BE SURE TO WRITE YOUR NAME ON YOUR ANSWER SHEET!!
IMPORTANT: MAKE ALL ERASURES COMPLETELY - IT IS YOUR
RESPONSIBILITY TO CLEARLY INDICATE YOUR CHOSEN
ANSWER. RESPONSES THAT ARE NOT COMPLETELY ERASED
WILL BE COUNTED AS INCORRECT. THIS EXAM IS WORTH 100
POINTS.
Temple College
Government 2301
Fall, 2000
Exam #1
MULTIPLE CHOICE. INSTRUCTIONS: Answer each of the following
multiple choice questions by marking the letter on your scan-tron form that
corresponds to the BEST response. 55 questions/1.82 points each.
1. GOVERNMENT refers to
a. any group of people involved in politics.
b. only a predetermined set of countries that recognize each other as having legal
power.
c. the structured arrangements in a society that have legitimate authority to impose
binding decisions on the members of society.
d. any person or group of persons who have power but who respect the right of all
people to be free.
2. A(n) __________ government exists when citizens generally recognize the decisions
it makes and the policies it carries out; a(n) _______________ government exists
when it coerces or forces citizens to comply with policy mandates and/or does not
take citizen preferences into account when making policy decisions.
a. authoritarian; dictatorship
b. authoritative; illegitimate
c. authoritative; authoritarian
d. legitimate; illegitimate
3. Which of the following defines POLITICS?
a. “who gets what, when, and how.”
b. “the authoritative allocation of valued things.”
c. “the competitive process engaged in a society to allocate scarce resources and
determine priorities.”
d. All of the above are definitions of politics.
4. The correct answer to question #3 implies that
a. people are in conflict over valued things in society.
b. societies have a set of procedures to resolve the question of “who gets what,
when, and how.”
c. individuals are anti-social.
d. both a and b.
5. According to the Dye text, the tendency of most of us as American citizens, most of
the time, to obey laws out of habit is referred to as
a. habit of practice. b. enforcement compliance. c. habit of compliance.
d. compliant practice.
6. Suppose a city council passed an ordinance in 1990 which prohibits individuals and
businesses from posting signs (i.e., garage sale signs, small business advertising)
on right-of-ways, intersections, street lights, telephone poles, city property, etc.
Because Code Enforcement (the city department responsible for enforcement of
the ordinance) does not have enough manpower, it has not issued a single citation
for violation of the ordinance in seven years. Consequently, these signs are
pervasive around the city. What important principle of public policy does this
example illustrate?
a. Public policies NEVER work.
b. City governments have little authority to make public policy decisions.
c. Public policies are what government intends to do.
d. Public policies consist of decisions AND action - the action of government
determines the content of public policy.
7. Which of the following sets of stages in the policy-making process is listed in the
correct logical order?
a. evaluation, adoption, implementation, formulation, designation
b. formulation, adoption, designation, implementation, evaluation
c. agenda-setting, formulation, adoption, implementation, evaluation
d. agenda-setting, adoption, designation, implementation, evaluation
8. The stage of the policy-making process that involves “choosing an official course of
action from among alternative policy strategies” is
a. implementation. b. designation. c. formulation d. adoption.
9. In which stage of the policy-making process are problem identification (perception)
and priority-setting important activities?
a. agenda-setting b. designation c. adoption d. formulation
10. The U.S. Supreme Court strikes down a law school’s affirmative action admissions
program as unconstitutional. This is an example of which stage of the policy-making
process?
a. implementation. b. designation. c. agenda-setting. d. evaluation.
11. A city health director designs an educational program to inform teenagers about the
dangers of “unprotected sex.” The city council must vote next week whether to fund
the program. This is an example of which stage of the policy-making process?
a. implementation. b. formulation. c. adoption. d. evaluation.
12. Inmates in the Texas Department of Corrections file a class action lawsuit in state
district court in an attempt to force the state to deal with the issue of prison overcrowding. This is an example of which stage of the policy-making process?
a. agenda-setting b. implementation c. adoption d. formulation
13. The board of a Texas school district votes on a proposal to include a course on
moral values in the high school curriculum. This is an example of which stage of the
policy-making process?
a. implementation. b. designation. c. adoption. d. formulation.
14. Which stage of the policy-making process exclusively involves governmental
actors?
a. agenda-setting
b. designation
c. adoption
d. formulation
15. A medical doctor writes an editorial article calling for swifter approval of AIDS drugs
by the Food and Drug Administration. This is an example of which stage of the
policy-making process?
a. implementation. b. designation. c. adoption. d. evaluation.
