Deck 1: Why Politics Matters

Question 1

A political philosophy that tends to support traditional values and advocates change only in moderation is referred to as which of the following?

A)Conservatism
B)Radicalism
C)Classical liberalism
D)Utilitarianism
E)Feminism

Answer 1

A

Question 2

What type of political system is rule by the wealthy or a group of wealthy people who control or influence the government?

A)Democracy
B)Monarchy
C)Meritocracy
D)Plutocracy
E)Anarchy

Answer 2

D

Question 3

What is the most significant predictor of whether a young person is likely to vote?

A)Employment history
B)Educational attainment
C)Gender
D)Race or ethnicity
E)State of residence

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which political theorist argued in The Prince that power is the key unit of analysis in politics?

A)Cicero
B)Plato
C)John Locke
D)Julius Caeser
E)Niccolò Machiavelli

Question 5

Which of the following refers to some of the ways people are categorized (for example , 18- to 24-year-olds, Catholics, people of color)?

A)Public opinion polls
B)Demographics
C)Data analyses
D)Exit polls
E)Entrance polls

Question 6

The theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes is referred to as which of the following?

A)Classical liberalism
B)Feminism
C)Traditional conservatism
D)Fascism
E)Anarchy

Question 7

Which form of government grants almost all power to an individual leader?

A)Representative democracy
B)Direct democracy
C)Autocracy
D)Socialism
E)Aristocracy

Question 8

Surveys that provide a useful way of showing how different groups view certain political issues are known as what?

A)Public opinion polls
B)Demographics
C)Data analyses
D)Exit polls
E)Entrance polls

Question 9

Which of the following refers to political theorists who study human nature by looking at the nature of governments?

A)Normative theorists
B)Existentialists
C)Public observers
D)Social contract theorists
E)Utilitarian theorists

Question 10

Which of the following statements about voting turnout rates is true?

A)As a percentage, African Americans turned out in higher numbers than Caucasians in 2012.
B)As a percentage, Hispanics turned out in higher numbers than African Americans in 2016.
C)As a percentage, African Americans turned out in higher numbers in 2016 than in 2012.
D)As a percentage, men turned out in larger numbers than women in 2016.
E)As a percentage, those with less education were more likely to vote in 2016.

Question 11

Which of the following are considered social contract thinkers?

A)Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle
B)Thomas Hobbes and Niccolò Machiavelli
C)John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau
D)Plato and Aristotle
E)Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Karl Marx

Question 12

Which political theorist had a strong influence on Thomas Jefferson when he penned the US Declaration of Independence?

A)Thomas Hobbes
B)Niccolò Machiavelli
C)John Locke
D)Karl Marx
E)Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Question 13

What is the process by which citizens develop the values, attitudes, beliefs, and opinions that enable them to support the political system?

A)Systemization
B)Globalization
C)Political socialization
D)Civic engagement
E)Industrialization

Question 14

Ancient political thinkers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle believed which of the following?

A)That political power should be applied as a way of maintaining power
B)That political power should be understood as a way of achieving domination
C)That political power should be applied as a means to an end of acquiring social justice
D)That political power should be thought of as a contract between the government and the governed
E)That political power should achieve a balance of force and freedom

Question 15

Political power can be broadly defined as which of the following?

A)Ability to get others to do what they would not do on their own
B)Ability to convince others that they must serve the state
C)Natural relationship between the government and those who give consent
D)Civic engagement of those who are governed
E)Relationship between economic groups in society

Question 16

Which of the following refers to the political system under which the economy is controlled and directed by the state?

A)Capitalism
B)Anarchy
C)Modern liberalism
D)Classical liberalism
E)Communism

Question 17

Which of the following statements about voting behavior is true?

A)Men vote at higher rates than women.
B)Women vote in higher percentages than men.
C)There is no difference in voter turnout between men and women.
D)High school dropouts vote in higher percentages than college graduates.
E)Hispanics vote in higher percentages than African Americans.

