22FA_PS101A-CI-Intro to Amer Govt & Pol

The government you elect is the government you deserve.

                         -- Thomas Jefferson

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

                         -- Edmond Burke

Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.

                        -- H. L. Mencken

As mentioned in Wednesday's class, each of you should select a newspaper or periodical of national circulation to read/follow during the term.  Examples include The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today (I think all of these are available without charge through the BSC Library), but any daily newspaper with national circulation (e.g., The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Los Angeles Times) -- preferably one not known for burying the lede -- also will work.  If you prefer, you may read/review the United States news coverage of a foreign newspaper or periodical (e.g., The Times of London) or a weekly or monthly publication that includes news coverage (e.g., The Economist).  The principal criterion for selection is that the news reporting (as opposed to the editorial content) of your selected source be generally regarded as (reasonably) accurate and reliable.

Read/follow doesn't mean that you must read your selected source cover-to-cover.  Instead, you should review the news reporting of your source at least several times a week and read at least three or four stories or analyses that interest you.  Most or all of the sources you may wish to consider publish in both hard copy and digital formats. Either is acceptable.

Although not required, I encourage you periodically to compare the news coverage of the source you select with that of other publications, particularly those whose editorial views differ from those of your selected source.  For example, if you're reading a story in The Wall Street Journal, take a look at how The New York Times has reported on the same topic.

Please notify me by email of the source you intend to follow by Wednesday, September 7.  

The first link is to Richard Hofstadter's 1964 essay, "The Paranoid Style in American Politics;" required reading for the course.  The second and third links, which are optional (but recommended) reading, provide, respectively, biographical information about Professor Hofstadter, as well as some analysis of his work, and a recently published exploration of whether Republicans and conservatives are more likely to subscribe to conspiracy theories than their Democratic and liberal counterparts (the findings may surprise you).

James Madison devotes Federalist Nos.10 and 51 to the theoretical and institutional framework of the Constitution.  In these two essays, traditionally viewed as two sides of the same coin (a view open to question; see K&S  Ch. 2-3), Madison seeks to allay fears that the national government envisioned by the proposed Constitution inevitably would lead to the "tyranny of the majority."  The republican form of government Madison advocates assumes the existence of potentially dangerous "factions," but outlines a governmental structure in which these dangers can be contained.  Recognizing that leaders also may be tempted to act as tyrants, Madison explains how, under the Constitution, "ambition [will] be made to counteract ambition."

In a reflection of 500 - 750 words, identify and comment on the provisions of the Constitution that (1) address Madison's theory of factions and (2) reflect the framers' effort to control "ambition."  Your reflection should also identify the transaction and conformity costs of collective action institutionalized under the Constitution.

Reflections, submitted by e-mail in Word format, are due  by 11:59 p.m. on Monday,  September 19.

"In our age there is no such thing as 'keeping out of politics'.  All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred, and schizophrenia."

                          -- George Orwell, Politics and the English Language  (1946)

Richard Hofstadter opens his 1964 essay, The Paranoid Style in American Politics, by observing that "although American political life has rarely been touched by the most acute varieties of class conflict, it has served again and again as an arena for uncommonly angry minds."  Hofstadter refers to this phenomenon as the "paranoid style," a term that describes "above all, a way of seeing the world and of expressing oneself" -- often in rhetoric that is "overheated, oversuspicious, overaggressive, grandiose, and apocalyptic" -- in reaction to perceived hostile and conspiratorial forces dedicated to the destruction of "a nation, a culture, a way of life whose fate affects not [the paranoid personality] alone but millions of others."

In a 500 - 750 word reflection, comment on whether Hofstadter's description of the paranoid style informs your perception or understanding of any aspect of political discourse or activity in the United States today.  This assignment does not require you to accept or reject Hofstadter's thesis or its possible application to current political speech (spoken or written) or activity.  You nevertheless should consider whether there are modern analogs to the examples of conspiracy theories that Hofstadter discusses.  In addition to identifying speech or conduct relevant to your views, you should also comment on whether (and if so, how) the impact of speech or conduct is affected by the identity of the speaker or the manner in which the speech or conduct occurs (e.g., publicly by government officials or political actors, privately through identified or anonymous actors, or through broadcast, social media, or other communication platforms). 

Reflections should be submitted by e-mail (Word format, double-spaced) no later than 11:59 p.m. on Wednseday, September 28.

In a September 2021 opinion piece, conservative scholar (and former Republican) Robert Kagan presented an illustration of the prisoner's dilemma -- the potential consequences of political actors (in this case a political party) failing to resist the urge to depart from long-standing "norms" of conduct.  The norm in this case -- the administration of federal elections -- historically has been managed in non-partisan fashion by state executive officers (typically secretaries of state).  Since the 2020 election, however, roughly one-third of the states, all of which are under Republican control, have considered or passed laws that shift authority for certifying election results from state officers to state legislatures.  At least one such measure empowers a state legislature to revoke the secretary of state's certification of the results of a presidential election.

