The Study of American Government #3
1) The two great questions about politics addressed by your text are, Who governs? and
a) Who pays?
b) To what ends?
c) With what means?
d) For how long?
2) The two great questions about politics addressed by your text are
a) Who votes? and Why?
b) Who governs? and To what ends?
c) Who runs for office? and Who pays?
d) Who is right? and Why?
3) The relationship between the two central questions addressed by your text – Who governs? and
To what ends? – can best be described in what way?
a) They are two distinct questions, but each must be considered with the other in mind.
b) They are essentially two different versions of the same question.
c) Who governs? deals with the purpose of politics; To what ends? deals with who holds
political power.
d) They are two separate and distinct questions that should be addressed without reference to
each other.
4) Today, the U.S. federal income tax takes an average of what percent of taxpayers’ income?
a) 10
b) 20
c) 30
d) 40
5) The text argues that political power and political purposes are
a) One and the same thing.
b) Frequently at odds with each other.
c) Occasionally overlapping concepts.
d) Inextricably intertwined.
6) The text argues that political power is inextricably bound with
a) Mass media power.
b) Political purposes.
c) An elitist attitude.
d) Religious and moral values.
7) Individuals have power when they are able to
a) Get elected to office.
b) Be present at behind-the-scenes political meetings.
c) Serve their fellow human beings.
d) Get others to do what they want.
8) Power is best defined as the capacity to
a)
b)
c)
d)
Make and carry out decisions without regard to others.
Get others to act in accordance with your intentions.
Persuade others to do what they do not want to do.
Respect your positions without fully believing them.
9) The president’s wife gets him to change his position on abortion. Is this an example of political
power, according to your text’s definition?
a) Yes, because she’s gotten the president to act according to her intentions.
b) Yes, because the spouse of a president is a legitimate member of a political elite.
c) No, because the spouse of a president lacks the formal authority to exercise political power.
d) No, because the exercise of political power requires overt action.
10) Your text notes that, over time, more and more issues in this country have tended to become
____________ ones.
a) Public
b) Economic
c) International
d) Moral
11) The text notes a tendency for issues that once were ___________ to become ____________.
a) Simple, complicated
b) Public, secret
c) Social, political
d) Private, public
12) Compared with the 1950s, government’s involvement in the everyday lives of Americans in the
2000s is
a) About the same.
b) Slightly less.
c) Considerably less.
d) Considerably greater.
13) Formal authority refers to a right to exercise power that is derived from a(n)
a) Official ceremony.
b) Majority vote.
c) Consensus.
d) Governmental office.
14) If you decided that you wanted to achieve some formal authority in U.S. society, you would be
best advised to
a) Get a formal education.
b) Join a political party.
c) Pursue elective or appointive office.
d) Join an effective interest group.
15) People who run for office are trying to achieve what kind of authority?
a) Respected
b) Lasting
c) Formal
d) Ultimate
16) The primary source of legitimate political authority in the United States is the
a) Bill of Rights.
b) Will of the people.
c) U.S. Constitution.
d) Concept of civil liberty.
17) When did the U.S. Constitution become a source of legitimate authority?
a) At the time of the American Revolution
b) When it was written in Philadelphia
c) After 1787, gradually
d) Only in recent years
18) Which of the following statements about the U.S. Constitution as a source of legitimate
authority is true?
a) This notion is widely accepted today.
b) This notion has been accepted since 1787.
c) This notion is unanimously recognized.
d) This notion is accepted by many historians.
19) The author cites the early presidential administrations, the Civil War, and the New Deal as
examples of struggles over
a) What constitutes legitimate authority.
b) Who shall govern.
c) Who gets what, when, and how.
d) When progress is possible.
20) At the time of the Constitutional Convention, the view that a democratic government was
desirable was
a) Already waning.
b) Close to unanimous.
c) Far from unanimous.
d) Held by an elite only.
21) The text defines democracy so that the word no longer means what it originally meant but
applies to politics in the United States. If you believe this definition, then the text will have
bolstered the idea of the _____________ of U.S. politics.
a) Effectiveness
b) Contagiousness
c) Legitimacy
d) Superiority
22) Democratic centralism is a notion that formed the basis for political organization in
a) The now defunct Soviet Union.
b) Great Britain.
c) The United States.
d) Most Third World nations.
23) Democratic centralism presupposes the existence of all of the following except
a) The objective interests of the people.
b) A party within which discussion of alternatives is possible.
c) A central leadership to carry out decisions.
d) A limited government.
