AP gov chapter 1
Today, a primary source of legitimate political authority in the United States is the
US constitution
The sociologist __________ argued that American democracy is dominated by a small "power elite."
c wright mills
__________ politics is a policy in which one small group benefits and almost everybody pays.
client
Pork-barrel legislation is an example of this type of politics.
client politics
Variants of direct democracy include programs of citizen participation and
community control.
Representative democracy allows individuals to gain political power through
competitive elections
Compared with the 1950s, government's involvement in the everyday lives of American in 1990s is
considerably greater.
Pluralists would emphasize federalism in support of their views of political power.
True
The 1980's marked a time of retrenchment from the belief that government could solve all of our problems.
True
Marx would use the label ____ to identify those who dominated government.
"bourgeoisie"
today the US federal income tax takes an average of what percent of taxpayers income
21%
The federal budget initially proposed for 2016 called for almost __________ trillion dollars inspending.
4
In 1935, ____ of American families paid no federal income tax.
96%
Young Americans are closer to being "political dropouts" than they are to being "engaged citizens."
True
In this type of political meeting, the adult citizens of a community gather in a common area to vote directly on all major issues and expenditures of the town.
A New England town meeting.
Direct democracy is impractical because
All of these choices are correct.
Most people holding national political office are
All of these choices are correct.
The term democracy was original associated with
Aristotle.
For what reason does the book justify representative democracy?
Deciding wisely on issues is impractical and unlikely, but deciding on leaders is possible.
Elite theory is NOT based on the following premise.
Despite their small numbers, those who are active participants in politics generally reflect the types of people in the general population and the viewpoints of most citizens.
Which of the following statements is INCORRECT?
In the 21st Century are about whether the Federal Government has the power to create programs, not how to make programs sustainable over time.
The text suggests that the writings of ____ were a "decisive influence" on the Founders.
John Locke
Democracy was defined as the competitive struggle for people's votes by
Joseph Schumpter
Which of the following statements about political power, or "who governs?" is most accurate?
Most power derives from psychological and social factors such as friendship, loyalty, and prestige.
Which of the following expressed sincere concern that ratification of the Constitution would result in "an immense increase in taxes"?
Patrick Henry
What effect does the national media most likely have on the political agenda?
Publicize issues by giving them most attention
The Framers embraced representative democracy because they saw it as a way of minimizing the chances that power would be abused by a tyrannical popular majority or self-serving officeholders.
True
Which statement best reflects the views of the Framers of the Constitution?
The government should mediate, not mirror, popular views.
The interest on the national debt will be well over $300 billion a year by 2025.
True
Despite advances in technology, most people, especially young people, do not consume much political news.
True
Under what circumstances would majoritarian politics normally NOT be effective?
When an issue is too complicated or technical for most citizens to understand
Which theorist suggested that a coalition of three groups dominates politics and government?
Wright Mills
Karl Marx is associated with the view that elites reflect
a dominant social class
The text suggests that, during the 1950s, the federal government would have taken very little interest in
a factory closing its doors, a profession not accrediting a member, and a university refusing an applicant
A modern example of direct democracy would be citizens
affected by some program participating in its formulation.
In 1787, as the Constitution was being debated, __________ worried that the new government he helped create might be too democratic, while __________ who refused to sign the Constitution, worried that it was not democratic enough.
alexander hamilton, george mason
Of the following, which one affects the political agenda?
all
For representative democracy to work
all choices
In power elite view, which leaders control politics?
all of these choices are correct
The text presents the historical involvement of the US in foreign affairs as
alternating between outward and inward movements.
Hobbes believed the answer to the "all-out-war" that existed in the state of the nature was
an all-powerful government.
In the United States, a person is said to have political __________ if he or she acts in a certain way that is conferred by a law or by a state or national constitution.
authority
Karl Marx argued that governments were dominated by business owners, who he called "__________", until a revolution replaced them with rule by laborers, who he called "__________."
bourgeoisie; proletariat
The pluralist view of political reality emphasizes the ______ of political resources.
decentralization
The text suggests that in the US, no government at any level would be considered legitimate if it were not in some sense
democratic.
The Framers' concerns about direct democracy are well illustrated by the fact that the Constitution
does not feature the word democracy at all.
Samuel P. Huntington argued that morally impassioned elites made most important changes EXCEPT
during normal, business as usual periods
Regarding the role of self-interest in the positions that people take on important issues, it is safest to say that
economic self-interest may be important but is usually not the only guide to people's actions.
