POLI 463 Take Home Exam:
Part A:
2. Is the decline of social capital as important as Putnam argues? Why or why not?
Putnam argues that social capital, which includes social norms and networks meant to enhance our abilities to collaborate with one another through reciprocity and cooperation among other factors, are slowly declining (POLI 463, Lecture 1). According to Putnam, since the mid 1960’s, social capital such as labor unions and PTA’s have seen a steady decline in membership (POLI 463, Lecture 1). Putnam argued that decline in our solidarity and community as citizens ultimately can lead to a decline in democratic participation (POLI 463, Lecture 1). As Putnam suggests, social capital plays a significant role in the performance and function of representative democracy, based on factors it affects, such as voter turnout and level of informed citizens (POLI 463, Lecture 1). If civic engagement affects voter turnout and degree of information sought by citizens such as reading a newspaper, Putnam’s point is important, as social capital is a factor that can help increase willingness to participate, through means such as stimulating civic engagement.
6. Explain what is meant by the ‘median voter’ and how it helps us to understand representative politics.
A median voter according to the theorem is one whose preferences lie in the middle between all other voters’ preferences within a one-dimensional spectrum of left to right (Dalton et al., 212). On the spectrum a voter will choose the outcome closest to his/her preference, and avoid the one which is furthest (POLI 463, Lecture 13). In a majority system, the candidate who obtains one vote more than 50% takes leadership (POLI 463, Lecture 13), and that vote is thereby determined by...
... middle of paper ...
...f resources and lack of efficiency overall in government, which in turn has a negative impact on society (POLI 463, Lecture 10). Therefore in order for representative democracy to avoid this problem and maximize the representativeness and effectiveness of government, a certain level of congruence between voters and representatives is necessary.
Greater levels of congruence between government and voters results in not only a democratic government, but also reflects the idea that voting is a meaningful process driven by voters as opposed to a random unknown outcome (POLI 463, Lecture 4). Congruence affects voting patterns, as citizens will seek to feel represented by their government and will adjust their voting patterns based on this. Moreover, performance of a democracy is affected, as government is held accountable in remaining congruent with the general public.
On the national civics assessment, “two-thirds of 12th graders scored below ‘proficient’…and only 9 percent could list two ways a democracy benefits from citizen participation” (O’Connor and Romer 4). The information provided clarifies just how little students know about democracy. Without education on the subject, they are unaware as to how their government contribution is beneficial and why it is needed in the first place. The students, because of their lack of understanding, therefore choose to not take part in their government and fail to carry out their duties as a citizen. The authors provide more research that shows “the better people understand our history and system of government, the more likely they are to vote and participate in the civic life” (O’Connor and Romer 8).
In this essay I will argue that British General Elections should be conducted using a system of Proportional Representation. First, I will argue that the system would be more democratic as every vote that is cast would be represented and this ...
“In a meaningful democracy, the people’s voice must be clear and loud – clear so that policy makers understand citizen concerns and loud so that they have an incentive to pay attention. (Verba)” There is no doubt there exists a severe inequality in the participation of the American political process. Kay Lehman Schlozman, Sidney Verba and Henry Brady, a trio of university professors, set out to explain that it is not about how many people participate in our democratic process, it is about who is taking part. In the article: “The Big Tilt: Participatory Inequality in America,” published in the liberal non-profit magazine The American Prospect, the authors conclude that political participation is not equal amongst the social and economical classes in America. Verba, Schlozman and Brady begin building credibility by referencing their own book while also citing
“Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social Capital” by Robert D. Putnam was straightforward and honest. I feel like I can relate to the declining amount of people involved in politics because I will probably never vote. Also, if it wasn't a requirement for this class, I’d probably never go to a city counsel meeting. Why is it that we don't care anymore about politics or joining groups and why are we only in on it for ourselves? I think it is sad that not as many people are volunteering for good causes and would rather just give money than actually do something.
Mill, in his consideration on representative government, says that purpose of a good government is two fold. First is that how far the government machinery takes advantage of the existing good faculties of the people (protective goal) and second how to what extent does it contributes to the improvement of those qualities(educative goal). Thus for him it is essential that the government must ‘improve’ the masses and make them active participants in the national discourse. So if a government forces the citizens to be only passive recipients of its actions it is a bad government. On the surface it may seem a very noble idea to pursue but it can also impl...
