AP Government -Assignment- Chap 1

Key Features of the Policy Making System:
Political socialization: Process people learn and form opinions about government and politics. This starts at home with young children being influenced by the ideas held by parents or others around them.

There is cycle for which policies are created. This is known as the policy making cycle and it starts out with people raising awareness of an issue. The second step is when the linkage institutions become aware of these problems. Linkage institutions are important to the policy-making cycle in that they are the ones that take the thoughts of public and bring them to intention of the government. They then present the many different concerns of then people on platforms also known as the policy agenda. The policy agenda is the order in which governmental concerns are placed. They are put together from the most important to the least.


Explain how public policies respond to public demands:
Public policy all starts from the cries of the people. As described above, the public will bring attention to something that concerns them, whether it is funding for schools or something they consider a landmark being torn down, they can rally, send letters, or something along those terms. This will catch the attention of linkage institution such as the media or political groups. These groups will then present the topics on what is known as a policy agenda. The government will take notice of these and will create a plan, proposition, or something along those terms. This is what is known as a public policy.

Describe the nature of democratic government and the traditional and contemporary theories of democratic politics:
Democratic government is a government for the people and by the people. The people ill vote and elect representatives who will take care of public and look out for their best interest. The people also vote directly on propositions. These are what make a democratic government a democratic government. A government has to take care of protecting ts citizens, maintaining order, regulating the economy, ect. To fund this they must charge taxes. All governments do this, not just democratic.

Theories includes the elite and class theory, pluralism, ad hyperpluralism. Hyperpluralism is the extreme version of pluralism, saying that there re so many people demanding different things that with even more ideas for the same thing that the government ends up at a standstill, unable to act. Pluralism is when the groups influence the governments decision in policy making. They are helpful to society and the government. Elite and class theory is the belief that society is ran on a hierarchal scale. The rich and powerful people influence the governmental thoughts and actions.

Describe the process by which political socialization occurs in a democratic system:
Political socialization occurs when a child or anyone is forming thoughts and opinions on the government and politics. This is influenced when the person is surrounded by people who have certain beliefs. They are bound to pick up their thoughts.

Trace the English philosophical heritage including the Enlightenment in the shaping of American democratic principles:
One of the first philosophers who influenced the government is Thomas Hobbes. He wrote what is known as the Leviathan. The Leviathan where he described his belief that people are in a constant state of conflict and only look out for themselves. They need a strong government to care of them. Next was Locke who rejected the idea of divine rule. he said that the government must act for the good of everyone and that the people had the right to rebel if it failed to protect their 'self-evident' natural rights of life, liberty, and property (The biggest influence of the American democracy, we practically quoted him). The next philosopher, Rousseau, agreed with Locke's belief that the government should act for all people. He said that living in a society that provides people with security and freedom enough to developed new skill would lead to growth