Question 18

Which classic theorist set out to prove the correctness of Machiavelli's contention that power, rather than justice, is the most important variable in studying politics?

A)Aristotle
B)Plato
C)Niccolò Machiavelli
D)Thomas Hobbes
E)Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Question 19

Which of the following refers to an economic system in which the means of production, such as land and factories, are privately owned and operated for profit?

A)socialism
B)communism
C)capitalism
D)oligarchy
E)aristocracy

Question 20

How did Harold Lasswell define politics ?

A)The natural relationship between the government and the governed
B)The quest for power and order
C)The consent of the governed
D)The concept of who gets what, when, and how
E)The balance between the haves and have nots

Question 21

Which of the following refers to a society in which power is wielded by those who deserve it based on their talents, industry, and success in competition rather than through membership of a certain social class or possession of wealth?

A)Meritocracy
B)Aristocracy
C)Oligarchy
D)Monarchy
E)Plutocracy

Question 22

"We hold these truths to be self-evident that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." This famous quote comes from what source?

A)Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence
B)James Madison in the Preamble to the US Constitution
C)Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address
D)John Locke in Two Treatises of Government
E)Thomas Hobbes in The Leviathan

Question 23

Who was the first woman to serve on the US Supreme Court?

A)Elena Kagan
B)Elizabeth Cady Stanton
C)Susan B. Anthony
D)Sandra Day O'Connor
E)Shirley Chisholm

Question 24

A political system where a king or queen holds absolute or limited power, usually inherited, is known as what?

A)Oligarchy
B)Aristocracy
C)Plutocracy
D)Democracy
E)Monarchy

Question 25

Which of the following best describes a political system controlled by religious leaders?

A)Representative democracy
B)Direct democracy
C)Aristocracy
D)Oligarchy
E)Theocracy

Question 26

The democratic movements that have spread across the Middle East in 2011 are known as what?

A)Orange revolution
B)Arab Spring
C)Purple revolution
D)Democratic peace
E)Perpetual peace

Question 27

In 2011, the grassroots revolt against Middle Eastern autocrats was inspired by which of the following?

A)The killing of Osama bin Laden
B)The election of President Barack Obama
C)Tunisian protester Mohammed Bouazizi setting himself on fire
D)The toppling of monarchs in Europe
E)The US Constitution

Question 28

John Locke endorsed what form of government?

A)Expansionist
B)Limited
C)Religious
D)Puritan
E)Socialist

Question 29

Which of the following refers to a person who believes it is the duty of government to ameliorate social conditions and create a more equitable society?

A)Capitalist
B)Communist
C)Fascist
D)Liberal
E)Libertarian

Question 30

Which of the following refers to a state or government that is run by priests or clergy?

A)Theocracy
B)Polyarchy
C)Secular state
D)Participatory democracy
E)Totalitarian state

Question 31

Which political belief system holds that war is never justified and that all disputes should be settled peacefully?

A)Pacifism
B)Libertarianism
C)Classical liberalism
D)Marxism
E)Traditional conservatism

Question 32

Which of the following is an example of a state threatening to cut off economic aid to another state in order to achieve a desired objective?

A)Negotiation
B)Soft power
C)Hard power
D)Imperialism
E)Colonialism

Question 33

When nations compel other nations to modify their behavior through military or economic force, this is known as what?

A)Hard power
B)Soft power
C)Terrorism
D)Strict scrutiny
E)Collateral damage

Question 34

Which of the following best describes the pursuit of political aims by means of violence and intimidation?

A)Nihilism
B)Existentialism
C)Terrorism
D)Pacifism
E)Behavioralism

Question 35

Known by some as the American Machiavelli, who argued that presidents must above all else have the political skills to persuade the "Washington establishment" and the American public to act on their agenda?

A)John Nance Garner
B)Richard Nixon
C)Barack Obama
D)Richard Neustadt
E)Thomas Jefferson

Question 36

When leverage is gained through the sway of diplomatic and cultural persuasion, the state is using which of the following?

