...April 9, 2014 Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens Martin Gilens Princeton University mgilens@princeton.edu Benjamin I. Page Northwestern University b-page@northwestern.edu forthcoming Fall 2014 in Perspectives on Politics For helpful comments the authors are indebted to Larry Bartels and Jeff Isaacs, to three anonymous reviewers, and to seminar participants at Harvard and Rochester Universities. Gilens and Page Testing Theories of American Politics 2 Abstract Each of four theoretical traditions in the study of American politics – which can be characterized as theories of Majoritarian Electoral Democracy, Economic Elite Domination, and two types of interest group pluralism, Majoritarian Pluralism and Biased Pluralism – offers different predictions about which sets of actors have how much influence over public policy: average citizens; economic elites; and organized interest groups, mass-based or business-oriented. A great deal of empirical research speaks to the policy influence of one or another set of actors, but until recently it has not been possible to test these contrasting theoretical predictions against each other within a single statistical model. This paper reports on an effort to do so, using a unique data set that includes measures of the key variables for 1,779 policy issues. Multivariate analysis indicates that economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent...
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...persuade. The next, a theory by Samuel Kernell, theorizes the presidential powers in terms of “going pubic.” The last theory I will summarize, a theory by Stephen Skowronek, theorizes the president’s implied powers in terms of political time. Richard Neustadt’s theory of power to persuade is an interesting one. His theory serves as one of the most documented well-known theories of presidential power. As well as being a political scientist, he also served as an advisor for many United States Presidents. In his theory, he states that presidents cannot lead directly. If they really want something done, they cannot do it by themselves the power of the United States government is vastly dispersed and the president cannot, by himself, command and receive. Its much more complicated than that. Other levels of government have different constituencies and different sources of power and interest. The president is one individual and needs others to get things done. Neustadt states that presidential power is a “function of his or her ability to persuade relevant Washington actors that it is in their interest to cooperate.” The theory assumes that in the small “Washington community” with identifiable leaders that the president can negotiate with, both directly and indirectly. The leaders of said community can order their followers in support of the president’s wishes. The arrangement of orders is known in Neustadt’s theory as...
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...Pluralism http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-pluralism.html refers to a society, system of government, or organization that has different groups that keep their identities while existing with other groups or a more dominant group. Rather than just one group, subgroup, or culture dictating how things go, pluralism recognizes a larger number of competing interest groups that share the power. Pluralism serves as a model of democracy, where different groups can voice their opinions and ideas. Pluralism in Real Life * Many cities in the United States have areas referred to as Little Italy or Chinatown, where people from those countries keep their cultural traditions. * JoAnne’s parents are from Lebanon, and though JoAnne has grown up in the United States, she embraces her Lebanese roots. She has lived in Lebanon and often cooks traditional Lebanese meals. * Amish people live alongside those who are not Amish, but travel by horse and buggy, do not have electricity, and have established stores, schools, and other organizations that are used by members of the Amish community. * Native American tribes have separate governments, religions, schools, and communities in which they practice and live out their traditions and histories. * Born and raised in Mexico, Flor came to the United States as a teenager. She was eager to learn English and to adapt to the culture around her, but she also continued to celebrate the traditions she grew up with and passed...
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...2013916883 1 CONCENTRATION OF OWNERSHIP AND CONGLOMERATION AFFECTING MEDIA PLURALISM AND MEDIA ECONOMCS IN MALAYSIA. Media ownership occurs mostly in developed countries around the world, whereby lesser individuals or organizations regulate the shares of the mass media (McEwan, 2007). The concentration of media ownership and conglomeration has said to alter the truthfulness of media delivering information to people. In the United States, there are eight major corporations that controls the broadcast and cable networks (Steiner, 2015). Among the corporations are News Corporation, The Walt Disney Company, National Amusements, Comcast, Time Warner, Discovery Communications, E. W. Scripps Company, and Cablevision. The scenario is criticized to affect media pluralism and media economics. In 2012, a global performance-management consulting company, Gallup, Inc. has conducted a poll on American trust in the mass media. The result shows that the American distrust in the mass media had increased, with 60% of the respondents saying “have little or no trust in the mass media to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly” (Morales, 2012). According to Valcke, Sukosd, & Picard (2016), media pluralism is derived from the word ‘plural’, which defined as an unclear measurable concept indicating the existence of diversity, and plurality itself shows a state of being various. Media pluralism therefore is a system where media outlets, organizations, and services are exist...
