POLI 2051 Chapter : Chapter 1
Document Summary
Government - a formally established way of making and carrying out political decisions. Politics - the competition to shape government"s impact on society"s problems and goals. W/o government, we would have to exist in what some have called the. Social contract theory can guide us here to some extent. Normative - the way things ought to be. It is not a written contract, but rather, a general agreement between the people and their government. The people agree to give up some of their liberty, and in exchange, the government guarantees to protect what were called natural rights life, liberty, and property. The contract derives from the assumption that government is based on the consent of the governed. If the government fails to protect these natural rights, the citizens have the right to reject this government. Political equality is not possible with great social inequality. Citizens disagree about which functions are most important and which functions should be most vigorously enforced.
