Political Science: American Government

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.