Five IDs

barbermcworld_1 takehomemidterm2_2

Hi, Please write identifications for all of the following 5 terms. Each of your 5 IDs should include the source, meaning and significance of the term. You may draw from the Shively text and Blackboard in constructing your answers. Information drawn from outside sources will receive no credit. You should not need to submit a bibliography or works cited page, although you should credit sources wherever you quote or paraphrase them so as to avoid plagiarism. 1. “A Perfect Candidate” 2. Iron Triangles 3. Globalization vs. Lebanonization 4. Parliamentary System 5. Political Realignment -you need to write at least one page for each topic and max two page per topic. -you must take all the information from the textbook and ONLY the textbook Chapter,7,8,9,10 and 11. -The Textbook is Shively, W. Phillips, Power and Choice: An Introduction to Political Science, 12th Ed – I have the Ebook version and I will give you the user name and password to login. Go to: http://www.coursesmart.com/ user name: taimme@gmail.com Pass: esmailsdsu -please take as much as you could information from the taxtbook and write it in your own words. Thank you.

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Jihad Vs. McWorld
Barber, Benjamin R
The Atlantic; Mar 1992; 269, 3; ABI/INFORM Global
pg. 53

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

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1

Take Home Midterm 2 (Five IDs)

1. Condorcet’s Paradox:

The Condorcet’s paradox is also referred to as the voter’s paradox. The paradox interrogates why some people vote while the others do not, it also questions whether there is any significance or importance of an individual vote. The significance of a single vote in a presidential election with over 50 million votes is widely questioned under this principle. The Condorcet’s paradox suggests that it is not sensible to vote, as a single vote cannot sway the elections in any direction. If the results of an election are almost certain, that is, in the event that it is clear a certain candidate will win the elections; the paradox questions whether one should even make an effort of voting. or why people should even make an effort of voting?. In the past, people have been injured during the voting process; accidents have occurred, therefore, the paradox questions why one should risk going to vote whereas the vote will not be significant in any way. However, experts argue that the solution to this paradox can be achieved if we stopped considering a voter as an individual and instead, look at it in the context that if a large group of voters decided not to vote, their absence could definitely influence the outcome of the elections. That explains why politicians spend most of their time not convincing the voters to vote for them, but to turn up during the voting process. They understand that if they spend most of their time convincing a single voter, they would lose on the masses that would turn up during the voting process. The problem with this solution is the fact that groups do not decide not to vote but individuals do. Another alternative to solving this paradox is considering the voting as a process which helps the voting individuals. Although the voting is a democratic process, it should be noted that voters do so selfishly only to increase their political power by voting for the people who support their views. However, it is important to note that in some instances, voters cast their votes even when they do not have a single candidate in mind that will help them in promoting their economic and social development in the congress or in the senate. They do it just as a duty fulfilling their national duty, to them, voting is a communal act than an individual one. This communal aspect explains why millions of people all over the world vote each year in their different countries during the elections even though the elections are not of any benefit to them. They vote for the love of their country or just as a noble sentiment and this provides the solution to this paradox.

