Fundamental issues
* It’s the first day, so begin at the beginning
Everything I know about
government
* The role of the state (authority)
* Forms of government
* Elections and important institutions
If there were no gov?
* State of nature: a place where bad, unpleasant things happen because people are not governed
Thomas Hobbes
Hobbes said
* Life in the state of nature would be "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."
Nasty, cruel, brutish, short?
Sorry
Hobbes's Proposal
* Have a king oppress everybody and tells them what to do.
* Very popular proposal with kings everywhere.
* Less popular with other sectors of society.
Social Contract Alternative
* Recognizing "danger" of state of nature, people combine to govern themselves.
* They voluntarily "join" a social contract
* This "theory" inspired the American Revolution 
* As well as many good movies

What is Government For?
Traditional view:
* Maintain Order (protect people)
* Protect Property
* Provide Public Goods
PJ says gov also:
* Re-allocate wealth
* Provide private goods (things market does not provide)
– Education
About collective goods
* Collective good: a “nonexcludable” thing.
* Free-riding:  People won't pay for something that is free...
* Unless gov't forces them to!
– Defense
– Public services (roads, dams, etc)
  
Want to learn more?
* Take Western Civilization
* Take POLS 301
Forms of Government
* Autocracy: king or dictator (this was the original contract solution to state of nature--Hobbes)
* Democracy (direct)
* Representative democracy (aka “republican form”)
Dictators!
Worthwhile Topic, Interesting Questions:
* Who gets to be the dictator?
* Why do "the people" put up with that?
* How does the dictator control the
– Government
– The people
Its difficult to find a direct democracy
* Ancient Greece 
• (random office assignment)
* New England Town Hall Meeting
* Perhaps the internet will change this!
"Representative Democracy"
* People governed by elected officials
* or by people selected by elected officials
* That's what most of this class is about
* Also called "republican form of government" (say the Pledge, please)
Principles I like
* Purposive behavior 
* Institutions matter
Purposive behavior
* Try to understand behavior as “instrumental” or “goal-seeking”
* People are not mindless tools of political ideology
Example 1: the collective action problem
* Non-contributors share collective benefits
* Free-rider problem
* Mancur Olson (1965): selective (“excludable”) benefits needed to entice contributions 
Institutions
* jurisdiction: authority to decide
* decision making procedures (voting rules, etc)
* agenda power
* veto power
* Principal-agent problems
– difficult to monitor agents
Example 1: Political Parties
Partisan elections
Two Stage Election Process
* 1. Primary election: weed out candidates. Choose “party nominees”
* 2. General election: choose a winner
Institutions that affect Political Parties
* Ballot access laws
* Many states require parties to hold primary elections
– Open
– Closed
– Semi-open
– Blanket 
* Secret ballot (after 1880)
* Civil service in gov jobs (less patronage)
* Campaign finance laws restrict parties
More or Less Direct Democracy
Many States Allow, but not Nat’l gov.
* Initiative: citizen-drafted law adopted by popular vote
* Referendum: voters asked to approve law adopted by gov’t
* Recall: remove officials before term is over