Sociology quiz 10: Economy and politics

18. The formal organization that directs the political life of a society is

government.

64. Conservatives claim that relatively low voter turnout is mostly a sign of

indifference on the part of many people who are fairly satisfied with the way things are.

52. Which concept refers to networks of people who serve as directors of several corporations at the same time?

interlocking directorate

Which political position calls for reforms based on the claim that our political and economic systems benefit some more than others?

liberal

Which concept refers to the efforts of special-interest groups and their representatives to influence government officials?

lobbying

41. You probably approve of the operation of WalMart if you support

pure capitalism.

61. Critics say that our system of campaign financing

puts the U.S. political system up for sale.

According to which political perspective would efforts to reform the capitalist political economy have little effect because fundamental economic and political change is needed?

radical left

According to which political position does the capitalist economy concentrate wealth in the hands of the few and the government serve the interests of the capitalist elite?

radical left

Generally speaking, the farther to the left one moves on economic issues, the more one

favors government control of the economy.

Which political model is an analysis of the political system that sees power as widely distributed among various groups and organizations in a society?

the pluralist model

66. One important reason that voter turnout in many other high-income nations is higher than in the United States is that

the political parties of other nations are further apart on a wider political spectrum.

23.According to Scottish economist Adam Smith,

the pursuit of self-interest has widespread benefits by producing the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

26.In a socialist economy,

there is a collective orientation, teaching people to be motivated by serving the common good.

For radicals on the left, the solution to capitalism's concentration of wealth and power is

to bring an end to capitalism itself.

Which of the following would be considered a part of the power elite?

top military officials

According to Robert Dahl's pluralist model, organizations expect to realize some of their own goals, but mostly they work to keep their opponents from achieving their goals. Therefore, organizations operate as

veto groups.

31. In Western European nations, including Italy, France, and Sweden, which political and economic system is common?

welfare capitalism

32. Which type of system has a mostly market economy along with extensive government social programs, paid for by high taxes, that provide child care, housing, and medical care for the entire population?

welfare capitalism

87. Which concept refers to a range of policies and programs that transfer wealth from the rich to the poor and provide benefits to needy members of society?

welfare state

65. Liberals and radicals on the left argue that low voter turnout reflects

widespread alienation from politics on the part of people who are dissatisfied, but doubt that voting will make a difference.

In the 2008 presidential election,

women were slightly more likely to vote than men were.

63. In 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution extended the vote to

women.

33. In the United States, about what share of the gross domestic product is carried out in the privately owned sector of the economy?

81

20.Capitalism is an economic system in which natural resources and the means of producing goods and services are

privately owned.

The domination of an entire market by a single company is referred to as

a monopoly.

Which of the following statements is correct?

Both conservatives and liberals try to use the power of government, but for different goals.

The power-elite model is primarily connected with the work of

C. Wright Mills.

22.The French term laissez-faire, sometimes used to describe a free-market environment of capitalism, literally means

"leave it alone."

57. A 2010 Supreme Court decision (Citizens Unitedv.Federal Election Commission) paved the way forthe creation of

"super-PACs."

In the 2012 presidential election, the Obama-Biden and Romney-Ryan campaigns together spent about how much money in their efforts to win the election?

$1 billion

African American men were granted the right to vote in

1870.

59. In 2012, there were about how many political action committees (PACs) in the United States?

4,700

Although 80 percent of people earning more than $100,000 per year reported voting in the 2008 presidential election, what share of people earning less than $10,000 did the same?

49 percent

16. About what share of registered voters actually voted in the 2008 presidential election?

63 percent

24.Who was the economist who claimed that the pursuit of self-interest has widespread benefits by producing the greatest good for the greatest number of people?

Adam Smith

30.The system called "state capitalism" is common in which global region?

Asia

African Americans and white people were about equally likely to vote in the 2008 presidential election.

FALSE

All economic activity in the United States takes place in the private sector.

FALSE

Liberals provide less support for the welfare state than conservatives do.

FALSE

Monopoly is the domination of a market by a small number of producers.

FALSE

Socialist economic systems are sometimes called laissez-faire systems.

FALSE

The gender gap refers to the fact that men are much more likely to vote than women.

FALSE

28. Which of the following statements about socialism is correct?

In practice, socialist nations have less economic inequality than capitalist nations.

The political economy model is primarily connected with the work of

Karl Marx.