A)Hard power
B)Soft power
C)Terrorism
D)Strict scrutiny
E)Civil disobedience

Question 37

Which of the following refers to a person who believes that all government is corrupt and that organized authority should be abolished?

A)Anarchist
B)Liberal
C)Libertarian
D)Autocrat
E)Terrorist

Question 38

Who argued for a representative democracy where government possesses limited powers and where the selected representatives make decisions on their behalf?

A)John Locke
B)Thomas Hobbes
C)Aristotle
D)Plato
E)Niccolò Machiavelli

Question 39

Which political ideology believes that government should not interfere in the economic or social life of people except to provide police and military protection?

A)Classical liberalism
B)Traditional conservatism
C)Marxism
D)Libertarianism
E)Nihilism

Question 40

Which of the following is an element of fascism?

A)Totalitarianism
B)Authoritarianism
C)Communism
D)Libertarianism
E)Pacifism

Question 41

Highlight similarities and differences in how Machiavelli, Hobbes, and Locke view political power.

Question 42

Why does Aristotle argue that political debate is the most highly valued political skill? What does it take to win a political policy debate? How can learning debate skills influence public policy?

Question 43

Which of the following disciplines are considered social sciences, and what do they communally seek to understand?

A)Political science, physics, and sociology all seek to understand human behavior.
B)Anthropology, criminology, and political science all seek to understand human behavior.
C)Criminology, medicine, and political science all seek to understand human pathology.
D)Criminology, political science, and psychology all seek to understand human pathology.
E)Biology and psychology both seek to understand human and animal pathology.

Question 44

Which approach to fighting terrorism in Afghanistan requires the United States to assist in Afghanistan's economic and political development?

A)Counterinsurgency
B)Counterintelligence
C)Counterintuitive
D)Counterterrorism
E)Counterplans

Question 45

Which methodological approach links experimental and quantitative data-driven analysis to an ethical responsibility to ask important questions affecting citizens?

A)Traditionalism
B)Behavioralism
C)Postbehavioralism
D)Communism
E)Feminism

Question 46

What are demographics, and how are they used by political scientists?

Question 47

Describe some of the correlations associated with voting behavior in presidential elections over the past two decades. What political generalizations about voting behavior can be made as it relates to race/ethnicity, gender, and education?

Question 48

Which methodological approach in the field of political science avoids numerical or quantitative analysis, seeking value judgments instead?

A)Traditionalism
B)Behavioralism
C)Postbehavioralism
D)Utilitarianism
E)Pacifism

Question 49

What differences do scholars find between the judicial decisions of men and women justices?

Question 50

Which of the following refers to a social science researcher who makes an educated guess based on previously understood facts?

A)Wild guess
B)Hypothesis
C)Correlation
D)Quantitative analysis
E)Qualitative analysis

Question 51

In the context of globalization, explain how the manufacturing of cell phones impacts people living in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Question 52

What is the difference between hard power and soft power? Give an example of the use of each.

Question 53

Political science has historically been divided into three major methodological traditions: traditionalism, behavioralism, and postbehavioralism. Describe each of these approaches. How are they different? How are they related?

Question 54

Which methodological approach uses mathematical or statistical models to explain different kinds of political and social behavior without a strong commitment to values?

A)Traditionalism
B)Behavioralism
C)Postbehavioralism
D)Utilitarianism
E)Pacifism

Question 55

According to Aristotle, what political ability is most highly valued because it allows us to put reason into action?

A)Political amorality
B)Political debate
C)Political leadership
D)Political manipulation
E)Strategic political thinking

Question 56

What kind of approach seeks to determine how one "ought" to do something?

A)Behavioral
B)Correlational
C)Empirical
D)Normative
E)Reductive

Question 57

What are the different areas of research in political science? Why are theories such an important part of political science research? Which area of research do you find most compelling, and why?

Question 58

Describe three different political systems, economic systems, or political ideologies. What do they have in common? What is different about them?