2. Democracy & Capitalism:

Regimes are the different forms of governments which exist across different countries. It involves how countries are ruled including their constitution. While some countries are rules through dictatorial regimes others are ruled through democracy. It is important to note that regimes last longer than the office holders. For example a country like the US can be described as a democratic regime. A state on the other hand lasts longer than a regime. It can shift between democracy and dictatorial regimes. A democracy can be described as a form of government where citizens periodically elect new office holders who are supposed to be in charge of making new laws and implementing them during the particular period when they are in power. A democratic government is a government for the people, chosen by people and ruled by the people. Such a regime makes its own citizens feel involved in the running and managing of the government since it is through their votes that the office holders are in power. The extent of how citizens are engaged in electing their leaders varies across the different form of regimes different countries have. How the people are engaged in running these governments is also a major issue of discussion among many people even as the discussions continue, it is important to note pure democracies do not exist as it is very hard to maintain them. This is due to the fact that, although people might have access to power s of the government, this power is usually not equally available to all people. It is thus important to indicate that democracies vary according to the access people have to their government and how easy they are able to access government services. Examples of the different democracies existing in the world include the Russian democracy where their president Vladimir Putin has a lot of power and he has managed to curtail the freedom of the media such as the radios and newspapers in the country. Another example is the Zimbabwean democracy where President Mugabe has been winning lections through violence and intimidating the opposition. Democracy therefore involves many things rather than elections alone. A democracy requires there be an agreement among the stakeholders, all conflicting groups should take part in the process of making a policy, and this makes the population as a whole feel involved in the decision making process. Each of the stakeholders abides by the agreement hoping they will achieve what they want at the end of it all. This process is usually referred to as democratic bargain. Approaching it from this perspective explains why democracies are so delicate and fragile to survive. If some of the important groups resists or decline some of the agreements or the end results of a democratic bargain, a democracy can collapse very easily. As a result of this, only very few countries are able to sustain stable democracies. There is a close connection between democracy and capitalism. This is due to the fact that the two are based on individual decisions making being aggregated together where each individual is responsible for his or her decisions. Capitalism is described as a social system which is based upon private ownership of the means of production in an economy. The economy is based on free markets where the resources are privately owned. As a result, capitalism recognizes the importance of the individual understanding that each person is responsible of his or her own life and therefore, they have the freedom to live their lives as long as they do not violate the rights of others, thus, just like democracy, capitalism respects the power of freedom and choice. It is however important to understand there is no direct connection between democracy and capitalism. This is due to the fact that some countries in the world although not having democratic regimes, they still practice free market economies despite their regimes being autocratic. Most people connect democracy and capitalism due to the fact that the US has managed to promote democracy at its best while still being a capitalist state/ however, countries such Hong Kong which are not democratic have also been practicing capitalism promoting a free market economy. Capitalism and democracy enables people choose what they want in their lives beginning with goods and services as well as the state of administration. It is however important to view democratic capitalism as a system where market allocates incomes according to efficiency while the government on the other hand redistribute wealth according to political demands. Capitalism allows free and efficient allocation of resources since the markets are supposed to behave according to the customer demands and preferences. A capitalist state also allows the production processes to be efficient. This is due to the fact that, markets in a capitalist state offers incentives only to the producers who produce efficiently ad the markets are also dynamic thus most of the times, the customers acquire goods and services which they only require.

3. Elastic Clause:

The elastic clause is among the most powerful clause in the constitution of the United States of America since it gives the congress the power to make laws which the congress deems necessary and proper in assisting the congress in carrying out and implementing all the powers as indicated in the constitution. The clause also referred to as the proper clause stretches the power of the congress by making it possible for it to make laws which can assist it in executing its powers to the citizens. Those who write constitutions write them in a flexible way to ensure they can be amended to meet the needs of the country as it grows. The importance of this clause is the fact that it allows the congress to pass the laws which can assist it executing its powers as dictated in the constitution. The clause allows the congress to introduce a law not within the constitution, however, the president can refuse and accept to assent them if he wants. The Supreme Court can also sometimes review the laws passed by the congress and assess whether they falls within the constitution guidelines. The elastic clause makes the constitution closely reflective of the people since the clause makes it easier for the congress to revise or amend some of the constitution chapters depending on the changing needs. The drafters of the US constitution made protected the constitution by making it very difficult to change. The US constitution is so inflexible that within the last two centuries only a few amendments have been made fortunately with the elastic clause and the Supreme Court interpreting the constitution to an amount of discretion. The clause has made it easier for the congress to introduce some laws which helps it in implementing its duties. The elastic clause at least has allowed the congress to provide some flexibility on the constitution which the writers or the drafters made so hard for any one to amend. A good example where this clause has been used is evident in the year 1954 when the court ruled that in light of changes, which were taking part in the society after the introduction of the US constitution, the clause indicating that separating black and white in schools through constitutional means amounted to segregation. Further, the court noted that this did not guarantee equal treatment and protection of all American citizens irrespective of their race. This clause can therefore also help people in eliminating laws which are not ethical but within the constitution to be unconstitutional and therefore promote better living among citizens.

