What is the difference between Government and Politics ?

Government: The formal institutions created by the Constitution including Congress, the presidency, the courts and the bureaucracy (both federal and state). These institutions, sometimes acting independently, sometimes acting in concert, create and impliment laws, policies and regulations.

Politics: "Who gets what, when, how and why" ? Politics is the means by which individuals and groups with different needs, attitudes and values attempt to influence the electorate and the government (ex. political parties, political ads., lobbying, contributing money to politicians, and making deals and compromises). American politics began with the formation of the Federalist and Anti-Federalist parties in the 1780's.

A linkage institution refers to the means by which indivivuals or groups can exert influence on the development of public policy. The four main linkage institutions are:

a. political parties (each have platforms that outline their position on various public issues)

b. elections

c. interest groups (often focused on a single issue)

d. the media (determines what stories or issues to cover and how they are to be covered)

The formal institutions created by the Constitution including the presidency, Congress, the courts and the bureaucracy are the major policy-making institutions.

If you control the political agenda you will be the one to get the what, when and how. There are three schools of thought regarding how this agenda is controlled.

pluralism - refers to competing interest groups all vying for control of the policy agenda. No single group is able to dominate thus forcing the groups to compromise.

majoritarian theory - this means the mass public, not interest groups, controls government policies by participating in elections. It essentially means majority rule and the best examples are New England town meetings, propositions placed on the ballot for voters to approve or reject, and voting for candidates.

elite theory - a small ruling class, usually with vast wealth and business connections, determines the agenda through its domination of the linkage institutions and political candidates. The elite theory argues that these few individuals and corporations wield power in America because they control its key financial, communications, industrial, and government institutions. Elite theorists (such as Ralph Nader) argue that there is no difference between Democrats and Republicans - they are all controlled by the same special interest money.

As we shall see, all of these are key elements of the American poliical system.