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U.S. Political Economy |
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Are Political Systems About Power or
Community?
Totalitarianism holds total authority over
society and |
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U.S. Democratic
Federalist Republic Political Systems involve governments and politics. Republic government exists when a constitutionally determined government of elected leaders operating according to laws which protect individual rights associated with equality, liberty, property and necessity of consent. a. There are many applications. What constitutes a right and their relative importance has been continually debatable. b. John Adams said "a government, in which all men, rich and poor, magistrates and subjects, officers and people, masters and servants, the first citizen and the last, are equally subject to the laws." c. In United States v. Cruikshank (1875) the Supreme Court ruled that the concept of "equal citizens" was inherent to Republicanism. d. Colonial America developed in an untamed vast wilderness far from the governing country. This unique historical circumstance resulted in American Exceptionalism.
Federalism
divides powers among member units so that |
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Kinds of Democracy Democracy begins with Majority Rule
Presidential Democracy has a president and the legislative
body.
Parliamentary Democracy as practiced in Great Brittan
has an
Democratic Republic vs. Parliamentary Democracy
written by
Making Laws in a Democracy Direct Democracy also known as pure democracy has the electorate vote directly on policy initiatives. Indirect democracy or representative democracy is when the electorate temporary delegates power to officials who make laws on their behalf. Initiatives and Referendums exist in some U.S. States. a. Part of the early 20th century Progressive Movement b. Allowed voters to put a proposed law on the ballot for approval and also to void existing state law. c. DC and 27 states have this direct democracy tool. Constitutional Amendments expanded "We" of "We the people..." which moved U.S toward Republicanism. a. The 1911 17th Amendment changed the election of U.S. Senators from the House of Representatives to voters. b. The 1919 19th Amendment gave women voting rights. c. The 1971 26th Amendment lowered voting age to 18. d. Electoral College elimination would move the process closer to the people, Republicanism and a direct democracy majority. See
Democracy and Virtue,
Why Founders Wanted Electoral College, |
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7. Political Economy Book Reviews
Capitalism in the Twenty-First Century
The Shifts and Shock: Seven Bad Ideas How Mainstream Economists Have
Damaged America and the World
Hoodwinked
An Economic
Hit Man Reveals Why the World Financial Markets
Imploded-
Education and Income Inequality,
"This Time Is Different"
is a history of financial
collapse from 1300 to the present. By Christian Caryl. Basic; 400 pages argues that 1979 belongs to the select club of real turning-points: "years in which one era ended and another was born. 1917 proved to be a bloody dead end and 1848 proved to be, in A.J.P. Taylor’s phrase, “a turning-point in history when history failed to turn”. But others, such as 1789 (when France’s ancient régime collapsed) and 1517 (when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the door), resound down the ages." Editors note: Was the liberalism of the 20th century coming to an end?
"The Shock Doctrine: The evil of “Disaster
Capitalism”,
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Guns, Germs, and Steel - the fates of human societies '...attempts to explain why Eurasian civilizations, as a whole, have survived and conquered others, while attempting to refute the belief that Eurasian hegemony is due to any form of Eurasian intellectual, moral, or inherent genetic superiority."
How You Can Kill Al-Qaeda in Three Easy Steps
review from
Boing Boing
One Nation Under Contract: The Outsourcing of American Power and
the Future of Foreign Policy |
