1.1 Government
2. In the case of our National government, what are the institutions through which public policies are made for society?
a. Congress, President, and Courts
b. House, Senate and Vice President
c. Interest groups, Elite corporate interests
d. Citizens, Political culture and Inclusion
a. Congress, President, and Courts
1. Groups with a narrow interest on which their members tend to be uncompromising.
a. Single-issue groups
b. Democracy groups
c. Organized groups
d. Policy agenda
a. Single-issue groups
1. The overall process by which policy comes into being and evolves. People’s interests, problems, and concerns create political issues for government policymakers.
a. Political participation
b. Policymaking system
c. Single-issue groups
d. Democracy
b. Policymaking system
1. An important part of traditional democratic theory, in a democracy choosing among alternatives requires voting and the choice with the most votes is the winner and is selected.
a.Pluralism
b. Gross National Product (GDP)
c. Political culture
d. Majority rule
d. Majority rule
1. What is the gross domestic product (GDP)?
a. The sum total of the value of all the goods and services produced in a year in a nation.
b. The yearly global trade partnership
c. All the goods and services that America purchased from other countries.
d. All of the goods and services that other countries buy over ten years.
a. The sum total of the value of all the goods and services produced in a year in a nation.
Traditional Democratic Theory:
Each phrase below is considered needed for an ideal democratic process. Offer a short definition that shows your knowledge of these key principles.
6. Equality in voting
"One person, one vote"
No one's vote should count more than anyone else's
What should government be doing?
3. Preserve order and protect public safety
A. Every government has some means of maintaining order with law enforcement agencies.
Explain the “Majority Rule” in Democracy and include a detailed description of why there are restraints on the majority due to the rights of the minority.
One more than half is a majority. In a group of 10, 6 would be the majority and could have the power to decide what to do. Power goes to the group that while voting achieves the majority. The minority must follow the majorities decision.
The majority does not have the power to vote away the rights of the minority. Those rights are given by a higher power and can’t be voted away.
3. Select the two fundamental questions about governing that serve as themes throughout this chapter..
a. How should we govern? / What should government do?
b. How do we maintain our economy? / What should government do?
c. How should we govern? / How should we maintain order?
d. How should we preserve order? / How should we govern?
a. How should we govern? / What should government do?
2. The process of determining the leaders we select and the policies they pursue.
a. Single-issue groups
b. Democracy groups
c. Politics
d. Policy agenda
c. Politics
2. An issue that arises when people disagree about a problem and how to fix it
a. Political issue
b. Policy impacts
c. Elitism
d. Linkage institutions
a. Political issue
2. Which of the following is not a challenge to Democracy?
a. Laissez-faire
b. Weakening of Democratic Norms
c. increased Complexity of Issues
d. Limited Participation in Government
a. Laissez-faire
2. Government spends around ⅓ of the nation’s GDP (gross domestic product) on various government programs. According to our reading, there are 4 categories of government programs that most of our tax dollars are spent on? Select the one that is not correct.
a. National defense
b. Medicare
c. Revenue
d. Social Security
c. Revenue
Traditional Democratic Theory
Each phrase below is considered needed for an ideal democratic process. Offer a short definition that shows your knowledge of these key principles.
7. Effective Participation
Citizens must have adequate and equal opportunities to express their preferences through the decision making process or policymaking process.
What should government be doing?
4. Socialize the young
B. Correct
Explain the theory of pluralism as it relates to participation in the policymaking process.
(Short, clear and specific response)
Plural = More than one member of a group
Groups of people that agree on a political issue.
Groups combine with other groups to achieve majority status and try to make government solve a problem or make policy.
4. Which of the following is not a key function of government?
a. Socializing the young
b. Collecting taxes
c. Single-issue groups
d. Providing public services
c. Single-issue groups
3. Many people judge how well a democracy is doing based on how widespread this is. America does quite poorly when judged in this area which is one of the lowest in the world.
a. Political protests
b. Political leaders
c. Political participation
d. Politics
c. Political participation
3. The political channels through which people’s concerns become political issues on the policy agenda.
a. Policymaking institutions
b. Linkage institutions
c. Representation
d. Majority rule
b. Linkage institutions
3. An overall set of values widely shared within a society.
a. Pluralism
b. Majority rule
c. Elitism
d. Political culture
d. Political culture
3. Ronald Reagan argued in his farewell presidential address, “As government expands, liberty Contracts”.
What did President Reagan mean by this short statement? Explain.
Republican president:
Right Ideology: Role of government is to create an environment where the people can be successful.
Key point: By allowing the government into the peoples lives, Government gets bigger and the people are loosing a degree of freedom.
Traditional Democratic Theory
Each phrase below is considered needed for an ideal democratic process. Offer a short definition that shows your knowledge of these key principles.
8. Enlightened understanding
A democratic society must be a marketplace of ideas.
A free press, free speech are essential!
If a group distorts information, citizens can not truly understand the issues.
What should government be doing?
