Why should you care about power, politics, and government?
The idea that governments should provide public goods is not new. In the early American republic, federal and state governments supported the building of ports, roads, and canals to facilitate travel and commerce. These projects did not come together overnight. The idea for the Erie Canal, for example, was first proposed in 1724, when New York was still a colony. The first bill supporting the building of the canal reached the state legislature in 1787 but failed to win passage. Construction finally began in 1817, but only after extensive debate, planning, report writing, compromising, and arm-twisting-in short, politics.
The political process that results in projects such as the Erie Canal is extremely complex. Yet political scientist Harold Lasswell was able to boil it down to just a few words. He famously described politics as the process of determining who gets what, when, how. People who participate in that process engage in many forms of political activity. But all political activity has a few common characteristics.
Political activity can range from looking at a political cartoon to running for public office. Some political actions take little effort. Others require a Significant amount of time, money, effort, and even courage. No matter how simple or difficult, political activity is purposeful. It is done for a reason.
Consider this situation. A city council is contemplating a proposal to build a new skateboard park in the community. Most residents care about children and want them to have recreational opportunities. For that reason alone, they at least follow the issue in the local newspaper. They might also discuss it with friends or co-workers.
Some citizens, however, are motivated to look more deeply into the proposal. One group, concerned that construction and insurance costs might cause their taxes to go up, speaks out against the proposal at city council meetings. Another group, believing that the skateboard park will make the town more attractive for young families, speaks up in support.
Prompted by their enthusiasm for the park proposal, a group of skaters and their parents become more actively involved. Some seek appointment to a study group that is reviewing the proposal. One parent even decides to run for a seat on the city council in the next election. For these citizens, the possible benefits of becoming politically active outweigh the costs in time, effort, and resources.
As this example suggests, political activity is intentional, not random. That is, people think through what they are trying to achieve and weigh the costs and benefits of the actions needed to achieve their goals.
Individuals can achieve many of their goals by acting on their own. But political activity is collective-it involves working with others to achieve shared goals.
As the late American anthropologist Margaret Mead once wrote,
Even when people share a common goal, acting collectively can be challenging. Once again, consider the proposed skateboard park. Skateboarding enthusiasts from around the city come together to plan how best to make their case. They all want the park to be built, but they do not agree on where it should be located.
Conflicts within a small group like this one can often be resolved through face-to-face negotiation, or informal bargaining. In large groups, bargaining sessions may follow more formal rules. In either case, for collective action to work, the people involved need to be prepared to seek and accept compromise.
The institutions we live with also influence political activity. Institutions are organizations or sets of rules that shape the behavior of groups. They have a social purpose and permanence in human affairs. The family is an ancient institution. Its purpose now, as long ago, is to provide for the physical and emotional well-being of its members. Schools, hospitals, and governments are other old and familiar institutions.
Institutions establish routines for dealing with recurring problems. For example, when students misbehave in class, schools have standard procedures for dealing with the problem. In this way, institutions tend to limit conflict while encouraging the kind of cooperation that can lead to the solution of a problem.
Institutions also establish the rules, both written and unwritten, that shape political activity. These rules tell us who has the authority to make decisions, how decisions get made, and how we can influence those decisions.
In the scenario involving a proposed skateboard park, the community s political institutions shape how residents participate in the decision-making process. Some residents share their views in meetings. Others send e-mails to the city council. A few join a study group looking at alternative sites. But once a decision is finally made, most people accept the result, believing that their voices have been heard in the process of determining who gets what, when, how.