Day 8

political science

all we need to know about the leviathan is thomas hobbes
wrote about the nature of society in england
he suggested a theory that the revolutionaries did not like

the assumption of thomas hobbes was that we are rational people, have the ability to think, which helps us come to an agreement to live together
the social contract has not eliminated our passion to use people, to succumb to greed
the war of all against all, the struggle to get ahead, despite our sense of being able to live together, will still be prevalent

the only way to completely eliminate this selfishness, according to hobbes, is to agree to allow one being, a model figure, perhaps god, that would enable us to live together
fear the power, and do good because of our fear
absolute authority, and we will live in peace because of this ultimate retribution
only an absolute being will limit man's greed and ambition

the revolutionaries preferred john locke's theories, one that allowed the people to have power
at least hobbes provided the revs an idea of what they did not want, an opposite ideal

vertical and horizontal federalism

the new government moved away from the confederal system

confederal system:
weak central government, the states hold all the powers
confederation, a loose association of independent states
if they wanted to change the constitution, all of them had to agree
policy making was by extra-ordinary majority (better than 51%)

in a federal system, the power is shared between the central government and the states
not the central government is supreme, according to article 6
the states are now willingly dependent on the central governement
according to article 4, all states are equal to another
this is referred to as horizontal federalism, the relations among the states
the relationship between the central government and the states is called vertical federalism

in another way, you have the three branches of government, which is part of a horizontal relationship

general theory was the re-invention of adam smith's theory of natural liberty
karl marx named this system capitalism, and theorized that though it is good at producing, all the wealth is taken by the aristocracy

manage in a selective way (mixed economy) where the private and the public sector aren't exclusive to each other, the government can intervene and change where it would be economically beneficial
during the free enterprise era, you have the public and the private sectors, a system in which exclusive hiring/employment practices were possible

coercive acts
two names: after the boston tea party, because of it's rebellious nature, the revolutionaries were subjected to the coercive acts/laws
the colonists saw it as the intolerable acts
they were supposed to be disciplinary acts

corporations have an influence on government
liberty is subject to definition and re-definition
the people demanded that the definition of liberty include wealth
liberty is not the abstract idea of freedom

electoral college: 538 members
435 members of the house of representatives
100 members of the senate
always add 3 members for washington d.c. as per the 23 amendment

the people that are in congress from the territories are called delegates, and do not vote

congressional law, which can be changed

federalism
table 3-1

the central government is all-powerful in a unitary system
-japan
-uk
-israel
-PRC
-france
-sweden

confederal system is a loose arrangement of independent states

a federal system has a stronger central government, in which the authority of the government is still derived from the states, but the states must be controlled and regulated by the central government

see figure 3-1

powers of the national government
1. listed (enumerated) powers
2. powers that are implied (necessary and proper)
3. reserved powers (powers held by the states, following amendment 10)
4. concurrent powers

all of these powers are countered by #2, implied powers, sometimes known as the elastic clause
the federal government preempts

prohibited powers are powers denied to congress, as outlined in article 1 section 9
1. congress cannot suspend the right of habeus corpus
habeus corpus - the right to be told what they are accused of, or set free if there is no accusation
2. expos facto law, also known as a retro-active law
3. bill of attainder - a law that punishes without trial
trial as due process

judicial powers-interpretive? signing rights from president bush- is there a conflict?

congress decides what the laws are, as decided by 2/3 of congress
executive branch says: this is the law, these are the things we will do to follow the law and the constitution
judiciary branch decides what is constitutional and reviews cases - interprets the meaning and intent of the constitution - and federal laws?

art 4 - relations among the states
art 5 - methods of amendment
art 6 - national supremacy
art 7 - ratification -> as it applies to this constitution