1.1 & 1.2 - Ideals and Types of Democracy

Which of the following statements reflects a pluralist theory of American politics?

• American politics is dominated by a small elite.

• Public policies emerge from cooperation among elites in business labor, and government.

• Public policies emerge from compromises reached among competing groups

• American politics is dominated by cities at the expense of rural areas

• The American political arena is made up of isolated individuals who have few group affiliations outside the family.

Which of the following is NOT a trait of a liberal democracy?

• Holding regular, frequent, and competitive elections

• Protecting minority rights

• Having a lively and free press

• Achieving income equality

• Guaranteeing equality in voting

Which of the following describes the social contract theory as advanced by John Locke?

• It is an agreement between political actors to maintain their grip on power.

• It is an agreement in which the government promises to provide a minimum standard of living to citizens.

• It is an agreement in which the government promises to protect the natural rights of people.

• It is an agreement between economic elites to maintain a stable economy.

• It is an agreement in which the government outlines socially acceptable norms of political behavior.

Which of the following accurately characterizes the main difference between elite theories and pluralist theories of politics in the United States?

• Elite theories concentrate on the role of interest groups; pluralist theories emphasize the role of individuals.

• Elite theories argue that a single minority dominates politics in all policy areas; pluralist theories argue that many minorities compete for power in different policy areas.

• Elite theories argue that social status is the major source of political power; pluralist theories argue that wealth is the major source.

• Elite theories emphasize the multiple access points that interest groups have to public officials; pluralist theories stress the limits in the number and effectiveness of such access points.

• Elite theories view government as efficient; pluralist theories view it as slow and wasteful.

The theory that all interests are and should be free to compete for influence in government, resulting in healthy democratic compromise and balance, is called

• elite power politics

• socialism

• pluralism

• rational choice

• institutionalism

The framers of the Constitution intended to establish

• a representative republic

• a direct democracy

• an authoritarian state

• a socialist democracy

• a parliamentary republic

The framers of the Constitution all believed that one of the primary functions of government is

• educating citizens

• protecting individual property rights

• protecting new immigrants from persecution

• expanding the borders of the nation

• ensuring that anyone accused of a crime has the right to legal representation

The statesman who should attempt to direct private people in what manner they ought to [operate their business] would not only load himself with a most unnecessary attention, but assume authority which could safely be trusted, not to no single person, but to no council or senate whatever, and which would nowhere be so dangerous as in the hands of a man who [was so arrogant to think] himself fit to exercise it.

To . . . direct private people in what manner they ought to employ their capitals . . . in almost all cases [is] a useless or hurtful regulation. If the produce of domestic [industry] can be brought there as cheap as that of foreign industry, the regulation is evidently useless. If it cannot, it must generally be hurtful.

-Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, 1776

Which of the following best summarizes the perspective of Adam Smith in the passage?

• A strong centralized government is necessary to maintain economic order.

• Lowering taxes increases investment and allows the free market to flourish.

• The government should not be used to promote manufacturing.

• Civil liberties limit the power of the federal government to regulate the economy.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of those who suffer from it to refuse allegiance to it, and to insist upon the institution of a new government . . ."

". . . Such has been the patient sufferance of the women under this government, and such is now the necessity which constrains them to demand the equal station to which they are entitled. The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over her. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has never permitted her to exercise her inalienable right to the elective franchise.

He has compelled her to submit to laws, in the formation of which she had no voice.

He has withheld from her rights which are given to the most ignorant and degraded men. . . .

Having deprived her of this first right of a citizen, the elective franchise, thereby leaving her without representation in the halls of legislation, he has oppressed her on all sides.

He has made her, if married, in the eye of the law, civilly dead.

He has taken from her all right in property, even to the wages she earns.”

-Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Seneca Falls Convention, 1848

The language in the first paragraph of the selection most closely parallels that of which of the following documents?

• The Preamble to the United States Constitution

• The Declaration of Independence

• The Federalist 10

• Brutus 1

The statesman who should attempt to direct private people in what manner they ought to [operate their business] would not only load himself with a most unnecessary attention, but assume authority which could safely be trusted, not to no single person, but to no council or senate whatever, and which would nowhere be so dangerous as in the hands of a man who [was so arrogant to think] himself fit to exercise it.

To . . . direct private people in what manner they ought to employ their capitals . . . in almost all cases [is] a useless or hurtful regulation. If the produce of domestic [industry] can be brought there as cheap as that of foreign industry, the regulation is evidently useless. If it cannot, it must generally be hurtful.

-Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, 1776

Which of the following ideals of United States government is most relevant to this passage?

• Natural rights

• Popular sovereignty

• Limited government

• Social contract