PS 2000

AN INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE

THE CHIEF END OF POLITICS IS TO ALLOW PEOPLE TO BECOME

RESPONSIBLE AND MATURE. STUART MILLS

Citation: Shively, P. (2011).

Power and choice: An
introduction to political science
(12th ed.). New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill.

UNIT 1: THE IDEA OF POLITICS

Political Science is the

study and analysis of
politics within states.
A state in this course is
defined as a country.
The United States,
Great Britain, and
Germany are all states.

Map of Europe provided courtesy of the University of Texas Libraries, The University of
Texas at Austin. Retrieved from http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/europe/txu-oclc247233313-europe_pol_2008.jpg

POLITICAL SCIENTIST

Political scientists read

newspapers, watch the
news, listen to talk
radio, and even
participate in the
political process.

They analyze words and

use them precisely.

POWER

This image is a work of a United States Department of

Education employee, taken or made during the course of an
employee's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal
government, the image is in the public domain. Retrieved from
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nochild.jpg

Power is the ability of

one person to cause
another to do what the
first wishes.
Two forms of power are
coercion and
persuasion.
The No Child Left
Behind Act is a look at
both forms of power.

AUTHORITY

If you have power you

must also have authority.
This is the general
agreement among others
that a person or group
has the right to control or
make decisions for the
rest of the group.
Authority can be manifest
(seen) or implicit (implied
or not seen).

IDEOLOGIES
An Ideology is an organized set of related
ideas that modify one another.
They help us to make sense out of politics and
to gather allies.
Ideologies change to fit what we need and
reflect what we want.

LIBERALISM

Liberalism in America is
different than any other
place. In America we have
liberals and conservatives
under the name of
liberalism.
To liberals power is bad
and should be limited.
An example of liberals in
America would be the
Democratic Party and
their desire for big
government.

Typically in the U.S., liberals

align themselves with the
Democratic party

CONSERVATISM

Conservatives are noted

for wanting to maintain
order with common
values.
This ideology is seen as
the core of the
Republican Party.
Conservatives accept
and welcome power.

Conservatives in the U.S.

align themselves with the
Republican party, as a rule.

SOCIALISM & COMMUNISM

Karl Marx was a great

socialist writer.
He said that the working
class should take over the
government ,and then the
government should take
over industry.
In 1917 Lenin took this
idea and, during the
Bolshevik revolution, took
control of Russia and then
turned it into a
Communist country.

Bannerjee, P., (2009). Hammer and Sickle. Retrieved from:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CPI_%28M%29.png

FASCISM

Fascism is a style of politics

and a movement.
It has been linked to such
leaders as Adolf Hitler
(Germany), Benito Mussolini
(Italy) and Francisco Franco
(Spain).
With this ideology there is
usually a charismatic leader
who uses terror and
violence to advance their
movement.
This form of government
does not usually last long.

Jugoslavije, M. R. N., (1937). Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler [Photograph].

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC. Retrieved from :
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Benito_Mussolini_and_Adolf_Hitler.jpg

NEOLIBERALISM

The United States saw a

surge in neoliberalism
during the 1990s.
There is usually a cut
back on government
regulation of the
economy, a privatization
of state-run businesses,
and independence for
banks from the direction
of the government.
China and other countries
have been using modified
versions of neoliberalism.

RELIGION

Religion and politics have

created more wars than any
other ideas combined!
Many countries in the Middle
East, North Africa, and South
Asia are run on faith-based
politics.
While religion is considered an
ideology, it is also a belief
system.
An ideology is not set in stone
and will grow and change
throughout life and experiences!

Religion
Politics

CITATION
Shively, P. (2011). Power and choice: An
introduction to political science (12th ed.).
New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
http://commons.wikimedia.org (Pictures)