Political
Science: American Government
The
major theories that revolve around the American leadership are pluralism and
elitism, which concentrate on the distribution of power. In this case, the
pluralist theory is defined as one where the government has all the members
sharing equal status with regards to possessions, authority, and privileges
(Krutz and Waskiewicz 17). In other words, this form of leadership seems to
appeal to the public including the less fortunate. On the other hand, elite
theory entails the privileged individuals and those who have attained the
success ladder in the sense that they are in a position to take up the
governing power due to their notable prominence. Such power distinction of
power started to be evident during the historical periods. The main reason the
American colonists revolted was due to their belief that they had been denied
their privileges, especially in the aftermath of the French and Indian battle (Bardes et al. 45). The initial feeling before
the revolt was that they were becoming more prosperous and that they deserved
more rights than those from Britain. In essence, the American government is
formed through elitism despite many arguing that pluralism has a part to play
in its creation. In fact, this can be seen from the political class that rules
the nation, who are well educated and prominent individuals in the United
States.
Chapter 1: Elitism vs. Pluralism
The
question whether the American government is formed by the citizens or the elite
is debatable. In this case, it is clear that the United States gives a chance
to its people to take part in leadership in various ways. Moreover, it is
created into many diverse levels and departments where citizens can access
services. In this case, some people may argue that the citizens in the United
States influence the actions by their government (Krutz and Waskiewicz 16).
However, opponents of this pluralist theory argue that this is not the case in
the United States because many economically and politically privileged
individuals tend to influence the leadership.
The
above information leads me to the belief that the elites form the government in
the current regime. In this case, I would agree with authors, such as Wright
Mills who indicated that the government is mostly under the hands of the
business community, military, and the political elites (Krutz and Waskiewicz 16).
The leaders are well-established individuals who have graduated from
prestigious institutions of higher learning. With this regard, elite theory
indicates that the rich use their privileges to command the country’s economy
in a way that the less fortunate do not grow economically. For instance, the
current president of the United States is a renowned businessman in the real
estate industry and has much control in the American economy.
Furthermore,
it has become clear in the current regime that the wealthy control large part
of the American economy. In fact, they are in a position to secure important
posts in politics of the day. In effect, they use the power to come up with
decisions and distribute the nation’s resources in a way that benefits them. It
has become a common belief that the elite are the best fit to rule over the
average Americans as they have proven content to remain the same (Bardes et al. 55). Therefore, I am of the
opinion that elitism takes the order of the day in American politics
Chapter 2: Revolt by the Colonists
The
American colonists revolted against the Britain as they had realized that they
were being overruled and could no longer have more privileges. The revolt
happened after the battle between France and India when Britain started to
impose taxes on the colonists as a way of recovering the cost of war (Gagnon 371). Despite being taxed before, they
found the latter retrogressive as it was only for revenue purposes rather than
regulatory objectives. They felt that only duly elected representatives were
supposed to tax them as Englishmen. The colonists believed that they had to be
granted more rights in England as they had become more established and
prosperous at the same time. Indeed, they held on to the perception that they
deserved proper treatment due to their high profiles.
Furthermore,
they had felt content to remain as colonies when the British were friendly, but
all changed when they began to grow big. The British government started to
emerge as more controlling. The belief was that the government should not be in
a position to deny individuals their liberties (Erikson
and Tedin 31). In this case, it should be constrained in its authority
over people’s livelihoods. The understanding was a vital factor which led to
the colonist’s controversial decision to revolt and declares their
independence. Therefore, it meant that they had to rebel Britain’s rule and
establish a new nation, which led to a new government that was limited in its
power over the citizens.
It
is evident that the belief that the colonist had before the revolt played a
significant role in establishing the government after winning independence. The
aim of limiting the power of the administrative body seems to be what led to
self-governance of the people. The Americans became accustomed to the
representative agencies ideology from the very start. It was this that led to
the establishment of House of Burgesses in Virginia (Krutz and Waskiewicz 28).
The founders arrived in North America formulated an agreement that could enable
them to govern themselves with regards to the statutes developed by the voters
within Plymouth Colony.
Conclusion
In
general, it is clear that the theories of elitism and pluralism define the
manner and approach in which people can be governed. In pluralism, the common
interest of the wider group of citizens within a country is considered whereby
the people are given the chance to form the government. However, the opposite
is true with elitism whereby the wealthy have large controls over the
government of the day. In this case, the privileged seem to take advantage of
their power to coordinate and run the business of the day in the political
arena. Most of the leaders are graduates from highly profiled institutions of
higher learning and are successful in their careers and businesses. For
instance, the Congress is made of the elite who have climbed up the political
ladder due to the influence they have on the American economy. Therefore, it can
be concluded that the United States is highly under elitism. The revolt by the
colonists occurred due to the feeling that they needed more rights over England
and that they were not to be taxed by unelected representatives. The feeling
before was that they needed to have a government that considered limiting the
power that the administrative agencies had on the citizens. In effect, this
helped them to form a government that regarded the people as supreme.
Works
Cited
Bardes,
Barbara A., Mack C. Shelley, and Steffen W. Schmidt. American
Government and Politics Today: Essentials 2015-2016 Edition. Nelson
Education, 2015.
Erikson,
Robert S., and Kent L. Tedin. American Public Opinion: Its Origins,
Content and Impact. Routledge, 2015.
Gagnon,
Alexandre Couture. "Review of Introduction to American Government."
(2015): 370-371.
Krutz,
Glen and Sylvie Waskiewicz. American
Government. OpenStax, 2016, pp. 7-43.
