Abstract
The creation of public goods is a concomitant with constructing a primary, terminal self-identity community whose authorities in the form of the government the modal member of the public grants legitimacy. Those authorities have the rhetorical and persuasive leadership capacity to create authoritative institutions and policies. The recognition of those goods as public signifies that the modal member of the public functionally views the output of the policy making process as morally acceptable. Such an observer functionally views the policy’s utilitarian distribution of resources within polity and society as representing the public interest. By serving the public interest, the goods distributed are functionally accepted as public goods. The policies reinforce the common welfare, the public interest. Public health is one of these public goods. The issue of public goods is intimately related to the authority of the government in regard to the public. The characterization of the political regime characterizes the control relationship between the authorities and the public. Generating public goods is uniquely problematic for each polity due to their unique dynamic constellation of values, attitudes and norms that are systemically interrelated. Effective legitimation public performance requirements by state authority figures vary across polities. Effective maintenance of control over and mobilization of societal resources constitutes effective leadership. The legacy of colonial racism interacts with American congressionalist protestant sectarianism to react negatively to central government control. It tends toward legitimation in terms of the national security state, including the carceral component. It derives from threats to control over enslaved people.
Presenters
Benedict Edward DeDominicisProfessor of Political Science, School of International Studies, Catholic University of Korea, Gyeonggido [Kyonggi-do], South Korea
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
American Exceptionalism, Anthropocene, Hegemony, Legitimacy, Public Goods