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...as an equal in the United States, the reality is completely different and shocking; to say the least. Because of this, there are three theories created; pluralism, elite theory, and state autonomy. Each of these theories where created to understand the structure of power in the United States. As we see each of their purpose, a few question comes to mind; who benefits? Who governs? And who wins? In 2013 wealth inequality in the United States was greater than in most developed countries other than Switzerland and Denmark, Weissmann, Jordan (2013). The top 1% (also known at the elites) of the American population owns 42.7% of the country’s total wealth. Meaning the next 19% of Americans owning 50.3%, and the bottom 80% owning 7%, Deborah L. Jacobs (2011). However, after the Great Recession (which started in 2007), the share of total wealth owned by the top 1% of the population grew from 34.6% to 37.1%, and that owned by the top 20% of Americans grew from 85% to 87.7%. The Great Recession also caused a drop of 36.1% in median household wealth but a drop only 11.1% for the top 1%, further widening the gap between the top 1% and the bottom 99%. According to the Institute for Policy Studies, in September 2012 over 60% of the Forbes richest 400 Americans grew up in substantial privilege. A remarkable study reveals that Americans have no idea that the wealth distribution is as concentrated as it is, Norton and Ariely (2010). It is clear to say that the elites are a modern societies...
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...Recognition of gay and lesbian marriage and pluralism Word Count: 2024 What does pluralism reveal about the recognition of gay and lesbian marriage? What are the strengths and limitations of this theory in understanding the recognition of gay and lesbian marriage? Power overlaps between interest and political groups and as a result, political decision-making is reached through negotiation and compromise (Manley 1983). Indeed, when examining the progressive debate concerning the legal recognition of same-sex relationships in Australia, the perception that power is bartered through interest groups becomes highly plausible through the lens of classical pluralist theory. There are competing visions of diversity in Australia, and behind the main positions; supportive, neutral, and opposing, there are a multitude of perspectives underlying these umbrella groupings. For some in the community, the concept of gay and lesbian marriage is controversial, and its complexities raise fundamental social, religious, moral and political questions. In analyzing how power has operated in this situation, I will apply classical pluralism to converse sides of the moral argument to reveal how Australian attitudes have changed over time in a progressively consensual political environment. For this issue, the strengths of pluralism lie in its empirical nature; it is an observable and comprehensive view of understanding how power operates in society, with regard to a multitude of perspectives and...
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...This chapter focuses on various incidents of politics surrounding cultural pluralism and ethnic conflict that have occurred in least developed countries. (LDCs) Cultural pluralism refers to ethnic diversity. It’s defined as a condition in which many cultures co-exist within a society and maintain their cultural differences. It can also be called multiculturalism. Cultural pluralism seeks to overcome racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination. Cultural pluralism has been closely linked to the growth of the middle class and the emergence of politicians who articulated nationalist or other ethnic aspirations while mobilizing workers and peasants behind that ideal. The fear of and hostility toward other ethnic groups are far older and often more entrenched than modern principles of tolerance or equality under the law. No matter how we may wish for it otherwise, we did not leave violence against outsiders behind us as our nations became modern and democratic. Ethnic minorities have been victimized for hundreds of years. One needs only look to the nineteenth-century frontier wars between White settlers and Native Americans in the United States and Chile. Ethnic Conflict Incidents In the early years of the twenty-first century (2000s), like the first decades of the twentieth century (1900s), much of the Third World suffered from ethnic, racial, and religious tensions periodically punctuated by outbreaks of brutality and carnage. When progress was made in one...