Kagan's essay is attached.  For anyone interested in exploring this topic more generally, How Democracies Die,  by political scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt; Is the Republican Party Destroying Itself, by political scientist Thomas Patterson; and On Tyranny:  Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, by historian Timothy Snyder, are worth reading.  All are short and available at modest cost from Amazon and other online and brick and mortar book sellers.

The 1997 political satire "Wag the Dog" explores the use of "fake news" to distract public attention from actual events.  Here's the plot line:  On the eve of a presidential election, the sitting president is caught up in a scandal that seems certain to derail his re-election.  One of the president's advisors (played by Anne Heche), aided by a professional "spin doctor" (Robert DeNiro) and a Hollywood producer (Dustin Hoffman), try to contain the fallout and save the president's re-election bid by means of an elaborate distraction -- fabricating a war between the United States and Albania.  The ensuing effort to bring this fiction to life and sustain it until the election requires an ever-growing web of lies that threaten to spin out of control.

After watching the film -- it's available, inexpensively, on a variety of online platforms (e.g., Amazon Prime, Google Play, Vudu, Youtube) -- record your reaction(s) in a 500 - 750 word reflection.  Consider in particular whether this 25-year old film has anything to say about recent U.S. elections, the current state of electoral politics or, more generally, the concept of political morality.

Reflections (in Word format, double-spaced) are due by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, October 28.

Postscript:  Dustin Hoffman's character in "Wag the Dog" was based on film producer Robert Evans, whose credits include "The Godfather" and "Chinatown."  For some insight into how life actually may imitate art (or at least satire), take a look at Evans's obituary (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/28/arts/robert-evans-dead.html?searchResultPosition=1); and for a more modern take, see https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/02/us/politics/trump-twitter-disinformation.html?searchResultPosition=1.

"[T]he judiciary, from the nature of its functions, will always be the least dangerous [branch of government]. . . .It may truly be said to have neither force nor will, but merely judgment."

                                              -- Federalist No. 78

"Scarcely any political question arises in the United States that is not resolved, sooner or later, into a judicial question.

                                             --  Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (1835)

"We are under a Constitution, but the Constitution is what the judges say it is."

                                             -- Charles Evans Hughes, Associate (1910 - 1916) and Chief (1930  - -                                                (1941) Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court

"The imperial judiciary lives."

                                             -- Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Pa. v. Casey (1992)

                                                (Scalia, J., dissenting from decision upholding abortion rights)

Founded in 1935, Gallup, Inc. is known for its public opinion polls on a variety of domestic and international issues.  Each month Gallup pollsters ask Americans, without prompting, to name "the most important problem facing the country today."  The current survey results can be found at https://news.gallup.com/poll/1675/most-important-problem.aspx. ;

 If you were a respondent to this Gallup poll, what problem facing the United States would you identify as the most important?  Discuss (1) the reason(s) for your selection and (2) your ideas for possible solutions to the problem, incorporating anything you've learned about American government and politics that informs your views.  You may, but are not required to, review the current Gallup survey for a list of issues identified by respondents. 

Reflections (500 - 750 words, Word format, double-spaced) are due by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, November 14.

Released in 1964 -- the same year in which Richard Hofstadter's "The Paranoid Style in American Politics" was published -- Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove or:  How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is widely regarded as a brilliant satire of the Cold War hysteria that played a predominant role in American politics during the 1950's and 1960's.

Here's a plot sketch:  Convinced that fluoridation of the United States water supply represents a Communist plot to "sap our precious bodily fluids," a deranged U.S. Air Force commander dispatches a fleet of B-52 aircraft, armed with nuclear weapons, to attack the Soviet Union -- unaware, as are the president and U.S. national security and military leaders, that the Soviets have deployed a "doomsday device" which will destroy all life on earth in the event the attack succeeds.

In a reflection of 500 - 750 words, comment on whether you view Dr. Strangelove more as a black comedy artifact of the Cold War era or as a statement film that foreshadowed our current political climate.  Put differently, do you see parallels between the events depicted in the film and a 21st century American political landscape in which no conspiracy is too bizarre or too ridiculous for some to believe (and perhaps act upon)?

Dr. Strangelove is available, inexpensively, on Amazon Prime and other online platforms.

Reflections are due no later than 11:59 p.m. on Monday, December 5.  This reflection is optional.  If you choose to complete it, your lowest grade on the previous four reflections and two quizzes will be dropped for purposes of calculating your final grade.