Putnam, Robert (2000) Bowling Alone. The Collapse and Revival of American Social Capital, Simon and Schuster, New York.
In Glenn Sanakatsing’s document “PEOPLE’S VOTE COMPATIBLE WITH PEOPLE’S FATE A democratic alternative to liberal democracy” he proposes an alternative to the current systems of liberal and social democracy. He proposes an alternative which is a representative democracy based on development theory. Development theory is collection of ideas about how desirable change in society is best achieved. He argues of the multiple failures of both liberal and social democracies. Both systems are based on delegation as a means of creating and directing national policies. The voter selects a delegate and that delegate through a top to down approach creates laws and policies which all citizens have to follow. He argues that the delegate main purpose in governing is to secure power for him/herself and survival for the political party. In most nations there are two types of political parties known as the right and the left. In the United States conservatives and liberals dominate the political spectrum and there is no room for other political principles such as libertariani...
I am responding to Micheal Schudson’s essay titled “America’s Ignorant Voter”. He makes several arguments against whether America having relatively ignorant voters poses a problem to our society, and whether it’s becoming worse over the years. One of the arguments he poses as to why Americans seem so clueless about political matters is due to the complexities of our nation’s political institutions.
The debate over democracy began at the time of our nation’s founding and still strongly exists among today’s society. With the rapid development of technology and social media, American politics have become a complete mess as it is being displayed in our current presidential election. Almost everyone in America believes in democracy, however, Americans possess many different beliefs regarding how far democracy should extend into political, social, and economical life. One of the fundamental arguments that exist among political scientists is the idea of popular democracy versus elite democracy. Elite democrats hold the belief that democracy is a valuable method for selecting our government officials, yet they are cynical about the political
There has been a lot of debate and research on the topic of political participation recently, but the authors of this article argue that through all of this debate and research we have neglected the groups of people that participate in favor of the shire number of participants. As the title suggests the article is about the unequal distribution of political participation between people of varying income and social status.
An increase in political participation is necessary in this country, as the continual low voter participation means that there is a large number of people who feel that their voices are not heard and that they do not matter. And although “having a power to awe them all” is important in maintaining law and order, patriotism and loyalty is necessary to keeping that sort of system in power (Pecknold, 2010). Therefore, the state should focus on making people feel more included in political processes and the citizens should strive to make choices based on the common good of the
... result of a direct democracy, complications like getting every citizen to vote on every single issue, something close to impossible with modern populations that grow like grass in springtime. These changes have caused democracy to become intertwined with other forms of government, and while they have caused a deviation from pure democracy, they have allowed countless nations to function efficiently while maintaining the basic pillar of democracy: that ultimate authority and power is derived from the citizens.
Democracy, while it can be beneficial, may also be complicating and difficult to balance when associated with the economy. This paper will discuss the relationship between the health of a democracy and the economic prosperity. Also covered in this paper will be the distribution of the wealth in a democracy and the justice of it. And finally, how to appropriately balance the wealth in a democracy.
Whilst both identify social capital with social structure, they do so differently, in ways that reflect the theoretical underpinnings of their respective approaches and the aspects of social reality they seek to understand. Both Coleman and Bourdieu emphasize the intangible character of social capital relative to other forms. As Portes (1998) notes, economic capital can be found in peoples’ bank accounts, whilst human capital resides in peoples’ heads.
..., Robert D. Putnam’s theory that civic culture is enough to sustain democracy is not accurate because situations like the backsliding of Weimar Germany away from democracy can happen even with the presence of a high civic culture. Instead of focusing on improving the numbers of people that a part of associational memberships, read newspapers and other media outlets, the number of people that turnout for national elections and the amount of informed voters there needs to be a focus on improving the quality of Civic Participation. There needs to focus on eliminating polarized cleavages within society and eliminating media bias in favor of bipartisan coverage in order to achieve the ‘right’ civic participation. There also needs to be a stable economy where people are not worried about not