PSCI Study guide for final

Which statement explains why government bureaucracies tend to become influential interest groups?

Bureaucrats in specialized agencies have a major role in crafting legislation.

The amount of money currently spent on lobbying the federal government is roughly

9 billion

The National Rifle Association generally supports __________ candidates.

Republican

For interest groups to function properly, there must be

an educated citizenry

Interest groups in the United States tend to over-represent

business interests

A government-created interest group is one that results from

creation of a government program or bureaucracy

Which of these is an example of two distinct interest groups working for the same cause?

fiscal conservatives and business owners both opposing minimum wage hikes

An interest group whose membership is dominated by retired persons is most likely to lobby

for an expansion of Medicare benefits

Tocqueville noted that Americans are unusually fond of

forming associations

In order to prevent interest groups from influencing politics, it would be necessary to curtail their

freedom of expression

A strong state is necessary for a healthy interest group environment because strong states have

high levels of economic achievement

Government programs tend to be difficult to cut back or eliminate in the United States because

interest groups lobby to protect their benefits

Political parties differ from interest groups because parties

must win elections to influence policy

In a weak state, interest groups

often include powerful criminal gangs

Which term describes a democratic system where all kinds of people with different opinions and values compete to influence government policy?

pluralist

Which group has the most influence over politics in the United States?

wealthy individuals

The trend toward negative advertising in political campaigns is spurred in by

the use of soft money

Which statement describes how France differs from the United States with respect to the interest group system?

French interest groups operate in a more constrained atmosphere.

Which of these is a potential problem of corporatism?

It could undermine the good of society.

Which statement expresses a normative element of pluralism?

The government should support competition and interaction among interest groups.

Which of these statements describes the theory of countervailing power?

The influence of interest groups tends to balance out because groups emerge on both sides of any issue.

In which of these ways is a pluralist most like the role an interest group plays in society?

They require regulation to function properly.

Rousseau influenced French attitudes toward pluralism by arguing that

the general will was more important than particular wills