SOC SCI H1F Lecture 1: soccorewk1lec1
Document Summary
People may be in it for themselves. Robespierre -> felt it was good to kill political enemies. Human beings need external structures or restrictions in order to behave well, cooperate, & thrive. Constraints built up organically in local communities. Leader in government need to be subjected to checks & balanced. Constitution written with constrained view in mind -> institutes checks & balances between the three branches of government. If social conditions right, anything is possible. Government should be run by group of elites who value country over their own personal interests. If we screw up -> likely fault of environmental conditions. Raises question of what people are really like. African american people were rioting & breaking into stores. Raised issue of what happens when people are unleashed. Many stores owned by asian americans who had guns & shot at rioters. Police intervened, most of which were caucasian. What the book neighbors is all about.