POL 507 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Dependent And Independent Variables, Direct Democracy
3 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Breakout 1
Theories of the information society
There’s no one theory that can explain absolutely everything, if we did our lives would be great
but nah
The way the textbook is structured:
Independent variable: the cause of something // Technology
Dependant variable: the outcome, the effect
In politics, power in individual, the cause, and must be legitimized.
It can be good or bad, depending on how it’s used. It can level up people/nations/groups, as well
as do the opposite
Dialectical= there are contradictions
Politics as an approach is full of dialects. We grapple with thinking about contradictions within
political thought, when it comes to power
Its very fluid, not monolithic, not held by any one person/nation/group for ever and ever, it can
and WILL shift
When addressing pol, there’s always an “if then and but’ thing to it
Power is fluid, BUT there can be individuals who have a monopoly on the current power
There are 2 sides to everything:
There’s power TO achieve positive/negative outcomes and results
Power OVER can be seen as disempowering, forces beyond us that may constrain our
actions/limit us/prevent us/ force us and manipulate us to do something (getting a grade for a
book review)
Democracy: this is the context in which this course will take place.
Characteristics:
- (free) Elections of leaders/politicians to represent the views of citizens. Even
dictatorships have elections but they aren’t free, per say
o equal voting rights
- freedom to act within the realms of the law
o legal system leads to the question of are the legal systems fair or balanced and
ethical
▪ the rule of law (a concept, modern democracy; everyone must follow the
law. No one is above the law. Not the ones who make them, one who
enforce it)
- freedom of speech and access to information
- transparency
- education
- Freedoms of:
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
