American Government and Politics Today, Brief Edition, 2014-2015

iv

Contents

PART I: THE AMERICAN SYSTEM

CHAPTER 1

The Democratic

Republic 1

Politics and Government 2

Why Is Government Necessary? 2

Limiting Government Power 2

Authority and Legitimacy 3

Democracy and Other Forms of Government 4

Types of Government 4

Direct Democracy as a Model 4

The Dangers of Direct Democracy 5

A Democratic Republic 5

What Kind of Democracy Do We Have? 6

Democracy for Everyone 7

Democracy for the Few 7

Democracy for Groups 8

Fundamental Values 8

Liberty versus Order 8

Liberty versus Equality 9

The Proper Size of Government 11

Political Ideologies 13

Conservatism 13

Liberalism 14

The Traditional Political Spectrum 15

Problems with the Traditional Political Spectrum 15

A Four-Cornered Ideological Grid 16

Key Terms • Chapter Summary • Test Yourself • CourseMate

Chapter 1 Features

at issue: Does Entitlement

Spending Corrupt Us? 12

making a difference:

Seeing Democracy in Action 17

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