The Inputs of the Political System

Now that you have gained a basis understanding of the US Constitution, structures, and functions of the American political system, we can move on to look at the processes that drive our political system.  All of these processes are the INPUTS that animate the POLITICAL SYSTEM.

POLITICAL SYSTEM

David Easton was the political scientist who developed a broad model of government and politics and called it the POLITICAL SYSTEM.  The political system has five parts.   Inputs, the conversion structures, and outputs make up the core of the system.  Outputs produce feedback which generate new inputs.  This is the dynamic part of the system.  The entire system operates within a broader environment.  There are actually three environments within which each political system operates.  There is the domestic environment, that is the broader social system of society, the international environment, and the natural environment.

Political scientists, who take an holistic view of government and politics, have developed the concept of a political system.  David Easton's model of a political system is visually summarizes below.

   DAVID EASTON'S MODEL OF A POLITICAL SYSTEM

___________________________________________________________
|                                                          |
|               __________________                         |
|               /       2.       /                         |
|               /  CONVERSIOON   /                         |
|               /      or        /                         |
| 1.  INPUT---> /  DECISION-     /--->---3.> OUTPUT        |
|   /  demands  /    MAKING      /          /governmental  |
|   /  supports /    STRUCTURES  /          /   policies   |
|   /          /________________ /          /   and laws   |
|   /                                       /              |
|   /                                       /              |
|   /         4.   F E E D B A C K          /              |
|   / <-----------------<-------------------/              |
|                                                          |
|             5. E N V I R O N M E N T                     |
|                  a.           domestic environment                |
|                  b.           international environment           |
|                                        c.           natural environment                 |
|__________________________________________________________|

INPUTS

The Web pages nested below this look at the Input structures of the political system.

The Schmidt text deals with these Inputs in Part III labelled "People and Politics."  Part III is divided into six chapters as follows:

Chapter 6:  Public Opinion and Political Socialization
Chapter 7:  Interest Groups
Chapter 8:  Political Parties
Chapter 9:  Voting and Elections
Chapter 10:  Campaigning for Office
Chapter 11:  The Media and Cyberpolitics

These chapters could be arranged in a different order but reading these chapter headings gives a flavor of what is meant by the Inputs of the Political System.

My own lectures and the Web Pages below arrange the material in the following order

Updated January 17, 2011
Copyright Dr. Harold Damerow
Senior Professor of Government and History
Union County College
Cranford, NJ 07016