Which political model is an analysis that sees the concentration of wealth and power in society as resulting from capitalism?

Marxist political-economy model

Which scholar helped develop the pluralist model of power?

Robert Dahl

39. Which of the following countries is currently ruled by a monarchy?

Saudi Arabia

About 81 percent of the gross domestic product of the United States takes place within the private sector.

TRUE

As you move right on the political spectrum, you wish to have a larger share of economic production in the market.

TRUE

Capitalism is an economic model in which productive property is privately owned.

TRUE

Marxist political-economy theory sees a concentration of wealth and power resulting from capitalism.

TRUE

Robert Dahl developed pluralist theory.

TRUE

The ACLU or the NRA are examples of special-interest groups.

TRUE

The largest 100 corporations are responsible for most corporate production in the United States.

TRUE

The military-industrial complex refers to the control of the economy and military by the U.S. government.

TRUE

The radical left considers reform of the political and economic system as an inadequate solution to this country's lack of true democracy.

TRUE

62. In which of the following states has voter turnout been below 50 percent of eligible voters?

Texas, a state with a large Hispanic population.

43. The world's largest corporate retailer is

WalMart.

PepsiCo makes Pepsi soft-drink products and also owns Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, Frito-Lay, and other snack and fast food companies. For this reason, PepsiCo is correctly described as a

a conglomerate.

According to the pluralist model,

almost all people and almost all organizations have at least some political voice.

21.In a capitalist system,

an economic market is based on competition in which people buy and sell goods and services according to economic forces of supply and demand

Assume a member of the Kodak Corporation's board of directors also serves on the boards of other camera manufacturers, such as Nikon and Fuji. This pattern would illustrate the operation of

an interlocking directorate.

37. Because Iran and Saudi Arabia offer their people little voice in politics, their political systems are correctly characterized as

authoritarian.

36. Which type of political system, by definition, denies popular participation in government?

authoritarianism

34. According to Karl Marx,

capitalism's private ownership of productive property allows an elite to dominate society.

Which concept refers to a giant corporation composed of many smaller corporations?

conglomerate

According to which political position are politics and the economy not problems: the economy is highly productive and the political system is based on elections in which individuals vote?

conservative

Which political position claims that U.S. society is largely democratic?

conservative

Which political position claims that our system provides important rights to almost everyone and has increased the share of the population involved in politics for more than two centuries?

conservative

Which of the following categories of people face legal barriers to voting?

convicted felons

40. Which concept refers to businesses with a legal existence, including rights and liabilities apart from those of their members?

corporation

35. Which concept refers to a political system in which power is exercised by the people as a whole?

democracy

Which of the following concepts refers to the close association of the federal government, the military, and defense industries?

military-industrial complex

As he prepared to leave office in 1961, President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave a farewell address in which he warned the country of the growing power of what he called the

military-industrial complex.

38. In which type of political system does a single family rule from generation to generation?

monarchy

42. Together, the largest 100 corporations in the United States are responsible for what share of corporate production?

more than half

67. In the United States, people most likely to vote include

older people.

Which concept refers to the domination of a market by a few companies?

oligopoly

In the United States, the manufacture of breakfast cereal is dominated by Kellogg's, General Mills, and General Foods, which together control 90 percent of all sales. This is an illustration of

oligopoly.

58. Which concept refers to organizations formed by special-interest groups to raise and spend money in support of political goals?

political action committees (PACs)

17.What is the social institution that guides a society's collective decision-making process?

politics

Which political model sees power as concentrated among a small elite?

power elite model

In the final decades of the nineteenth century during the Industrial Revolution, a small number of individuals built enormous corporations that dominated whole new industries. These people came to be known as

robber barons

25.Which type of economic system places natural all resources and the means of producing goods and services under collective ownership?

socialism

27. The idea of socialism arose partly as a

solution to the problems of capitalism.

54. Which concept refers to political alliances of people interested in some economic or social issue?

special-interest group

55. The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) and the National Rifle Association (NRA) are both examples of

special-interest groups

29. Which type of economic system has government working closely with large, privately owned companies?

state capitalism

60.The 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, also called the McCain-Feingold bill,

states that soft money can no longer flow directly to candidates or political parties.

The pluralist model is most closely associated with which theoretical approach?

structural functional

In the United States

the economic activity of corporations is far greater than that of government.

19.The social institution that organizes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services is

the economy.