Points of View

by DICLERICO ROBERT E.

• ISBN13: 9780072322682
• ISBN10: 0072322683
• Edition: 8th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-07-26
• Publisher: MCG

Summary

Points of View is a best selling comprehensive collection of articles on the major topics covered in American Government courses. Each topic is selected to reflect current political debates, as well as covering traditional topics of interest in American Government. Topics are covered by two opposing positions, which gives students the framework for analysis of the issues in American politics. The selections are readable and informative, and begin with a clear, concise introduction written by the authors. Points of View will give readers a deeper appreciation of viewpoints different from their own, and a clearer understanding of current issues in politics and government. This reader is used at over 500 colleges and universities around the country and at all types of institutions from community colleges and state universities, to private colleges and universities.

Table of Contents

 

Preface: A note to the Instructor

Chapter 1 ~ Democracy

Democracy: What is it?
Howard Zinn, How Democratic is America?
Sidney Hook, How Democratic is America? A response to Howard Zinn MakingDemocracy Work: Civic Involvement
Robert D. Putnam, Tuning In, Tuning Out: The Strange Disappearance of SocialCapital in America
Michael Schudson, What If Civic Life Didn’t Die?

Chapter 2 ~ The Constitution

Charles A. Beard, An Economic Interpretation of theConstitution of the United States
Robert E. Brown, Charles Beard and the Constitution: A Critical Analysis

Chapter 3 ~ Federalism

Spencer Abraham, Unfunded Mandates: The Negative Effects
George Miller, Unfunded Mandates: Laws that Bind Us Together

Chapter 4 ~ Public Opinion

Dick Morris, Vox Populi in Cyberspace
Norman Ornstein and Amy Schenkenberg, The Promise and the Perils ofCyberdemocracy

Chapter 5 ~ Voting

Arend Lipjhart, Compulsory Voting is the Best Way to keepDemocracy Strong
Austin Ranney, Nonvoting Is Not a Social Disease

Chapter 6 ~ Campaigns and the Media

Darrell M. West, Advertising and Democratic Elections: WhatCan Be Done?
Stephen Bates and Edwin Diamond, Damned Spots: A Defense of Thirty-SecondCampaign Ads

Chapter 7 ~ Elections Campaign Finance

Jack Hitt, Real Campaign Finance Reform
Robert J. Samuelson, Campaign Finance Hysteria The Electoral College
Lawrence D. Longley, The Electoral College Should be Abolished
Robert Weissberg, In Defense of the Electoral College

Chapter 8 ~ Political Parties

Theodore J. Lowi, The Party Crasher: The Need for a ThirdParty
Paul S. Herrnson, The Reform Party: Fizzle or Crash and Burn?

Chapter 9 ~ Interest Groups

Phillip M. Stern, Still the Best Congress Money Can Buy: APAC Primer
Larry J. Sabato, The Misplaced Obsession with PACs

Chapter 10 ~ Congress Representation

General Assembly of Virginia, The Legislator as Delegate
John F. Kennedy, The Legislator as Trustee
George B. Galloway, The Legislator as Politico Legislative Process
Tom Harkin, It’s Time to Change the Filibuster
Bill Frenzel, Defending the Dinosaur: The case for Not Fixing the Filibuster

Chapter 11 ~ The Presidency

Michael Lind, The Out-of-Control Presidency
R. Gordon Hoxie, The Not So Imperial President

Chapter 12 ~ The President and Congress

David R. Mayhew, Divided Party Control: Does It Make aDifference?
James L. Sundquist, A Government Divided Against Itself

Chapter 13 ~ Bureaucracy

Al Gore, The Best Kept Secrets in Government
Robert Worth, Reinvention Lite: Why Al Gore Still has a Long Way to Go

Chapter 14 ~ Courts The Supreme Court and Judicial Review

Edwin Meese, III, A Jurisdiction of Original Intention
Irvin R. Kaufman, What Did the Founding Fathers Intend? Crime and the Courts
Bernard Gavzer, “We’re in the Fight of Our Lives”
John C. Kilwein, “Just Make It A Fair Fight”

Chapter 15 ~ Civil Liberties Free Speech

American Council on Education, Mandatory Student Fees do notAbridge Freedom of Speech
Pacific Legal Foundation, Mandatory Student Fees Violate Students’ Right toFree Speech Pornography
Ernest van den Haag, Pornography and Censorship
Geoffrey R. Stone, Repeating Past Mistakes: The Commission on Obscenity andPornography

Chapter 16 ~ Civil Rights Affirmative Action

Terry Eastland, Ending Affirmative Action: The Case forColorblind Justice
Barbara R. Bergmann, In Defense of Affirmative Action Abortion
Susan R. Estrich and Kathleen M. Sullivan, Abortion Politics: The Case for theRight to Privacy
James Bopp, Jr. and Richard E. Coleson, Abortion on Demand Has No Constitutionalor Moral Justification