Quiz 1 & 2
Some critics say the very wealthy—the top _____ percent—have stripped the people of money and influence
1
Today, approximately _____ percent of Americans trust the national government "to do the right thing most of the time."
24
More than ___ percent of all federal government spending goes to just four programs.
61
One typical poll showed that nearly _____ of the respondents agreed that Congress was "out of touch with average Americans," yet a year later more than _____ of House and Senate incumbents won reelection, most by large majorities.
80 percent; 90 percent
Which of the following can be considered an institutional mechanism in politics?
All of these choices may be considered institutional mechanisms in politics
As _____ left the Constitutional Convention in 1787, a woman stopped him. "What kind of government have you given us?" she asked. He responded, "A republic, madam—if you can keep it."
Benjamin Franklin
Why do most democracies give power to representatives rather than directly to citizens?
Bringing large numbers of citizens together for discussions and votes is difficult. Decisions may require specialized knowledge not possessed by the average citizen. Discussion of political issues takes more time than most people are willing to spend.
_____ theory argues that real control lies with the millions of men and women who carry out the day-to-day operations of modern government while establishing policy without the input of most Americans.
Bureaucratic
_____ refers to people joining with others to achieve some goal.
Civil society
Locke says this is the first and fundamental act of society
Constitution
2. Hobbes believes that this form of government would be best
Dictatorship
Locke believes the powers of government should be
Divided
1. Hobbes took his ideas about man in the state of nature from his experience in the
Glorious Revolution
The concept of democracy was initially defined centuries ago in ancient
Greece
5. Which political Philosopher said that life in a state of nature is "solitary, poore, nasty, brutish, and short."
Hobbes
. Which philosopher's writings most closely resemble United States' political writings?
Locke
A popular election is the primary mechanism for democratic government in which model?
Majoritarian model
What rules govern the use of referenda at the federal level?
No provisions exist for the use of referenda at the federal level.
According to Locke, If the government is not doing what society says it should, i.e. preserving life, liberty etc. the people have the right to
Overthrow it
. Locke would describe that man in the state of nature has ______________ while Hobbes believes man in the state of nature has______________
Perfect freedom/Conflict
3. What is the most important function of government according to Hobbes?
Political Stability/Peace
According to Locke, the reason for men to leave the state of nature is for
Preservation of all three
_____ theory holds that all political outcomes—elections, the passage of a law, even mass rallies—are the aggregate of the public's individual interests.
Rational-choice
Locke believes people base their decisions on
Reason
4. Hobbes and Locke are considered to be what kind of political theorists?
Social Contract
. Hobbes believes that governmental powers should be
Unified in one institution
Your book addresses four questions throughout: _____
Who governs? How does American politics work? What does American government do? Who are we?
Elite theory claims power is located in _____.
a small number of wealthy and powerful individuals
An individual can engage within our political system by _____.
all of the above
Compared to previous generations, millennials show less interest in _____. a. government service
all of the above
Studies show that members of Generation Y (millennials) are more inclined to _____ than their predecessors.
all of the above
The principle of _____ ensures that each branch of government has the authority to block the other branches.
checks and balances
According to social movement theory, the real power in American politics lies in _____. a. federal government employee uprisings/movements
citizen uprisings/movements
In a system of participatory democracy,
citizens govern themselves, without electing representatives
The basic standard of substantive democracy is that government must guarantee
civil rights and liberties
When you join a group or activity, you are participating in "_____," the basic building block of strong democracy.
civil society
Locke's preferred Form of government would be
democracy
Suppose that top government jobs for both political parties are filled only from an inner circle of top corporate leaders. This would be evidence for
elite theory
Experiments repeatedly show that people tend to vote for the name that appears ____ on a list of candidates, especially in elections for obscure offices.
first
Supreme Court justices are appointed to serve _____.
for life
According to the text, politics can be defined as _____.
how a society makes its collective decisions
Laws, according to Locke, should
i,ii,iii,iv
Sparked by police shootings in 2015, the Black Lives Matter movement called for equality, _____, and empowerment.
inclusion
A citizen's group gathers enough signatures on a petition to force a popular vote on a statewide lottery proposal. This proposal would represent a(n)
initiative
An organized group that seeks to influence government policy is called a(n)
interest group
According to pluralist theory, _____ influence the government.
interest groups
A democracy is a system of government that rests governing power in _____.
its people, who may rule directly or via representatives
An important problem with the procedural view of democracy is that it can clash with
minority rights
An autocracy is a political system ruled by
one individual.
In a republic, the _____ is/are in charge.
people
The text suggests that the United States fulfills the ________ model quite well.
pluralist
Whereas majority rule is defined as decision making by 50 percent plus one person, _________ is defined as decision making by most participants.
plurality rule
A country abiding by the principle "one man, one vote" is practicing
political equality.
Who gets what, when, and how is a classic definition of _____.
politics
According to the ____________ view of democracy, anti-gay marriage laws are democratic.
procedural
An election on a public policy issue is called a(n)
referendum
The Supreme Court recently ruled that laws forbidding _____ violated the Fourteenth Amendment.
same-sex marriage
According to the text, in the past few years, there has been ________ in the number of democracies around the world.
slight decline
Suppose a majority of Congress passes a law to permit organized prayer in public schools and the Supreme Court declares that the Constitution forbids this rule; this would be an example of
substantive democracy
The idea that all adults within the boundaries of a political community should be allowed to vote is known as
universal participation