24) Which of the following claimed to operate on the principle of democratic centralism?
a) The Founding Fathers
b) Local governments in New England
c) The now defunct Soviet Union
d) Greek city-states
25) Which of the following examples best illustrates the fear of direct democracy?
a) A politician describing the outcome of a recent referendum as the result of “mass hysteria.”
b) The persistence of the New England town meeting.
c) The collapse of the Soviet Union.
d) George Mason’s refusal to sign the Constitution.
26) The term democracy was originally associated with
a) Buddha.
b) Vladimir Lenin.
c) Aristotle.
d) Thomas Jefferson.
27) The term participatory democracy applies most accurately to which of the following societies?
a) Greece in the fourth century B.C.
b) Modern China
c) The United States since 1787
d) The Soviet Union between 1917 and 1990
28) Aristotle’s notion of democracy derived from the era of
a) Warring duchies.
b) City-states.
c) Independent tribes.
d) Global superpowers.
29) In recent times, Aristotle’s ideal of democracy has been most closely approximated by
a) The AFL-CIO.
b) The U.S. House of Representatives.
c) The New England town meeting.
d) The Constitutional Convention.
30) New England town meetings are commonly cited as the closest approach in the United States to
a) Anarchy.
b) Classical democracy.
c) Revolution.
d) Socialism.
31) Of the following, the best example of a participatory democracy is
a) A Cuban village.
b) Sweden or Norway.
c) A New England town meeting.
d) The U.S. House of Representatives.
32) The arrangement by which individuals gain power through competition for the people’s vote is
called
a) Democratic centralism.
b) Participatory democracy.
c) Representative democracy.
d) The “rule of the many.”
33) Representative democracy allows individuals to gain political power through
a) Competitive elections.
b) Quadrennial elections.
c) Nonpartisan elections.
d) Media campaigns.
34) Democracy was defined as the competitive struggle for people’s votes by
a) Joseph Stalin.
b) Joseph Schumpeter.
c) Max Weber.
d) Karl Marx.
35) Joseph Schumpeter defined democracy as the competitive struggle for people’s
a) Hearts.
b) Votes.
c) Minds.
d) Power.
36) The key to the success of a representative democracy is
a) The direct participation of citizens in holding office.
b) The direct participation of citizens in making policy.
c) Community control of policy formulation.
d) Genuine competition for leadership.
37) Democracy in the United States is distinguished from many European democracies by the fact
that, in the United States,
a) Many more offices are elective.
b) More campaign money comes from public sources.
c) More people participate in the electoral process.
d) The government plays a more active role in elections.
38) Democracy in the United States is distinguished from many European democracies by the fact
that, in the United States,
a)
b)
c)
d)
More campaign money comes from private sources.
More people participate in the electoral process.
The government plays a more active role in elections.
Fewer offices are elective.
39) Compared to European democracies, the United States has a larger number of
a) Voters.
b) Party members.
c) Controversial issues.
d) Political activists.
40) The Framers of the U.S. Constitution favored
a) Direct democracy.
b) Participatory democracy.
c) Representative democracy.
d) Marxism.
41) Variants of direct democracy include programs of citizen participation and
a) Community control.
b) Guerrilla warfare.
c) Competitive elections.
d) Political party centralism.
42) Critics of representative democracy have pointed out all of the following except
a) It responds too slowly.
b) It serves special interests.
c) It is unresponsive to majority opinion.
d) It does not adequately protect basic liberties.
43) Majoritarian politics comes into play when
a) The major party prevails on an issue.
b) A political elite comes into power.
c) Leaders feel constrained to follow the popular will.
d) An absolute majority is required to win an election.
44) When the people have such intense feelings about a political issue that leaders feel obligated to
follow the popular will, it is called
a) Democracy.
b) Majoritarian politics.
c) Demagoguery.
d) Symbolic politics.
45) A city council representative faces an important vote on how much, if any, money to spend on a
new school. The representative relies on a poll of her constituents to make a decision. This is in
keeping with the form of politics known as
a) Participatory politics.
b) Majoritarian politics.
c) Pluralist politics.
d) Elitist politics.
46) Under what circumstances would majoritarian politics normally not be effective?
a) When a political leader feels sharply constrained by what most people want
b) When an issue is sufficiently important to command the attention of most citizens
c) When an issue is too complicated or technical for most citizens to understand
d) When an issue is sufficiently feasible so that what citizens want done can in fact be done
47) Those who possess a disproportionate share of political power are defined as
a) Capitalists.
b) Majoritarians.
c) A political elite.
d) Officeholders.
48) A political elite consists of individuals who have a disproportionate amount of
a) Power.
b) Influence.
c) Intelligence.
d) Media exposure.
49) Members of the political elite possess a disproportionate share of
a) Intelligence.
b) Political power.
c) Money.
d) Natural resources.
50) An identifiable group that possesses a disproportionate share of political power is called a
political
a) Elite.
b) Pressure group.
c) Party.
d) Interest group.
