2. Forms of Government Rule of One i.e., Absolute Monarchy, Dictatorship Rule of the Few i.e., Oligarchy, Aristocracy, Plutocracy Rule of the Many i.e., Democracy 2
3. 3 Forms of Democracy: Direct Political decisions are made by the people directly Works best in small communities How might it work with 300 million people? (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
13. Competition Among Interest Groups business, labor, & government leaders check one another No monopoly of power Good for the individual Individual influences groups Indirect, but meaningful political power 13
14. Equilibrium of Interests Majority does not rule Instead, balance of interests Policy outputs representative of interests 14
17. Elite Recruitment While U.S. elites disproportionately wealthy, educated, socially prominent, white, & Protestant… circulation from below! From the most talented & ambitious of the masses Largely assimilated into elite values 17
18. Elite Consensus Core elite values: Private property, limited government, individual liberty, & capitalism Some variation in values, but less than with masses disagreement/competition on narrower range 18
19. Elitism Motives: Self interest or enlightened “public interest” Regardless: Preserve the System! As a result: Masses not necessarily exploited or repressed Interests intersect: need mass support! 19
20. More on Elitism Masses largely passive, apathetic, & uninformed Elites influence Mass attitudes more than vice versa Democratic institutions largely symbolic Provide mass consent 20
21. Two Sides of Elitism Positive: better able to make good public policy & preserve the system Negative: elites abuse their power & undermine mass confidence in the system 21
25. Group Exercise In groups of ~10, come up with 5 real world examples of the Pluralist model and 5 real world examples that support the Elite model. 25
