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