AP GOV Ch. 11

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The successes of civil rights and womenʹs rights groups in redirecting the course of public policy, once they were organized, is pointed to as evidence to support the ________ theory that American politics is open and not a problem.

pluralist

Which of the following theories offers the most positive interpretation of the effect of interest groups on American democracy?

pluralist

The idea that interest group activity brings representation to all is associated with

pluralist theory.

One of the main differences between American political parties and interest groups is that

political parties run candidates for office.

A(n) ________ group is composed of all people who might be group members because they share some common interest.

potential

The free-rider problem refers to

potential members of a group failing to join the actual group, as they know they will receive the same benefits whether they are active members or not

The biggest obstacle to the effectiveness of large groups is the

problem of raising funds and attracting government support.

The right of interest groups to organize is

protected by the Bill of Rights

All subgovernments have the same goal

protecting their self-interest.

According to the text, one of the most common function of lobbyists is to

provide information and ideas to members of Congress

A single-issue group is one that is all of the following EXCEPT

organizes on the national level only.

Right-to-work laws ________ the union shop.

outlaw

According to ________ theorists, interest groups compete and counterbalance one another in the political marketplace.

pluralist

An example of a collective good is

clean air.

Which of the following is NOT true about Political Action Committees?

Most PAC money goes to challengers rather than incumbents.

Which of the following groups claims the smallest share of its potential members?

National Consumers League

Which of the following groups has the largest potential membership?

National Organization for Women

Lobbyists provide members of Congress all of the following EXCEPT A) help with accomplishing their legislative goals. B) information. C) campaign strategy and organizational help. D) ideas and innovations. E) None of the above; lobbyists provide all of the above to members of Congress

None of the above; lobbyists provide all of the above to members of Congress

Consumer organizations suffer from

Olsonʹs Law of Large Groups.

Interest groups seeking to exert influence on the electoral process can honestly and openly funnel money into the campaign coffers of their supporters through

PACs

Which of the following ideas is NOT associated with hyperpluralism?

Political power is highly concentrated.

Which of the following is NOT one of the basic interest group strategies in America?

Running candidates for office

Technological improvements in communication have caused interest groups to

Sharply increase in number

________ helps to explain why public interest lobbies have relatively small proportions of actual members.

The free-rider problem

Which of the following statements about interest groups is FALSE? A) The majority of groups now have their headquarters in Washington, D.C. B) There are an enormous number of highly specialized and seemingly trivial groups. C) Almost every group has a staff and publications. D) The growth rate of interest groups has slowed in recent years. E) Groups are more diverse today than in past decades.

The growth rate of interest groups has slowed in recent years.

Which of the following statements about interest groups going public is FALSE?

The public relations of most groups tend to be characterized by hard sell and bias.

According to the text, lobbying works best

on people already committed to the lobbyistʹs policy position.

By 2000, the number of groups listed in the Encyclopedia of Associations was over

20,000

________ enables a group of similarly situated plaintiffs to combine similar grievances into a single suit.

A class action lawsuit

________ are written arguments submitted to the courts in support of one side of a case

Amicus curiae briefs

________ theorists are impressed by how insignificant most organized interest groups are

Elitist

_______ is a communication by someone other than a citizen acting on his or her own behalf, directed to a government decision maker, particularly in the legislative and executive branch, with the hope of influencing his or her decision.

Lobbying

Which of the following statements is FALSE? A) With proportional representation systems, all it takes is between one and five percent of the vote for a party to win seats in the national legislature. B) In many Scandinavian countries, farmersʹ parties have long been in existence. C) Many new interest groups in Europe have formed parties on the basis of shared values. D) Green parties in Europe have never been able to win enough votes to enter the national legislature. E) Parties are more like interest groups in Europe than in the U.S.

Green parties in Europe have never been able to win enough votes to enter the national legislature

Three basic strategies employed by interest groups are all of the following EXCEPT

Implementation

Interest group liberalism is associated with which of the following criticisms?

In an effort to please and appease every interest, agencies proliferate, conflicting regulations expand, programs multiply, and the budgets skyrocket.

Which of the following statements is FALSE? A) In the American economy, government directly determines wages, prices, and profits. B) Public policy in America has economic effects through regulations, tax advantages, subsidies and contracts, and international trade. C) Even a minor change in government regulatory policy can cost industries a great deal or bring increased profits. D) How the tax code is written determines whether people and producers pay a lot or a little of their incomes to the government. E) B and D only

In the American economy, government directly determines wages, prices, and profits.

A ʺcommunication by someone other than a citizen acting on his or her own behalf, directed to a governmental decision maker with the hope of influencing his or her decisionʺ is a definition of

Lobbying

Which of the following is NOT typical of American interest groups?

They run their own slate of candidates for office in many parts of the country.

All people who might be group members because they share some common interest make up

a potential group.

Elitist views of interest groups emphasize that

a system of interlocking directorates reinforces the power of the few dominant groups

An amicus curiae brief is

a written argument submitted to the courts in support of one side of a case

The ________ theorists argue that the power of the few is fortified by an extensive system of interlocking directorates, and that wealthy corporations prevail when it comes to major decisions by government.

elitist

Single-issue group politics has been especially emotional over the issue of

abortion

Steve Sovernʹs LASTPAC and Common Cause

agree that all candidates and officeholders should not accept money from political action groups.

