CHAPTER ONE
Politics: Who Gets What, and How?

Exercises

How do you define freedom?

1. Go to the CIA's World Factbook web site and select two countries you are interested in analyzing. After making your choices, find out from the "Government" link under "Categories" on the right-hand side what form of government these countries have. Then go to the "Economy" link and find out how much power the private sector has versus how much the government is involved in the economy in each country.
   

2. Recall what the text said concerning government control over the economy and over individual lives. Thinking like a political scientist using the CLUES critical thinking method (see "Consider the Source"), lay out an argument with your assumption of whether the people of each country are citizens or subjects. Given the evidence from this web site about each country's economy and government, where would you place them on Figure 1.3?
   

3. Formulate a hypothesis about whether the people of each country are citizens or subjects. What criteria are you using to judge freedom?
   

4. According to Chapter 1, part of being a citizen rather than a subject is enjoying rights and freedoms. Go to the Freedom House web site and link to the Freedom House Country Ratings, 2005. Freedom House surveys the world with an intricate study of freedom and provides a Freedom in the World report assessing the freedom of over two hundred countries and territories. Check out the 2005 Methodology link to learn about the criteria the group used in deciding what "freedom" is.
   • Does Freedom House's methodology fit with your criteria for freedom?
   • What are the similarities and differences?



5. Go to the Map of Freedom 2005 link to find out how your hypothesis of each country's freedom worked out.
   • How free are the citizens of this country?
   • Are the citizens subjects or citizens?


Where did American democracy come from?

Chapter 1 addressed Athenian democracy and the Enlightenment, specifically the notion of the social contract, and how each served as important origins of American democracy. Studying them in greater depth will provide more insight on their particular influence on American democracy.

1. Go to the British Broadcasting Corporation's (BBC) Democratic Experiment web site to see some key differences in how modern democracy and Athenian democracy operated.
   • How many "citizens" existed in Athens? How does that compare to American democracy?
   • What does the author mean when he says Athenian democracy was direct and "in-your-face?" How does this differ from American democracy?
   
   
2. Not all Athenians agreed that democracy was the best system. While many of us would view Athenian democracy as not being open enough to all people, others had concerns that it was too open.
   • What were some major concerns, according to the author of the BBC's Critics and Critiques of Ancient Athenian Democracy web site?
   • What were the concerns of Socrates and Plato, according to the author?
   
   
3. Read through some of the links provided in this web site series. They help to explain what led to the rise and fall of Athenian democracy.
   
4. As Chapter 1 explains, conflicting views of American citizenship exist today. One view is that individual participation in government should be limited because human nature drives citizens to pursue their personal interests over the general good. On the other hand, those who believe in "republican virtue" argue that citizens can put the interests of the community in front of their personal interests. Such debates over the proper roles for citizens are not new. According to the text, James Madison held a very skeptical view of human nature and the ability of citizens to put the common good in front of their own interests.
   • Go to The Founders' Constitution web page on the Deficiencies of the Confederation. In James Madison's paper on the "Vices of the Political System of the United States," scroll down to #11 of his points as to why the Articles of Confederation were not working properly. What was his view of the American citizen? What motive drives representatives of the people: ambition, personal interest, or the public good? Did Madison feel that people should have more power?
   • But Madison's view was not the only view regarding whether citizens could handle the demands of citizenship. He believed that government needed to be stronger to check citizens. How did Jefferson's view differ from Madison's in Jefferson's January 30, 1787, letter to Madison from the Early America Review web site? The alarm that Madison had over citizen rebellions was clearly not shared again in Jefferson's December 20, 1787, letter to Madison from The Founders' Constitution web page on Securing the Republic.
   • Debates over whether citizens have republican virtue, or whether they need to be tightly penned in by institutions, is not new. Which of these important American founders was correct in their view of citizen virtue: Madison or Jefferson?