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...William Rigney ETH 125 8/29/2013 Final Project Information about diversity in the United States that has helped me to better understand and relate to others in the past and today would be the events of 9/11. While I was serving in the Navy, we were assigned to escort and protect oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, ensuring safe passage from attacks by Iraqi forces. At the time, I did not look at Saddam Hussein as a radical Muslim, just as a dictator who was dead set on ruling his people and making them submit. After the attacks on the Twin Towers, I joined with other Americans, calling for a war on terrorism and the Muslims. I researched the Koran to see what all the hoopla was about and discovered that there are two acceptable versions, one that calls for a Jihad (holy war), and one that teaches peace among all people. I found that only a handful of Muslims are radical and believe in the Holy War, and that most want to live in peace with others. By learning this about the Muslims, I also learned that many whites in America are still biased toward other races and ethnicities. While some embrace the diversity on our country, there are still those that look down unapprovingly at other races. While I am proud of who I am, and my race, there are those that still embarrass me. According to projections by the U.S. Census Bureau, non-Hispanic whites could be a minority by 2043, due in part to the doubling of Hispanic and Asian populations. Races that are considered minorities...
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...4-MAT Book Review “Church and State In America” Okechukwu C. Nwaneri CHPL 600 9/17/13 Abstract The free expression of religion has been an ongoing struggle since way back when and through the establishment of the First Amendment; a solution to the madness was created. Before the implementation of this amendment; societies’ involvement in trying to influence the U.S.’s practices of religion has become an ongoing controversy within the history books. Based on the first amendment, Hutson’s Church and State in America tells us that “The amendment simply states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” This amendment prevented the federal government from establishing a national religion and allowed people to freely exercise their religious beliefs and practices. The amendment appeared straightforward, but in practice it was ambiguous and increasingly controversial.” Hutson emphasized in the earlier parts of the text how although there were several belief systems that existed during the 17th century like the Anglicans, Puritans and Catholics; there was a solution needed for the state to intervene and establish a central church for everyone to follow by force. As a result of Constantine’s efforts, the doctrine of exclusive salvation was established which stated that “uniformity of faith – for if all were to be saved, all must believe the same truth – and persecution of dissent. “The case for theological persecution...
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...University of Phoenix Material Appendix E Part I Define the following terms: |Term |Definition | |Racial formation |Racial Formation is the process by which individuals are divided into racial categories. | |Segregation |Segregation is the physical and social separation of some category of population. | |De jure segregation |De jure segregation is segregation that is required by law. | |Pluralism |Pluralism is a state in which racial and ethnic, though distinct, have equal social standing. | |Assimilation |Assimilation is the process by which minorities gradually adopt cultural patterns of the dominant | | |majority population. | Part II Answer the following questions in 150 to 350 words each: • Throughout most of U.S. history in most locations, what race has been the majority? What is the common ancestral background of most members of this group? In U.S. history the majority of most races have been non-Hispanic European descent. Of this majority, the largest percentage claims ancestry traced back to Germany. The second and third largest groups reportedly are from Ireland and England...
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...Abstract Entitlement, as defined by The American Heritage Dictionary (1985), is "to furnish with a right or claim to something." The legal definition of entitlement as defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2007), is “an individual’s right to benefits by law or contract.” “Entitlement Mentality” as defined by our textbook is the general belief that someone is owed something (for example, a job, an education, a living wage, or health care) just because she or he is a member of society (Carroll & Buchholtz, 2008). In this paper we will discuss the entitlement mentality of various demographic groups along with the other generations we have labeled, and how the idea of Pluralism plays a part in the Entitlement way of thinking as well. Along with how this mentality is perceived, why and how it’s been acquired by our new generation and how other generations played a part in this new mind set and the potential effect and how or what we can do to remedy the situation. Introduction I would like to explain my background as I feel this will lay the groundwork for this paper and portray my personal beliefs as to why the various generations have played a part in my life and others lives as well. I myself was born in 1964 in Chicago the last year of the “Baby Boomer Generation” (1946-1965) one year before “Generation X’ (1965-1981) and from parents of the “Silent Generation” (1928-1945) and I now have children from the “Millennial” (1982-2009) or “Generation Y” (Pew, 2010). ...