16. The results of a vote by a city council require that benefits under the city’s health
plan be extended to the “live-in” (unmarried) partners of city employees, irrespective
of sexual orientation. This is an example of which stage of the policy-making
process?
a. agenda-setting b. adoption c. implementation d. designation
17. The set of political values, beliefs, and norms found in a political community which
flow from basic ideological assumptions about human nature, society, and
government is
a. an “ism.” b. an ideology. c. political culture. d. political theory.
18. According to the Dye text, the two most honored values in the American political
culture are the competitive ideals of
a. capitalism and socialism b. freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
c. equality and liberty. D. opportunity and results.
19. Government’s authority to maintain civil order is known as its
a. implied power. b. absolute power. c. police power. d. inherent power.
20. Which of the following stands opposite anarchism on a continuum of governmental
scope?
a. progressivism b. totalitarianism c. conservatism d. capitalism
21. The dominant ideology in American political thought at the time of the founding of
the republic and throughout much of American history has been
a. democratic socialism
b. libertarianism
c. classical liberalism
d. classical conservatism
22. Promoting equality
a. has always been a central purpose of governments.
b. is no longer a vital concern of governments.
c. is the newest or modern purpose of government.
d. is viewed by all ideologies as being outside the reasonable realm of
government’s power.
23. In the United States, we recognize that government must have authority to protect
life and property. To which purpose of government does this refer?
a. maintaining civil order b. promoting equality c. providing public goods
d. maintaining political order
TOTAL
GOVERNMENT
CONTROL
NO
GOVERNMENT
CONTROL
24. In the United States, public political debate generally falls where on the above
continuum of the scope of governmental power?
a. along the full continuum
b. mainly to the left of center
c. mainly to the right of center
d. in the shaded area between the lines
25. TOTALITARIAN as a concept means
a. a government that controls all aspects of the political and social lives of a nation.
b. the condition of having no government and no laws.
c. a system of government in which all political authority is vested in the people.
d. a limited republic where people elect officials to make decisions on their behalf for
a specified period of time.
26. An underlying point of our class discussion of the original and modern dilemmas of
government (order vs freedom and equality vs freedom) is that the perfect provision
of order, equality, and freedom can never take place because
a. no government structure is perfectly designed.
b. some political officials will always be corrupt or incompetent.
c. these three values encompass essentially the same meaning.
d. these three values are inherently in conflict and cannot be simultaneously
provided fully.
27. The U.S. political system is far less efficient at maintaining order than is the People’s
Republic of China because
a. order is not a political value in the United States.
b. the U.S. political system has a low level of legitimacy.
c. liberalism emphasizes individual freedom thereby limiting the government’s scope
of authority to maintain order, while communism places a priority on order over
individual freedom.
d. order cannot exist along with individuality.
28. ANARCHY as a concept means
a. a government that controls all aspects of the political and social lives of a nation.
b. the condition of having no government and no laws.
c. a system of government in which all political authority is vested in the people.
d. a limited republic where people elect officials to make decisions on their behalf for
a specified period of time.
29. Maintaining order
a. is the oldest or original purpose of government.
b. is only recently considered a concern of government.
c. is beyond the normal scope of governmental power from the point of view of
classical liberalism.
d. is central to most empirical theories.
[answer questions #30-35 based on the diagram below]
Order
I
II
Equality
Freedom
III
IV
Freedom
30. Which quadrant of the above matrix of American political thought represents the
strand of liberalism which generally favors government efforts to promote economic
and social equality but wishes to prevent government from interfering with an
individual’s civil liberties [personal decisions]?
a. I
b. II
c. III
d. IV
31. Which of the following would best characterize the strand of American political
thought described in question #30?
a. conservatism b. populism c. libertarianism d. progressivism
32. Which quadrant of the above matrix of American political thought represents the
strand of liberalism which would likely support a school district’s decision to require
courses in traditional moral values as part of the curriculum and support state
regulation of insurance industry practices?
a. I
b. II
c. III
d. IV
33. Which of the following would best characterize the strand of American political
thought described in question #32?
a. conservatism b. populism c. libertarianism d. progressivism
34. Which quadrant of the above matrix of American political thought represents the
strand of liberalism which would likely oppose affirmative action programs to
promote equality in education and employment and support the repeal of laws
criminalizing prostitution?
a. I
b. II
c. III
d. IV
35. Which of the following would best characterize the strand of American political
thought described in question #34?
a. conservatism b. populism c. libertarianism d. progressivism
36. Which of the following constitutes the modern dilemma of government?
a. freedom versus order b. freedom versus equality
c. political order versus economic order d. none of these
37. In the United States, public political debate mainly includes
a. the full range of ideological debate from anarchism to totalitarianism.
b. policy alternatives that exclude liberal assumptions.
c. policy alternatives that are consistent with liberal assumptions.
d. none of these.
