A New Design for California Politics

Published date01 September 1960
DOI10.1177/106591296001300310
Date01 September 1960
AuthorJohn A. Vieg
Subject MatterArticles
692
A
NEW
DESIGN
FOR
CALIFORNIA
POLITICS
JOHN
A.
VIEG*
Pomona
College
and
the
Claremont
Graduate
School
OTHING
SHARPENS
THE
WITS
of
politicians
like
long
years
of
de-
t~~j
feat
and
denial,
especially
when
they
have
reason
to
believe
that
their
losses
are
due
in
considerable
measure
to
built-in
advantages
enjoyed
by
their
opponents.
Ever
since
the
depression,
but
particularly
since
the
election
of
Governor
Warren
in
1942,
the
Democrats
of
California
have
nursed
a
feeling
that
in
several
ways
the
very
architecture
of
state
politics
has
been
designed
against
them
and
in
opposition
to
liberal
policies
and
programs.
During
their
pro-
longed
fighting
and
waiting
to
gain
the
seals
of
office,
many
of
them
wondered
how
to
set
things
right
when
they
should
come
to
power,
and
now
that
&dquo;Pat&dquo;
Brown
has
led
them
to
victory
under
the
banner
of
&dquo;responsible
liberalism,&dquo;
the
public
is
getting
a
chance
to
see
what
they
think
ought
to
be
done.
FIVE-FOLD
STANDARD
Some
dozen
or
two
proposals
for
political
reform
have
been
dropped
into
the
hopper
at
Sacramento
since
January,
1959.
Several
of
these
gear
into
each
other
so
well
as
to
suggest
that
they
are
parts
of
a
well-articulated
design
based
on
a
generally
accepted
philosophy.
This
may or
may
not
be
the
case
but
in
any
event
it
should
be
useful
to
try
to
formulate
a
set
of
standards
by
which
all
such
proposals
could
fairly
be
judged,
for
many
Californians
are
today
think-
ing
harder
than
ever
about
the
essentials
of
an
equitable
and
responsible
political
system.
Only
by
examining
every
suggested
change
in
relation
to
an
ideal
system
would
it
be
possible
to
decide
whether
a
particular
proposal
would
lead
to
im-
provement.
It
is
not
the
purpose
of
this
paper,
however,
to
offer
an
exhaustive
analysis
of
that
kind,
but
simply
to
define
and
explain
what
criteria
should
be
borne
in
mind
as
various
architectural
alternatives
are
examined
and
appraised.
In
terms
of
master
principles
the
political
machinery
of
a
democratic
re-
public
ought
to
embody
five
prime
standards:
liberty,
equity,
clarity,
economy,
and
responsibility.
Each
deserves
a
word
of
explanation.
As
to
liberty,
it
must
ever
constitute
the
first
standard
by
which
proposals
for
political
reform
should
be
measured.
The
essence
of
the
matter
is
this:
will
the
suggested
change
guarantee
and,
if
possible,
reinforce
the
freedom
of
the
individual
to
make
his
maximum
contribution
to
the
common
good,
or
to
put
the
point
negatively,
will
it
have
an
adverse
effect
upon
his
freedom?
Equity
probably
deserves
second
consideration.
The
vital
question
here
is
whether,
on
the
basis
of
race,
religion,
color
or
any
other
factor
beyond
human
control,
a
proposal
would
confer
a
differential
advantage
on
any
citizen
or
group
of
citizens
or,
alternatively,
would
decrease
or
eliminate
existing
differentials?
Clarity
may
not
deserve
third
place
*The
author
acknowledges
with
gratitude
his
indebtedness
to
the
University
of
California
at
Berkeley
for
the
opportunity
to
study
current
developments
in
California
politics
while
serving
as
Visiting
Legislative
Research
Professor
in
its
Department
of
Political
Science
during
the
year
1958-59.

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