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...Abstract Health policy debates are replete with discussions of federalism, most often when advocates of reform put their hopes in states. But health policy literature is remarkably silent on the question of allocation of authority, rarely asking which levels of government ought to lead. We draw on the larger literatures about federalism, found mostly in political science and law, to develop a set of criteria for allocating health policy authority between states and the federal government. They are social justice, procedural democracy, compatibility with value pluralism, institutional capability, and economic sustainability. Of them, only procedural democracy and compatibility with value pluralism point to state leadership. In examining these criteria, we conclude that American policy debates often get federalism backward, putting the burden of health care coverage policy on states that cannot enact or sustain it, while increasing the federal role in issues where the arguments for state leadership are compelling. We suggest that the federal government should lead present and future financing of health care coverage, since it would require major changes in American intergovernmental relations to make innovative state health care financing sustainable outside a strong federal framework. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law on March 23, 2010 by President Barack Obama. The ambitious (and controversial) legislation focuses on reforming the...
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...Industrial Revolution What was changed? | How was the economy changed? | Examples from 1900’s & today | The Decline of Small, Traditional Communities. | This decline would not be known to a person whom had never lived in, or seen a small community like so it is easily overlooked. | 1900’s: in the camps of hunters and gatherers and in the rural villages of Europe and North America, people lived in small communities where life revolved around family and neighborhood.Today: Small, isolated communities still exist in the United States, of course, but are home to only a tiny percentage of our nation’s people. | The Expansion of Personal Choice. | People in traditional, preindustrial societies view their lives as shaped by forces beyond human control – gods, spirits, fate. As the power of tradition weakens, people come to see their lives as an unending series of options, a process Berger calls individualization. | Many people in the United States choose a particular lifestyle, showing an openness to change. Indeed, it is a common belief that people should take control of their lives.1900’s: The choice of religion and community.Today: Being able to choose what school you go to, what clothes you wear, what sexual orientation you are, etc. | Increasing Social Diversity. | In preindustrial societies, strong family ties and powerful religious beliefs enforce conformity and discourage diversity and change. Modernization promotes a more rational, scientific world view as tradition...
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...the complex of mental and ethical traits marking and often individualizing a person, group, or nation <the character of the American people> 2 (Mirriam Webster.com Aristotle tells us that there are two different kinds of human excellences, excellences of thought and excellences of character. His phrase for excellences of character — êthikai aretai — we usually translate as “moral virtue(s)” or “moral excellence(s).” The Greek êthikos (ethical) is the adjective cognate with êthos (character). When we speak of a moral virtue or an excellence of character, the emphasis is not on mere distinctiveness or individuality, but on the combination of qualities that make an individual the sort of ethically admirable person he is.3 (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-character/) . Moral considerations are sometimes conflictive of one another, because of this we need to regard the causatum of our actions. In other words, this statement says that you cannot have one without the other, you need virtues and vices, ethics of action and ethics of charcter. The chapter touches on different aspects of character, persons and principles, compassion, content and temperate persons, ethical pluralism and practical wisdom. For the purposes of this paper, I am going to focus on the pluralistic approach to character. Aristotle was close to pluralism in his views, and I would actually say that I agree with most of his views, with some thoughts of my own added to them. By taking...
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...Keller graduate school of management, Gm591 Mamun Chowdhury (Research question: How do differing perspectives affect out views of workforce diversity?) Introduction: Diversity relates to gender, age, language, ethnicity, cultural background, disability, sexual orientation or religious belief, including that people are different in other respects such as educational level, job function, socio-economic background, personality profile, marital status and whether or not one has family. Diversity and demographic differences can impact individual behavior by creating conflict in the workplace. The success of an organization depends on the workforce of the organization. A workforce made up of diverse individuals from different backgrounds can bring the best talent to an organization. Today, there are more and more ethnic people joining the workforce of the United States. Since the United States is considered the land of opportunity, more people from different backgrounds have migrated to our country over the past 100+ years to obtain work. Now, due to an increase in globalization and companies becoming more diverse, we are seeing even more people of ethnic backgrounds relocating to the United States for opportunities. With the increase in education, this is bringing forth many individuals of whom tend to have a great deal of input into organizations that otherwise would not have happened. These individuals bring a vast array...
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