51) C. Wright Mills, Karl Marx, and Max Weber are cited in the text as theorists who attempted to
explain the
a) Dynamics of Western history.
b) Behavior of the U.S. electorate.
c) Behavior of political elites.
d) Fate of political institutions.
52) Important theories explaining political elites derive from all of the following writers except
a) Sigmund Freud.
b) Karl Marx.
c) C. Wright Mills.
d) Max Weber
53) Marxists claim that, in modern society, the two major classes contending for power are the
a)
b)
c)
d)
City dwellers and farmers.
Capitalists and workers.
Government and proletariat.
Intelligentsia and bourgeoisie.
54) Marx looked upon government itself not as a fundamental social reality but as a mere
a) Epiphenomenon.
b) Inconvenience.
c) Outlet for frustrations.
d) Transaction.
55) Marx’s view of government would dispose one to view an administration’s proposal of a large
military budget as a(n)
a) Search for national security.
b) Exercise in bargaining and compromise.
c) Service to defense corporations.
d) Threat to world peace.
56) Marxists refer to those who own the means of production as
a) Imperialists.
b) Bureaucrats.
c) The proletariat.
d) The bourgeoisie.
57) In Marxist ideology, the term bourgeoisie refers to
a) Workers.
b) Capitalists.
c) Farmers.
d) Intellectuals.
58) Society is analyzed as consisting of capitalists and workers in the theories of the
a) Marxists.
b) Elitists.
c) Pluralists.
d) Functionalists.
59) Marxists analyze society primarily through the lens of
a) Class
b) Race
c) Pluralism
d) Bureaucracy
60) Those who believe that government is little more than a front for major corporate interests
would most likely be attracted to the thinking of
a) Joseph Schumpeter.
b) Max Weber.
c) Karl Marx.
d) C. Wright Mills.
61) The founder of the elitist school in contemporary America was
a) Auguste Comte.
b) Max Weber.
c) C. Wright Mills.
d) Ralph Abernathy.
62) C. Wright Mills is viewed as the founder of which school of thought in the twentieth-century
United States?
a) Marxism
b) Pluralism
c) Elitism
d) Structuralism
63) Included among C. Wright Mills’ power elite – individuals in a democracy who make most major
political decisions – are all of the following except
a) Corporate leaders.
b) Top military officers.
c) A few key political leaders.
d) Wall Street lawyers.
64) Karl Marx and C. Wright Mills would be most likely to agree on
a) The diffusion of vital political resources.
b) The centrality of a constitution and laws.
c) The existence of a small power elite.
d) Material dialecticalism as a starting point to politics.
65) That a comparatively tiny group of individuals holds the greatest political power could be agreed
on by both
a) Tocqueville and Dahl.
b) Dahl and C. Wright Mills.
c) C. Wright Mills and Karl Marx.
d) Karl Marx and Tocqueville.
66) Max Weber argued that Karl Marx had neglected the most important institution in modern
times, namely, the
a) Bureaucracy.
b) Military.
c) Mass media.
d) University.
67) The pluralist view of political reality emphasizes the ______________ of political resources.
a) Coordination
b) Duplication
c) Irrelevance
d) Decentralization
68) That extragovernmental elites do not control politics could be agreed on by both
a)
b)
c)
d)
Max Weber and the pluralists.
The pluralists and the Marxists.
The Marxists and the elitists.
The elitists and Max Weber.
69) Max Weber and the pluralists would be most likely to agree that
a) Class warfare is inevitable.
b) Written constitutions are mere symbols.
c) Multinational corporations make most political decisions today.
d) No extragovernmental elite control politics.
70) The decentralization of political resources would be emphasized by the
a) Structuralists.
b) Elitists.
c) Pluralists.
d) Marxists.
71) Those who emphasize the role in politics of shifting coalitions of groups are referred to as
a) Marxists.
b) Structuralists.
c) Elitists.
d) Pluralists.
72) Pluralists believe all of the following except
a) Political resources are distributed equally.
b) Political outcomes are the result of haggling, compromises, and shifting alliances.
c) Most relevant interests are represented.
d) Elites are responsible to their followers’ interests.
73) According to Tocqueville, Americans are fond of explaining their actions in terms of
a) Self-interest.
b) Moral precepts.
c) Religious commitments.
d) Disinterested and spontaneous impulses.
74) Regarding the role of self-interest in the positions that people take on important issues, it is
safest to say that
a) The self-interest of individuals is usually a complete guide to their actions.
b) Economic self-interest may be important but is usually not the only guide to people’s
actions.
c) Organizational self-interest rather than economic self-interest is usually the best guide to
people’s actions.
d) Political preferences can be predicted invariably by knowing an individual’s economic or
organizational position.
