Theories and Origins of Government

I. Theories of GovernmentEvolution TheoryA population formed out of primitive families. The heads of these families became the government. When these families settled in one territory and claimed it as their own, they became a sovereign state.

Force TheoryAn individual or group claimed control over a territory and forced the population to submit. In this way, the state became sovereign, and those in control formed a government.

Theories of GovernmentDivine Right TheoryGod created the state, making it sovereign. The government is made up of those chosen by God to rule a certain territory. The population must obey their ruler.

Social Contract TheoryA population in a given territory gave up as much power to a government as needed to promote the well-being of all. In doing so, they created a sovereign state.

II. Contributions of the GreeksAthenian Democracy or Direct DemocracyWhen: 508 BCE 322 BCEWhat: Also called pure democracyOccurs when the will of the people translates directly into public policyWorks only on a small, local levelWhere:

III. Contributions of the RomansRoman RepublicWhen: 509 BCE 27 BCEWhat: Classical RepublicanismCivic virtueMoral educationSmall, uniform communities

So, what kind of government do we have in the U.S. today?

English Origins of American GovernmentThe Magna Carta (1215)King John is forced to sign by baronsIncluded guarantees of such fundamental rights as trial by jury and due process of lawProtection against absolute power

English Origins of American GovernmentThe Petition of Right (1628)

King Charles I signed, by force of the ParliamentLimited kings powerMay not impose martial lawCan not force quarteringPunish only be laws of the landQuestioned Divine RightNo man should be compelled to make or yield any gift, loan, benevolence, tax, or such like charge, without common consent by act of parliament.

English Government Parliament ArrivesParliament was a council of nobility created to advise the monarch.History of hostility between parliament and monarch.Parliament = House of Lords + House of CommonsHouse of Lords- nobilityHouse of Commons - wealthy and people of standing in community-knights, merchants, craftsmen.

English Origins of American GovernmentThe English Bill of Rights (1689)Signed by William and Mary of Orange during the Glorious RevolutionProhibited a standing army in peace timeRequired free parliamentary elections

John Locke, 1632-1704

John Lockes Natural Rights PhilosophyState of Nature Natural RightsHuman NaturePurpose of GovernmentSocial Contract Theory

Pure Democracy and CrowdsourcingWhat is crowdsourcing?DefinitionExamples

Pure Democracy and CrowdsourcingPros of Delegating Decision-making:EfficientExpert qualityPros of Pure Democracy:EqualityRepresentational quality

Who should decide?The Math: Condorcet's jury theoremOne of the two outcomes of the vote iscorrect, and each voter has an independent probabilitypof voting for the correct decision. The theorem asks how many voters we should include in the group. The result depends on whetherpis greater than or less than 1/2:Ifpis greater than 1/2 (each voter is more likely than not to vote correctly), then adding more voters increases the probability that the majority decision is correct. In the limit, the probability that the majority votes correctly approaches 1 as the number of voters increases.On the other hand, ifpis less than 1/2 (each voter is more likely than not to vote incorrectly), then adding more voters makes things worse: the optimal jury consists of a single voter.

Testing the theoryDivide in half making 2 teams for chessOne team will vote on a representative to make all their decisionsThe other will vote each day on their move.If the pure democracy team wins, voters were more likely than not to make the correct decision and more voters creates better results.

Questions to ConsiderShould we all vote on more decisions?Which branch of government would most appropriately be replaced by this system?What are the problems with a pure democracy in America?

*************