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Running Head: POLITICAL SCIENCE THEMES 0

Political Science Themes

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Idealism Vs Realism

Idealism is anchored on the visualization of ideas based on how one wishes them to be. Therefore the idealization is visionary and based on imagination. However, with realism, the articulation of ideas is mainly anchored on perceiving things as they are in the real life context. The actors under realism and realism and idealism they both enjoy equally in aspect oof presentation of the political interests (Crawford, 2015). However, the difference comes in the variation of benefits. The realist's ideas on Marijuana push through the conviction that the notion of legalization of marijuana is a failure in the United States of America. The idea may seem good, but it’s a reflection of the failure of the government to fight drugs. The spread of the legalization of Marijuana has led to the need for adjustment of the US drug policy. However, the idealists depict that legalization of the drug, are based on fantasy world whereby their arguments are not solid. Some of the rationality include that weed is safer than alcohol, marijuana can kill cancer cells, it is less addictive than drinking coffee. However, they don’t get into the reality that it is a drug and harmful to the health of the users.

Utopias, Theories, and Ideologies

In the government, the Utopias are given high preference as they are believed to have a place of ideal perfection in the social conditions, the law and the government. The utopian activists are more oriented on the principles of equality in government, justice, and economics and thus they advocate that legalization of marijuana will bring all the economic benefits through increased taxation of industry, the users will not suffer the problem of using contaminated marijuana and easy availability to the users will help reduce the addictive behaviors. Ideologies hold a close relationship with the utopia, and thus they should be analyzed together. The ideas are presented as the manifestations of the socialist, the conservatism, anarchism, and liberalism. There are critical relationships between the variables where every doctrine contains a utopia. Both ideologists and the Utopians hold ideas which are closely linked to a state of reality that the legalization of weed will alleviate the social well-being of the society in respect to leisure and improvement of economic welfare (Kelsen, 2014). Theoretical perspectives are analyzed based on the current issue, and they show a reflection of highly researched ideologies which have been proven but they are subject to criticism. The expression of utopianism is present by the imagination of better societies where they hold that if the drug is legal, the society is more well off than if it's illegal. It is important to identify that equity has been highly idealized, and theories explain on its possibility. However, equity is just an imagination, and it can never be achieved.

Anarchy, Security, and Group Dynamics

Anarchy presents an idealized world full of disorder, chaos, and conflicts due to lack of the supreme authority. In international relations anarchy portrays weakness due to the dilemma of security (Sandal, 2013 ). The anarchists advocate that the legalization of weed will help bring together groups from different ethnics especially the youths and fight the discriminative attitudes. The security dilemma under anarchy system of leadership strives to ensure the level of safety in the nation is heightened. The legalization probes a question of whether it will promote high rates of criminality or not. Therefore, the military strength is strengthened and formation of alliances to help enhance the security of the country. Anarchy can on higher level contribute to group dynamics which can threaten the safety of the country especially if the structure are not anchored on patriotism or development of the nation. The actors if they join up in the context where there is no superior power then it is assuring that the security of the country will be enhanced.

Controlling the Behavior of Individuals

In many contexts of political situations, there are always battles for leadership where the leaders strive to secure the desired position to protect their interests. The fight is resulted by the need for people to achieve their interest in the position of leadership in the organization (Gillen, 2013). The leaders benefit from their position in different capacities as power becomes a tool to access to the majority of the desired resources. For example, through the medical pots government revenue is increased and thus offering a loophole for more income For the leaders maintain power, they work towards maintaining a prominent personality like charisma, generosity, honesty and good will. Most importantly, the leaders in public thus depict a green image that the medical pot is anchored on maximizing the welfare of the sick and bettering the society. The idealization is focused on retaining the power of leadership. The intragroup conflicts are common in any group formation, and they reduce the ability of the members to work together and therefore they are not desirable in leadership.

Rational Choice and the Need for Regulation

Rational choices are presented when the actors tend to choose the set of a bundle that maximizes personal interests. The formulation of the decisions is therefore anchored on maximum benefiting the rational actors (Hoover, 2014). Given a rank and variety of choices, like alcohol, cocaine and other drugs the players, therefore, choose the set that offers an optimal level of satisfaction of personal interests. Therefore, the rational actors tend to show more preference for marijuana due to satisfaction they get, and the side effects about other drugs are considered to be less intense. In an economic situation, a situation of the tragedy of commons will be achieved if the actors all act independently with the intention of maximizing personal interests. The financial systems are diverse for example, communism, socialism, capitalism and command system and they present difference in the ownership of resources in the society.

Structures and Institutions

The government structures constitute the core items or things that the government needs to lead. They are the essential functions that the government ought to fulfill to maximize the welfare of the society. The policy of the government to legalize medical pot is thus driven by the interest of maximization of the well-being of the citizens. For an economy to thrive the definition of the duties of the government should be critically established (Haber, 2015). The political institutions act as the facilitators of the structures as they offer a mechanism on the strategy towards which the actions of the government will be directed. The political systems constitute of the politicians, policy makers and other policy and rulemaking bodies that lay a foundation for the strategy to be adopted in the execution of the policy on the legalization of given drugs. Depending on the system of government the services and the institutions may differ whereby some nations perceive the policy as the promotion of immorality in the society and the failure to fight drugs in the country. In a system of government of democracy, the policy formulation is anchored on the maximization of the welfare of the citizens. The Congress members represent representation of the citizens on whether the drug should be legalized. However, in a dictatorship, the policy formulation process does not put into consideration of the citizens rather the interests of the leader.

