POLI 222 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1-2: Quebec Sovereignty Movement, Privy Council Of The United Kingdom, Distinct Society
4 Mar 2014
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Constitution: a set of fundamental rules that govern political life in a particular territory. Early liberals (thomas hobbes, john locke, jean-jacques rousseau): state of nature shows the impulse behind constitutional government. Insecurity leads people to accept the need for a constitution (hobbes: life is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. ) Alternative to constitutional government: anarchy or totalitarianism: anarchy: chaos and civil strife. No state: totalitarianism: all dissent is suppressed in the name of some supreme goal. Two sets of relations: between citizens and the state, functions and powers between different parts of the state, legislature: making the law, executive: implementing the law. c. Constitutional conventions: practices that emerge over time and are generally accepted as binding rules of the political system. Single-member constituency system ( first past the post): each constituency (riding) gets one representative in the hoc and/or provincial legislature: prevents parties from pandering to specific sections of the voters, eg.