4. Federalism:

There are different types of governments depending on how power within these countries is controlled. Some countries use unitary forms of governments where the authority comes exclusively from the central government while others such as USA use a federal form of government. In a federal government, a country is ruled by two governments, the federal government and the state government. The county or the state government performs its duties independent from the federal government. Federalism is thus the rule of countries through the use of two governments. Countries using this form of governance have regional or state governments which control resources and also some of the basic amenities such as education and communication while the central government has control over issues such as diplomacy, defense, and public transport among others. Significance of federalism lies on the fact that this system of governance provides power to its citizens at all levels and therefore requires political flexibility and individual liberty; however it is important that the system can also be susceptible to manipulation by small groups of people with narrow local interests, this can lead to dilution of the legislations at the expense of the national or regional interests. There is mobilization of political activity where various levels of the government provide alternatives for a certain to be heard and served in regard to a certain problem, however this sometimes can bring confusion on the citizen whereby he or she might be confused on which office to visit and which officers can help him best. Small interest groups are not able to take over the government in a federal form of government since to achieve this; they would be required not only to take over the national government but also the state and the county government. However, it is important to note that small motivated groups can sometimes block the will of majority for long periods of time until they are sure their interests have been taken care of. Federal government allows diverse policies from the different states and thus sometimes this can sometimes encourage experimentation and creativity although it can sometimes create inequality due to the fact that different states provide different levels of support by the citizens, and thus some citizens from certain states will have advantages over other citizens. Finally the diverse polices across different states are good because sometimes uniform laws created monotony, however, some of these laws might create confusion and inequalities since while it might be legal in one state to do certain activity, it might be illegal in the other state and thus one might find himself on the wrong side of the law without their knowledge. It is therefore important to scrap some of these laws and policies which can be applied universally through out the country

5. Incentive Compatibility:

As people design constitutions to accommodate different situations, there exist additional principals beyond the fact that the constitution should not be too specific. Among the other principles which one can use is the incentive compatibility. Incentive compatibility indicates that the constitutions should be made in such as way the current holders of power in a country are able to find it beneficial or advantageous to do and perform everything that the society demands or expects from them while they are in power. The importance or the significance of the incentive compatibility is the fact that it gives those people in power the incentive to do what the society demands from them without the desire to satisfy their personal needs. The holders of power finds themselves rewarded when they do what the society demands from them, they are also punished when they fail to do what is expected from them. It is very normal for everyone to assume that when people find what is beneficial from their personality; this might conflict with what is good for the country as many tend to choose what is good for them. This is not necessary for private gains but the assumptions are usually that the damage to the state is much less compared to the personal gains the individual is likely to achieve. For example if a citizen fails to submit his or her tax returns of 300$, he or she might consider this value less compared to the billions of budget read every year, however, if a large group decided to do the same, this could have very serious implications on the budget read. The constitution determines who is in power, giving some individuals authority to make choices which the society has made. If the costs and benefits are not set to encourage state officers to act in the expected manner, there is a very high chance they will act in a way that suits them rather than what the society expects from them. This could create a lot of problems and thus the need of incentive compatibility. For example, when one takes the example of the United States, the country should have stronger parties which can develop programs. The parties should have the powers of punishing members of the congress who do not follow these programs. The personal incentives would then be different and people could see congressmen supporting national interests even when the interests are not in accordance with those areas they represent. It is thus important to have incentives which would prevent people office holders to be selfish but to perform only what the society expects from them.