Institutions

The idealistic perception mainly governs political institutions such as the executive. Idealism is utilized in the foreign and local policies in a state including the medical pot system. Unrealistic perception in a country extends internationally whereby; international relations are involved in solving problems in a country. For instance, the presidential office of the United States includes other state governments while tackling an issue that affects the United States of America such as the use of marijuana for medical purposes in the country. Idealistic perception of the regulatory institutions is majorly built by the system builders who trigger the foreign policy whereby, the issue of the medical port is solved in the United States but also in other countries(Lebow, 2008). Realism, on the other hand, brings a concern of whether marijuana should be legalized or not. The regulatory systems such bureaucratic institutions are involved in this case to control the commercial market of medical pot. Realism makes the government restrict marijuana under the Schedule 1 drugs.

Imperfection of Institutions

The fault of the political institutions is attributed to the failure of the government to serve its purpose as well as achieving its goals in controlling marijuana consumption in the United States. For example, in 2014, Alaska and Oregon made a follow-up in Colorado and Washington to legalize the smoking pot. The shortcoming of the government may not be transparent to the public until the actions of the Alaska and Oregon are challenged by realistic political intellectuals in the United States of America. The major point where the government failure can be traced is the inability of the marijuana policy in various states due to mismanagement. Proper management of the country by the government prevents such failures. Therefore, imperfections of the governmental institutions are defined by the realism theory as it is the political power that influences various systems such as the medical pot policy of the country. The inefficiencies of the governmental institutions can be highlighted through monitoring by the political intellectuals who mismanage policies such as the marijuana policy. The political systems should be controlled and managed properly as the consequences of the mismanagement leads to adverse effects on the social, health and economic aspects of the public(Greener, 2012).

Courts and Laws

In 1996, citizens in California voted for the legalization of medical pot. The Golden State was hence the active state to legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes. After the state, 28 other districts followed suit and authorized the use of medical pot. In the recent past, 17 states of US have passed the use of THC high cannabidiol in small doses for limited situations where patients require the treatment and also for the legal purposes. The law and the courts of the United States protect the medical agencies from the fines which charged to use of marijuana criminally. The medical institutions are protected by the law when they cultivate medical pot for use in dispensaries, and they are allowed to use various species of marijuana for medical purposes. However, the federal law categorizes marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug under the Controlled Substance Act. President Obama in 2009 stated in a memo that the people who distribute cannabis for medical purposes should not be victimized. However, in 2013, the department of justice in the US declared that marijuana remains illegal under the federal law(Owens, 2011).

Democratic Ideal in the modern society

Arrows theorem is usually applied to the types of the government adopted in the country, and more importantly, the theory is used to challenge the democratic government. According to the arrow’s theorem, there is no perfect voting system. For example, voting of cannabis legalization among the 29 stated democratic but did not consider other factors.However, Arrow describes the conditions that lead to democracy in the country. One of these circumstances is the universal admissibility whereby, each voter is allowed to own a rational preference rather than voting in an idea due to influence of a particular political group. The unanimity condition should also be considered in the voting of issues such as medical pot policy by the public. Finally, Arrow describes that for democracy to be achieved, there should be no dictatorship. However, tyranny is almost inevitable in democratic countries as the voters are left with few choices, and the conditions for fair voting are not maintained. For instance, despite the legalization of medical pot in 29 states, the policy is still illegal under the federal law(Mossel, 2011).

Media, Politics, and Government

Media is an influential platform in which the public perception about the medical pot is manipulated. Mediated reality is often attributed to the advancement of technology and the tendency of the public to depend on the social media as the source of information. The advertisement and the discussion about medical pot on social media affect people mind both positively and negatively. The digital platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are the most powerful services with the highest followers across the world. The public is reactive to various issues such as marijuana policy controversies through social media. The analysis of the national opinion is represented by the reality and the image that is posted about the medical pot in the digital services. Televisions are also majorly used for visual and dramatic models and structure that manipulate people’s view about the use of marijuana for medical and recreational purposes (Nyre, 2016).

TBD

The movement on the medical pot has pivotal cases in the court that have been received over the years. For instance, a case of medical pot was won by landmark victory of Randall among other cases. The government is expected by the public to protect the patients who have been prescribed marijuana for medical reasons. Although the medical agencies have been winning these cases, cannabis is still among the substances in Schedule 1. There have been some legal hindrances in the attempt to reschedule marijuana because common sense is not applied. Legalization of cannabis sativa has been disabled by the government(Brown, 2015).

References

Brown, C. (2015). The good, the bad and the TBD of medical canabis legal decision . Americans for Safe Access , 1-5.

Crawford, R. (2015). Idealism and Realism in International Relations. Routledge .

Gillen, P. (2013). Leadership in the Heat of Battle . Adventure Works Press .

Greener, B. K. (2012). International Policing and International Relations. International Relations , 181-198.

Haber, S. (2015). Political institutions and Financial Development. Oxford University Press .

Hoover, C. (2014). Economic Systems: Rational Choices . SAGE Publishers .

Kelsen, H. (2014). Collective Security Under International Law . Oxford University Press .

Lebow, R. N. (2008). Identiry and International Relations. Institutions , 473-492.

Mossel, E. (2011). A quantitative Arrow theorem. Probability Theory and Related Fields , 49-88.

Nyre, L. (2016). Gunn Enli: Mediated Authenticity. How the Media Contructs Reality. Norsk medietidsskrift , 1-3.

Owens, E. G. (2011). Truthness in Punishment: The Far Reach of Truth-in-Sentencing Laws in State Courts . Journal of Empirical Legal Studies , 239-261.

Sandal, N. (2013 ). Religion in International Relations Theory . Harvard University Press.