A pluralistic interpretation of interest group politics would maintain that

all legitimate groups can affect public policy by means of one political resource or another

An organization of people with similar policy goals entering the political process to try to achieve those aims is called

an interest group.

The term interest group can be generally defined as

an organization of people with similar policy goals entering the political process to try to achieve those aims.

American political parties differ from interest groups in that parties

are policy generalists.

Most PAC money goes overwhelmingly to incumbents because incumbents

are the most likely to be able to return the investment.

Economic groups

are those groups interested in wages, prices, and profits.

Right-to-work laws are most strongly supported by

business groups

Elite theorists emphasize the power of

business leaders.

Flight attendants won a(n) ________ against the airline industryʹs regulation that all stewardesses had to be unmarried.

class action lawsuit

Subgovernments are composed of key interest group leaders interested in policy X, the government agency in charge of administering policy X, and the ________ handling policy X.

congressional committees and subcommittees

Amicus curiae briefs

consist of written arguments submitted to the courts in support of one side of a case.

According to the text, the least effective activity of lobbyists in Congress is

converting members of congress to the lobbyists' postion

Class action lawsuits

enable a group of similarly situated plaintiffs to combine similar grievances into a single suit

Many interest groups involve themselves in ________ to help get those they consider to be the right people into office or to keep them there.

electioneering

Political Action Committees are primarily a means used by interest groups for

electioneering

The idea that just a few groups have all the power is associated with

elite theory.

Which of the following is NOT one of the major elements of the subgovernment system at the national level?

federal court

In many countries with multiparty systems and proportional representation, interest groups

frequently win some seats in the national legislature.

Literally, amicus curiae means

friend of the court

The text identifies two types of lobbyists,

full-time employees and consultants.

Interest group liberalism refers to

governmentʹs excessive deference to interest groups.

The group theory of politics offered by pluralist theorists argues all of the following EXCEPT

groups are all of equal strength.

According to the group theory of politics,

groups do not play by the rules of the game.

A hyperpluralist interpretation of group politics would maintain that

groups have become so powerful that government ends up aiding every possible interest.

The free-rider problem refers to the difficulty of

groups in organizing all their potential members.

Interest group liberalism is criticized especially by ________ theorists

hyperpluralist

The criticism that government refuses to make tough choices between X or Y, instead pretending there is no need to choose and trying to favor both is most often made by ________ theorists

hyperpluralist

The idea that too many groups are getting too much of what they want is associated with

hyperpluralist theory

The presence and power of multinational corporations illustrates

hyperpluralist theory

Single-issue groups

include members with narrow, uncompromising interests.

According to James Madison in Federalist Paper No. 1, the way to prevent any one group from having too much power is to

increase the scope and number of groups.

Political action committee (PAC) money goes overwhelmingly to

incumbents

An advantage of single-issue groups is their

intensity.

Which of the following is NOT a way in which a lobbyist can help a member of Congress?

introducing legislature into congress

One of the major inducements of the American interest group system is that it

is biased toward the wealthy

Pluralists argue that lobbying

is open to all and is therefore not to be regarded as a problem

According to Mancur Olson, small interest groups generally are ________ compared to all other groups.

less focused

The most successful tactic that civil rights and environmental groups have used to influence policy is

litigation

In Europe, interest groups

often form political parties.

The union shop

requires new employees to join the union representing them.

The union shop

requires that all employees in a unionized business join the union.

Since the 1960s, the number of interest groups has

risen rapidly

A ʺcollective goodʺ refers to

something of value that benefits both the actual and potential members of a group.

The case involving Eli Lilly and Company illustrates how

special interestsʹ campaign contributions can influence congressional action

Interest group liberalism is promoted by

subgovernments.

The hyperpluralist complaint that interest group politics creates subgovernments refers to

the cooperative efforts of group leaders, government agencies, and members of congressional committees and subcommittees to promote special interests.

The pluralist theory of American politics maintains that

the extensive organization of competing groups is evidence that influence is widely dispersed among them

Elitist theorists argue that

the fact that there are numerous groups proves nothing, because most groups are extremely unequal in power.

According to Mancur Olson

the larger the group, the further it will fall short of providing an optimal amount of a collective good.

According to Olsonʹs Law of Large Groups,

the larger the group, the further it will fall short of providing an optimal amount of a collective good.

Part of Olsonʹs Law of Large Groups is the argument that

the larger the potential group, the less likely potential members are to contribute

According to Olsonʹs Law of Large Groups, A) the larger the group, the more effective it will be. B) the smaller the group, the more effective it will be. C) the size of a group does not determine its effectiveness, the leadership structure is the key. D) all groups have a life cycle of birth, growth, maintenance, and decline, although many never decline completely. E) large groups are more democratic.

the smaller the group, the more effective it will be.

An advantage for small groups is that

there is more at stake for each member, making it easier to organize and activate all members

In ʺgoing publicʺ interest groups

use advertising and public relations to enhance their image.

Interest group liberalism holds that

virtually all pressure group demands are legitimate, and the job of government is to advance them all.

An interest group is more likely to form its own political party where

voters choose their legislators using proportional representation


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