GOVT2305: US Government 2
What is government?
What is government?
Video 5: Course Overview
- Course Overview
Video 6: What is Government?
- What is government? Founding Principles, U.S. Constitution
My Goal for This Course
I want to tell you my number one single most important goal for this course…
My Goal for This Course
I want you to understand the basics of American government and politics so that you can be an informed global citizen, and so that you have a better understanding of why US government may do things that seem odd to you.
Course Overview
- The three branches of government in the US and Texas
- Ethics and government
- Policy overview
Course Overview
The three branches of government in the US and Texas
- US Congress and the Texas Legislature - The Presidency and federal bureaucracy; the Texas plural executive - Federal Courts and the Texas Courts - Local government
Course Overview
The three branches of government in the US and Texas
Ethics and government
Policy overview
- Public Finance - Economic Policy - Social Policy - Criminal Justice - Foreign Policy
Course Overview
The three branches of government in the US and Texas
Ethics and government
- General ethics as it relates to government - Congressional ethics - Executive branch ethics - Judicial ethics - Ethics and the Citizen
Video 6: What is government?
Introduction to Government
To really understand government and politics we first need to know what those things are.
Introduction Government: Questions to consider
What is government or “The State”?
Introduction Government: Questions to consider
What makes government or The State different from other organizations?
Introduction Government: Questions to consider
What is politics?
What is The State?
We can compare the government or the state to other organizations and see what is different about it.
For the upcoming slides
- For the upcoming slides, please make a list for each organization of things it has in common with government and things that are different about it.
- You should be able to think of at least one thing in common and one different thing for each organization.
- Some of these can be as little as one or two words.
- Please attach your list to your first Journal assignment for an additional 5 points.
Other organizations
Family
- What does it have in common? - What is different?
Other organizations
Family
Church
- What does it (government) have in common? - What is different?
Other organizations
Family
Church
Community organizations (voluntary)
- What does it have in common? - What is different?
Other organizations
Family
Church
Community organizations (voluntary)
Charities
- What does it have in common? - What is different?
Other organizations
Family
Church
Community organizations (voluntary)
Charities
Businesses - The Market
- What does it have in common? - What is different?
Other organizations
Organized crime
- What does it have in common? - What is different?
Other organizations
Organized crime
vigilantes
- What does it have in common? - What is different?
Other organizations
Organized crime
vigilantes
terrorists
- What does it have in common? - What is different?
What is “the state”?
What is “the state”?
What is “the state”?
The organized, coercive use of violent force commonly accepted as legitimate
- Organized
- Coercive
- violent force
- Legitimacy
What is “the state”?
Organized
- Not just an individual or small group
What is “the state”?
The organized, coercive use of violent force commonly accepted as legitimate
Organized
Coercive
- Intended to change behavior
What is “the state”?
The organized, coercive use of violent force commonly accepted as legitimate
Organized
Coercive
violent force
- Not economic power but physical violent force - The state's economic power is based on taxation and regulation - still physical violent force
What is “the state”?
The organized, coercive use of violent force commonly accepted as legitimate
Organized
Coercive
violent force
Legitimacy
- Commonly accepted as the rightful government or at least "the only game in town"
What is “the state”?
Government is the only institution that can send the police to arrest you and throw you in prison
Introduction Government: Questions to consider
What is politics?
Introduction Government: Questions to consider
What is politics?
Take a moment to write down your thoughts on the question
What is politics?
- Politics is the process of making collective decisions in the context of…
What is politics?
- Politics is the process of making collective decisions in the context of…
The State or government.
Collective action
Many people think of government as the organization that solves problems of collective action for a group of people.
Collective action: When a group of people cooperate to achieve a common goal.
Collective action
- Many people think of government as the organization that solves problems of collective action for a group of people.
- These people think of politics as the process of making decisions about collective action.
Collective action
- Many think of government as the organization that solves problems of collective action for a group of people.
- These people think of politics as the process of making decisions about collective action.
- But every organization we just looked at engages in collective action.
- The first set engage in at least some collective action that benefits society.
The difference between politics and everything else
These organizations all engage in collective action, but lack one thing the state has:
- Family
- Church
- Community organizations (voluntary)
- Charities
- Businesses - The Market
The difference between politics and everything else
- Family
- Church
- Community organizations (voluntary)
- Charities
- Businesses - The Market
Only government out of all these organizations has Coercive use of violent force
What is politics?
All the other things - money, organization, persuasion, leadership, cooperation, helping people, providing services, providing products - are regular features of non-coercive, voluntary organizations.
Studying other organizations
Family, church, the market, etc. are all about making collective decisions in:
The Voluntary Sphere
Politics is about
Making collective decisions in:
The Coercive Sphere
What is politics? Another aspect
When you think about politics, what are some words or phrases that come to mind?
What is politics? Another aspect
- Expensive or involves large amounts of money
- Distant
- Involves politicians or campaigns
- involves voting or decision making
- Involves rights
- National borders
- Controversial
What is politics
What is politics
- I drove a quarter mile to the transit center this morning on a city owned road then took a Metro Park and Ride bus to HCC Central Campus where I taught a class in a federal, state, and county funded community college.
- When I finished there, I rode Metrorail to the TSU/UH Athletic District stop
- I walked to my desk in the taxpayer funded, University of Houston campus
- Now I’m teaching this course for a state university funded by a combination of private and government funds
What is politics?
- Not distant
- immediate,right here
- touches everything
- direct impacts are constant
- involves all of us
- It can be expensive, but it’s not always about money
Politics is powerful
- Immense power to achieve good ends when it unites us to common goals consensually
- Immense power to do incredible harm when it imposes severe criminal penalties inappropriately
Politics is powerful
Politics is powerful
To think about this semester
To think about this semester
Who is morally culpable1, the assassin or the client who hires him?
Graphic Credits
Metrorail, Houston Public Works, and PGH Hall photos from their respective institutions
Frederick Douglass from Marc Perrone on X.com
George Washington Quotes from Justin Reddy on X.com
School Zone sign from Norton Publishers
John Wick from Lionsgate Films
Authorship and License
Author: Tom Hanna
Website: tomhanna.me
License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Tom Leard Hanna
Footnotes
responsible, blameworthy, guilty↩︎