One distinctive feature of many European democracies is that very few offices are
elective
Representative democracy is sometimes disapprovingly referred to as the _________ theory of democracy.
elite
__________ politics is a policy in which almost everybody benefits and a small group pays.
entrepreneurial
Many young Americans regularly read newspapers.
false
None of the Founders was particularly concerned about the government being too democratic.
false
Representative democracy requires that most public officials be elected.
false
Safety requirements for automobiles are an example of client politics.
false
The power elite view argues that American democracy is controlled by elected officeholders.
false
At the time of the Constitutional Convention, the view that a democratic government was desirablewas
far from unanimous
Individuals have power when they are able to
get others to do what they want them to do.
The fact that the rich are taxed more heavily than the poor and that amendments that gave voting rights to minorities were passed by large majorities suggests that
government does not always adopt policies that are to the narrow advantage of those who hold political offices.
Formal authority refers to a right to exercise power that is derived from a(n)
governmental office
The term participatory democracy applies most accurately to which of the following societies?
greece in 4th century BC
The financial position of the state and national governments under the Articles of Confederation could be best described as
growing debt at the national level and several states with financial crises.
A policy in which one small group benefits and another small group pays is
interest group politics
The pluralist view of power focuses on a(an)
large number of governmental interests and organized interests.
The trouble with trying to infer the distribution of political power from examining the laws on the books is that
laws may be enacted in a great variety of circumstances.
When the cost and benefits of a policy are narrowly concentrated, they are
limited to a relatively small number of citizens.
A city council representative faces an important vote on how much, if any, money to spend on a new school. The representative relies on a poll of her constituents to make a decision. This is in keeping with the form of politics known as
majoritarian politics
A policy in which almost everybody benefits and almost everybody pays is
majoritarian politics
Democracy in the United States is distinguished from many European democracies by the fact that in the United States,
many more offices are elective.
The bureaucratic view of political elites, which argues that appointed officials dominate government, is associated with
max weber
In our political system, Aristotle's ideal of direct democracy has been most closely approximated by the
new england town meeting
During the 1920s, the federal government was expected to play a small role in our lives. The fact that there was a dramatic change in the expectations from the 1920s to the 1970s suggests that
no simple theory of politics is likely to explain both sets of expectations.
The text argues that political power is inextricably bound with
political purposes.
All of the following are requirements for representative democracy EXCEPT
political resources must be distributed in a roughly equal manner.
The textbook refers to the activity by which an issue is agitated or settled as
politics
The text insists that if we wish to understand power, we must also understand
preferences.
The Founders assumed that representative democracy would
prevent sweeping changes in policy and often proceed slowly
The text notes a tendency for issues that once were _________ to become __________.
private;public
When the Framers of the Constitution wrote "republican form of government," they were referring to
representative form of democracy
By authority, the authors mean the
right to use power.
How did Aristotle define democracy?
rule of the many
The view that morally impassioned elites drive important political changes is associated with
samuel p huntington
According to Tocqueville, Americans are fond of explaining their actions in terms of
self-interest.
Locke argued that the desire for the ____ will lead people to want a government.
self-preservation
The Greek city-state, or polis, did not extend the right to vote to
slaves, women, minors, those without property.
When the cost and benefits of a policy are widely distributed, they are
spread over many, most, or even all citizens.
Current advocates of economic elite-driven political power argue
that class matters less than the power the rich hold through multinational corporations.
In a referendum, citizens express their opinions about issues by means of
the ballot
The authors suggest that ____ is arguably one of the best barometers of changes in who governs.
the policy process
An oligarchy would feature rule by
the rich.
Max Weber might remind an individual who is upset at the prospect of radical change in law and policy following a presidential election that
there are thousands of governmental employees who remain in their jobs before, during, and after such elections and they have a considerable amount of power and discretion.
At one time, it was unconstitutional for the federal government to levy income tax.
true
During the early 1930s, very few American families paid income tax.
true
In the Greek city-state, only property holders were allowed to be citizens.
true
Increasingly, matters once thought to be private are becoming objects of governmental action.
true
Log-rolling is when a legislator supports a proposal favored by another in return for support of his orhers.
true
Marx argued that governments were basically dominated by business owners.
true
Max Weber argued that the modern state is controlled by appointed bureaucrats.
true
One can have political power even if one does not possess formal authority.
true
Pluralists see power as being widely distributed throughout society.
true
Political power is the ability to influence who rules and how rulers behave.
true
Under the Articles of Confederation, the state governments paid very little of the monies requisitioned by the federal government.
true
Today, most people holding national political office are all of the following EXCEPT
upper class
The author cites the early presidential administrations, the Civil War, and the New Deal as examples of struggles over
what constitutes legitimate authority.
