1
1. Tragedy of commons is the type of prisoner’s dilemma when the individuals who continuously consume the public good (“commons”) then eventually destroy it if the exploitation is not controlled. Two examples of the tragedy of commons discussed in the course book are the following: The herdsmen analogy and the fishermen example (Pg. 19, 20 The Logic of American Politics, 2018).
First, the analogy is given: few herdsmen are using the common pasture (public good) to feed their cattle. When the herdsmen think if they should risk increasing cattle and consequently their income, while having insignificant effect on the pasture, they choose to take a risk continuously. Over time, they increase their herds, but destroy the pasture, which starves their herds and leaves them bankrupt.
Second, the example of fishermen is discussed: Multiple fishermen are chasing after few fish (public good) and collide. None of the fishermen are able to surrender the fish to another, because there is no common agreement that they should. (Here, a common agreement would be a form of system that controls the tragedy of commons).
In both examples, the real life situations are described.
2. The United States Constitution balances the power of federal government in three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. Each branch of American federal government shares the power evenly, because the framers feared that if one branch gains enough power, it would dominate the government and eventually “lead it to tyranny” (Pg. 53, The Logic of American Politics, 2018). The reason why a system of power sharing is more relevant when describing the American system, than the separation of powers, is because the system of checks and balances ensures, that no branch is dominating – “all three branches possess legislative, executive and judicial authority” (Pg. 53, The Logic of American Politics, 2018). An example of a power sharing would be this: the judicial branch can declare presidential acts (executive branch) and the laws (work of legislative branch) unconstitutional, but the executive branch (president) nominates the judges for judicial branch and the legislative branch can denounce the judges appointed by the president (“Checks and Balances – Definition, Examples, Processes.”).
3. In the recent years, the federal government has given the states more independence than it did before. Preemption legislation, which expresses nationalization’s impact on public policy today, allows the federal government to control the public policies in particular fields. Under this policy, the national government designs public policies and implements them with the help of the state governments. In order to induce cooperation from the constitutionally independent states, the government uses two ways “the carrot and the stick”. Carrot consists of financial encouragements or grants and the stick stands for regulations and mandates. These ways encouraged the states to develop and strengthen. Nationalization helped with the growth of state governments, because the private property moves in the control of state government and strengthens it.
4. Civil liberties are the Constitution’s protections of a citizen from the government. It takes into consideration the basic rights and freedoms that are guaranteed to an individual, such as the right to free speech, the right to privacy, right to vote or the right to fair court trial (identified in the Bill of Rights). On the other hand, the civil rights are the rights given by the government to its citizen. These are the rights that protect individuals from unfair treatments in the society, like unfair treatment because of the gender, disability and so on. The difference between the two is that in case of civil rights, the government has to act, whereas in civil liberties the rights are given or guaranteed to an individual from the start. (Pg. 126, The Logic of American Politics, 2018).
5. The fourteenth amendment allows citizenship to the people born in the United States. It also forbids the state from denying any person born in the Unites States from their natural rights: “no state shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without the due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”(Pg. 134, The Logic of American Politics, 2018). In the 19th century, this amendment allowed the slaves to be free citizens and required the state to give equal protection to African Americans. The fourteenth amendment ties to the civil liberties because the civil liberties also protect a citizen from the state power. Today, the fourteenth amendment plays a huge role in protecting American citizens of all minorities.