38. According to the Dye text, which of the following ideals is NOT in a list of democratic
ideals?
a. recognition of the dignity of every individual
b. majority rule while disallowing minority input
c. equal protection of the laws for every individual
d. opportunity for everyone to participate in public decisions
39. According to the Dye text, balancing the principle of majority rule against the
principle of individual liberty is known as
a. the paradox of democracy.
b. a paradox of government.
c. a dilemma of great magnitude.
d. an episode of democratic crisis.
40. According to the Dye text, the idea that government originates as an implied contract
among individuals who agree to obey laws in exchange for protection of their rights
is known as the
a. social design. b. social contract. c. inherent contract. d. government contract.
41. The non-violent violation of laws that people believe to be unjust is known as
a. violent disobedience.
b. civil disobedience.
c. criminal disobedience.
d. civil compliance.
42. One objective of the type of activity suggested by question #41 is to
a. reveal the corruption within a local police force.
b. Address the support of locally elected officials.
c. Bankrupt an oppressive government.
d. Stir the conscience of an apathetic majority.
43. The pessimistic view of human nature and life without government (in a state of
nature) is “nasty, brutish, and short” is most closely associated with
a. Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
b. John Rawls.
c. Thomas Hobbes.
d. Thomas Jefferson.
44. Which of the following political philosophers had the greatest single influence on the
principles expressed in the Declaration of Independence by the founders of the
American republic?
a. Thomas Hobbes
b. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
c. Thomas Aquinas
d. John Locke.
45. The notion that everyone starts and finishes the race together, regardless of ability,
talent, initiative, or work effort, is known as
a. equality of opportunity.
b. True political equality.
c. Equality of results.
d. The “origins of inequality.”
46. Implicit in the theory of the social contract (as understood by the American founders)
is the belief that
a. governmental processes should be open to public scrutiny.
b. There should be strict separation of church and state.
c. There should be an elite governing body to guide the uneducated masses.
d. Governmental powers and restrictions on the individual should be kept to a
minimum.
47. The event that galvanized property owners more than any other to support the
creation of a strong central government capable of dealing with democratic “mob
rule” was
a. the Whiskey Rebellion.
b. The Charter Oak Affair.
c. The Colonial Indian Uprising.
d. Shays’ Rebellion.
48. On which principle did the framers rest their belief in the legitimacy of government?
a. the epistle of the apostle Paul to the Romans, Chapter 13
b. Paine’s view that the social contract is an agreement among individuals in
society
c. Rousseau’s view of the origins of property
d. Locke’s notion of the consent of the governed
49. Which of the following concepts describes the dominant theological orientation of
the Age of Enlightenment?
a. atomism b. individualism c. deism d. capitalism e. republicanism
50. Which of the following concepts challenged the idea that society is a living
organism?
a. atomism b. individualism c. deism d. capitalism e. republicanism
51. Enlightenment philosophers advocated which of the following as the preferred form
of government?
a. atomism b. individualism c. deism d. capitalism e. republicanism
52. Which of the following concepts describes an economic system of thought based on
Adam Smith’s challenges to mercantilism?
a. atomism b. individualism c. deism d. capitalism e. republicanism
53. Which of the following Enlightenment concepts maintained that when God created
the universe, he set into motion certain immutable laws of nature – among these is
that all men have a right to life, liberty, and property.
a. atomism b. individualism c. deism d. capitalism e. republicanism
54. In the American understanding of the concept, a REPUBLIC is a form of government
a. that is organized from the top down.
b. in which power rests with organized interest groups.
c. that has a king or queen as its symbolic head.
d. other than monarchy and based on consent of the governed and popular
sovereignty with regular elections, universal voting rights, representative
assemblies, and other democratic features.
55. Which of the following countries currently has a republican form of government,
defined in the broadest sense of the word “republican”?
1. the United States
2. Mexico
3. Cuba
4. Great Britain
5. China (mainland)
a. all of these have republican governments
b. 1, 2, and 3
c. 1, 2, 3, and 4
d. 1, 2, 3, and 5