75) The text cites the AFL-CIO’s civil rights position in the 1960s as an example of
a) An innocent bystander caught up in a battle between opposing forces.
b) An organization as a whole acting politically out of considerations broader than its
members’ individual interests.
c) The subtle ways in which obstructionism can be exercised in Washington.
d) How economic interests lead directly to policy preferences.
76) The text argues that U.S. government, viewed in historical perspective, makes a mechanistic
view of politics
a) Inevitable.
b) Accurate beyond a reasonable doubt.
c) Impossible.
d) Difficult to accept.
77) The text argues that a mechanistic view of U.S. government becomes impossible, given a(n)
a) Economic approach.
b) Sociological context.
c) Historical perspective.
d) Etymological analysis.
78) The text presents the historical involvement of the United States in foreign affairs as
a) Alternating between outward and inward movements.
b) Consistently drifting toward imperialism.
c) Devoid of any pattern whatsoever.
d) Being buffeted about by external forces.
79) Your text argues that the history of U.S. involvement in foreign affairs alternates between
a) Good and bad influences.
b) Yankee and cowboy leadership.
c) Realism and idealism.
d) Inward and outward movements.
80) The average citizen in the United States would have been most likely to look to the federal
government to solve social and economic problems in the year
a) 1790.
b) 1920.
c) 1945.
d) 1985.
81) Which of the following statements about political power – who governs – is most accurate?
a) The key to understanding power is understanding the monetary costs of different political
decisions.
b) Political power can usually be inferred by knowing what laws are on the books.
c) Political power can usually be inferred by knowing what administrative actions have been
taken.
d) Most power derives from psychological and social factors such as friendship, loyalty, and
prestige.
82) Your text argues that we must study preferences as well as power in order to understand
a) History.
b) Society.
c) Politics.
d) Values.
83) The text insists that, if we wish to understand power, we must also understand
a) Powerlessness.
b) Preferences.
c) Economics.
d) Ambiguities.
84) According to your text, to infer the distribution of political power from studying the laws on the
books would be
a) Too ambitious an undertaking.
b) Too simplistic an approach.
c) Workable most of the time, but not always.
d) The best single approach.
85) The trouble with trying to infer the distribution of political power from examining the laws on
the books is that
a) Laws may be enacted in a great variety of circumstances.
b) Laws are made to be broken.
c) Legislative codes may be so obscure as to defy anyone’s comprehension.
d) Many congressional enactments never get recorded at all.
86) Answers given by political scientists to major political questions tend to be
a) Couched in economic theories.
b) Scientific and reliable.
c) Contingent and controversial.
d) Largely irrelevant to the real world.
87) The text asserts that judgments about institutions and interests can be made
a) More reliably prospectively than retrospectively.
b) On the basis of general ideological suppositions about modern society.
c) Only after watching them act on a variety of important issues.
d) Only when one takes the time to accumulate sufficient sociological data.
88) Which of the following shape the nature of day-to-day political conflict?
a) Opinions about what constitutes the dominant political problem of the time
b) Major economic developments
c) Deep-seated beliefs
d) All of the above
89) The text concludes that the place to begin exploring how power is conducted in national politics
is
a) The study of how children acquire their political attitudes.
b) The founding of the national government at the Constitutional Convention.
c) The current confrontation between Democrats and Republicans.
d) The dissection of case studies of recent policy decisions.
90) The Constitutional Convention is the logical place to begin to study how
a) This country gained its independence.
b) Today’s parties first came into being.
c) The spirit of democracy was established.
d) Power is distributed in national politics.
ANSWERS
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)
11)
12)
13)
14)
15)
16)
17)
18)
19)
20)
21)
22)
23)
24)
25)
26)
27)
28)
29)
30)
31)
32)
33)
34)
35)
36)
37)
38)
39)
40)
B
B
A
C
D
B
D
B
A
A
D
D
D
C
C
C
C
A
A
C
C
A
D
C
A
C
A
B
C
B
C
C
A
B
B
D
A
A
A
C
41)
42)
43)
44)
45)
46)
47)
48)
49)
50)
51)
52)
53)
54)
55)
56)
57)
58)
59)
60)
61)
62)
63)
64)
65)
66)
67)
68)
69)
70)
71)
72)
73)
74)
75)
76)
77)
78)
79)
80)
81)
82)
A
D
C
B
B
C
C
A
B
A
C
A
B
A
C
D
B
A
A
C
C
C
D
C
C
A
D
A
D
C
D
A
A
B
B
C
C
A
D
C
D
C
83)
84)
85)
86)
87)
88)
89)
90)
B
B
A
C
C
D
B
D