than they do other social institutions.
In fact, Americans trust most other institutions far more than they trust government.
The failure of trust is one reason for the relatively low proportion of Americans
who vote. In general, about half or less of the voting-age population participates
in national elections, and the proportion is much lower for state and local
elections. The failure of trust also leads to altered voting patterns. Yet another
consequence of the failure of trust is political alienation. Americans believe that they have a right to expect effectiveness, efficiency,
and honesty from the politicians who are running their government, but, unfortunately,
they observe contrary qualities: waste, corruption, and scandals. Government
waste refers to such things as excessive costs, and unnecessary expenditures.
In general, the instances of corruption and scandal involve politicians acting
in terms of self-interest or particular interests to the detriment of their
constituencies or the general public. From time to time, the government seems mired in inaction, unable to legislate
significant new policies because of ideological conflict, party differences,
or a standoff between the executive and the legislative branches of the government:
a situation known as gridlock. Government, Politics, and the Quality of Life (pp. 343-346) Today, Americans generally expect government to maintain an equitable distribution
of power so that they have an equal opportunity to secure a high quality of
life. Both politicians and the citizenry expect government at all levels to
have a role in those matters that affect the quality of life. The government
has failed to maintain a social system in which all individuals, regardless
of their social origins, have equal opportunities. There is also a contradiction between the value of individual rights and
the way government functions to protect them. At least a part of the problem
of inadequate protection of individual rights lies in the dilemma faced by government:
how can individual rights and social order both be preserved? Any satisfying relationship, including the relationship individuals have
with organizations, requires give and take. People may view government not as
their protector and safety net, but as their competitor for the good things
in life, or even as their enemy. Contributing Factors (pp. 347-359) There are varied social structural and social psychological factors that
create and help perpetuate the problems of government. Size is one of the social structural factors. The growth of government
reflects both a growing population and a growing number of functions and services
assumed by government. Both the size of government and the size of the population
have consequences for functioning. The structure of the government also contributes
to the problem, both in terms of the extent to which the government is a political
democracy and the way the government is organized to fulfill its functions.
The government is organized along bureaucratic lines in order to fulfill its
various functions. The government is not organized in a way to deal effectively
with waste and corruption. Another issue is the economics of campaigning. It
is evident that people without access to considerable sums of money or money-raising
skills are unlikely to win an election. The media also play a role in American
politics: The nature of the coverage and the influence of the media have changed
as radio, network television, cable television, and the Internet have been added
to the print media as factors in the political process. Control of the media
lies in the hands of a small group of corporations. Interest groups are another
influence: The most effective way to influence a massive organization like government
is through other organizations. Interest groups have become an increasingly
important part of American political life. Public attitudes represent one of the social psychological factors: Negative
attitudes lead to alienation and withdrawal from political life, and these contrary
attitudes pose a dilemma for politicians. Americans, for the most part, are
suspicious of extreme ideologues and value compromise in resolving political
conflicts. What Is to Be Done? (pp. 359-360) Many of the factors that contribute to the problems of government pose
an ongoing dilemma. While selected restructuring might be helpful, it is always
a trial-and-error process. One of the most important needs in addressing problems
of government is campaign finance reform. Greater citizen participation is also
needed to address the problems of government. The problem is, given the political
alienation of so many citizens, how do we secure more participation? One way
to change attitudes is to get citizens to become part of groups that engage
in political discussion. |