So welcome to course number one, module number four. In this module, we're going to explore in depth comparative welfare state. Looking at the issues of the differences between the US welfare state and a number of developed nations in Europe's welfare state, that's also in Canada and Australia. We're going to start the module however, with a conversation about politics and policy. And close the module with developing the point of view in conservatives in the discussion about the welfare state. So let me begin now by talking about policy and politics. So these are two really central parts of the decision making process. Politics has to do with who makes the decisions. And this can be structured by a hereditary monarchy, it can be structured by some sort of a collective decision making like a Vermont town hall. It can be structured by an autocrat who takes power. It can be structured by some sort of democratic voting system where we elect members of Congress, or Senators, or members of Parliament, or all kinds of other pieces. And in this process of giving people the power to make decisions, there's a complicated political, an agreement process that happens. So even a hereditary monarch must maintain the support of their people if their power is going to be real and effective. Policy, on the other hand, is what are the decisions that you make? There's a famous story about an English king who's courtiers were telling him that he was so powerful he could do anything, he was the most amazing king, he was capable of anything. And he was not very impressed by all this flattery. So he asked his court to carry him to the seashore and he ordered the waves not to come in. And as their feet got wet and the tide came in, he looked at them and said, power is different from policy. And that there are things that even the most powerful political leader cannot do. So when we're looking at policy, we're thinking about what works. What are the results of certain kinds of activities? What are the cost of certain kinds of activities? What kind of resources does it bring together to build an activity? So whether we're talking about education or pensions, or income transfer, there are policies that are effective and work. And then there are policies that, whatever the political will is, these policies will not really turn into what was the purpose. So no amount of political will will make a failed policy work. And so when we think about power and politics, anytime we're thinking about, who has the decision? Who's shaping the decisions? But we're also thinking about what are the decisions that that person can make?