4. Socialize the young
C. Rituals like the daily Pledge of Allegiance seek to foster patriotism and love of country. Instill knowledge and pride in the nation and the democratic political system.
Explain the theory of Elitism as it relates to participation in the policymaking process.
(Short, clear and specific response)
Contends that an elite class of wealthy Americans actually hold the power in our government.
This group bypasses the peoples policymaking system and deals directly with government officials. (secretly)
Government is doing what this small group of wealthy people want and not what the people want.
5. Which of the following is a key function of government?
a. Elitism
b. Pluralism
c. Politics
d. Socializing the young
d. Socializing the young
4. Groups with a high voting turnout rate benefit, whereas groups with a low voting turnout rate lack political _____.
a. Benefits
b. Health
c. Clout
d. Support
c. Clout
4. The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people involved in politics at a point in time.
a. Policymaking institutions
b. Linkage institution
c. Policy agenda
d. Representation
c. Policy agenda
4. A basic principle of traditional democratic theory that describes the relationship between the few leaders and the many followers.
a. Minority rights
b. Majority rule
c. Representation
d. Pluralism
c. Representation
4. Barack Obama proposed a stimulus package (Money) to solve an economic problem.
“It is true that we cannot depend on government alone to create jobs or long-term growth, but at this particular moment, only government can provide the short-term boost necessary to lift us from a recession this deep and severe.” What did President Obama mean by this statement? Explain.
Democratic president:
Left Ideology: Role of government is to provide actual resources ($$$) to the people.
Key point: The government knows that giving resources ($$$) to the people is not a long term solution to economic problems. The left believes that the role of government is to give the people what they need depending on the situation.
Traditional Democratic Theory
Each phrase below is considered needed for an ideal democratic process. Offer a short definition that shows your knowledge of these key principles.
9. Citizen control of the agenda
Citizen should have the right to control the government's policy agenda.
If a wealthy or powerful group influences "the peoples" policy agenda than the citizens have lost control and the system is broken.
What should government be doing?
1. Maintain a national defense
D. Government protects its national sovereignty, usually by maintaining armed forces or the military.
Explain the American political culture concept of Populism.
(Short, clear and specific response)
Abraham Lincoln: “Government of the people, by the people, and for the people”
Political philosophy supporting the rights of the average citizen in their struggle against privileged elites.
1. Which of the following is the definition of government?
a. The institutions through which public policies are made for a society
b. The process of determining the leaders we select and the policies they pursue.
c. The process by which policy comes into being and evolves.
d. Groups that have a narrow interest on which their members tend to take an uncompromising stance.
a. The institutions through which public policies are made for a society
5. Individual citizens and organized groups get involved in politics because they understand the public policy choices made by government____________________.
a. affect them in a significant ways
b. have little affect on them
c. are always changing
d. will require more taxes
a. affect them in a significant ways
What are the six steps of the policymaking system?
1. People - Interests, problems Concerns
2. Linkage Institutions - elections, media, groups
3. Policy agenda - Political issues
4. Policymaking institutions - Congress, President
5. Policy - regulations, laws, taxes
5. A democratic society must be a marketplace of ideas. A free press and free speech are essential to civic understanding. This describes which Traditional Democratic Theory?
a. Citizen control of the agenda
b. Enlightened Understanding
c. Inclusion
d. Equality in voting
b. Enlightened Understanding
The Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program is just one of many federal programs that support people with low income.
What would a person on the left say about this?
What would a person on the right say about this?
Left = This program helps provide a safety net, enabling people to get by during hard time.
Right = This program is expanding the scope of government and encourages dependency of government and keep the people in poverty.
Traditional Democratic Theory
Each phrase below is considered needed for an ideal democratic process. Offer a short definition that shows your knowledge of these key principles.
10. Inclusion
The government must include, and extend rights to, all of those that are subject to its laws.
Citizenship must be available and open to all within a nation.
What should government be doing?
2. Provide public goods and services
E. Government spends billions on schools, hospitals, highways and water treatment plants.
Ronald Reagan argued in his farewell presidential address, “As government expands, liberty Contracts”. What did President Reagan mean by this short statement? Explain.
Ronald Reagan was a republican and followed the ideological view that it is not the role of government to give direct support to the people. The right believes that it is the responsibility of government to create an environment where all citizens can be successful. When government crosses the line and begins providing resources to groups within a society, government will become larger and the freedom of the people will be diminished.
Barack Obama proposed a stimulus package (Money) to solve an economic problem.
“It is true that we cannot depend on government alone to create jobs or long-term growth, but at this particular moment, only government can provide the short-term boost necessary to lift us from a recession this deep and severe.” What did President Obama mean by this statement? Explain.
Barack Obama is a democrat and followed the ideological view that it is the role of government to give direct support to the people. The left believes that it is the responsibility of government assess the needs of all citizens and redistribute resources ($$$) to those that are in need. This supports the view of the democratic role of government, to provide for the needs of the people.