Deck 10: Understanding Institutions: Politics and the Economy

Question 1

Max Weber's definition of a state was focused on ______.

A) what the state does
B) who is in a position of power
C) how the state achieves its results
D) who is impacted by the state's actions

Answer 1

C

Question 2

According to Weber, the state may legitimately use ______ to achieve its ends.

A) physical force
B) social coercion
C) political elections
D) unilateral action

Answer 2

A

Question 3

When a state uses power in a way that is NOT supported by its citizens, it is ______ power.

A) forced
B) authoritarian
C) illegitimate
D) unlawful

Answer 3

C

Question 4

When a government decides to kill someone for committing a heinous crime by using the death penalty, it is ______.

A) using illegitimate power
B) using legitimate authority
C) demonstrating citizen rights
D) demonstrating charismatic domination

Question 5

Hobbes argued that before humans became a civil society ruled by laws, they ______.

A) had no control over people's basic instincts
B) all had the same amount of power
C) lived long, peaceful lives
D) lived in a state of nature

Question 6

"Might makes right," is another way of describing Hobbes' ______.

A) utopian society
B) state of nature
C) view of human nature
D) illegitimate use of power

Question 7

Game of Thrones was a television series in which individuals and groups competed for power by brutally killing their foes. There were no civil laws to protect the weak and vulnerable. Hobbes might call this ______.

A) a power-driven society
B) the state of nature
C) a conflict view of human nature
D) the illegitimate use of power

Question 8

Hobbes believed that when citizens gave the state the right to use legitimate violence to protect them, this would constitute ______.

A) capitulation
B) a kind of serfdom
C) a feudal state
D) a social contract

Question 9

A police officer arrived at the scene of a man holding a woman hostage at gunpoint. The officer shot and killed the man in order to protect the woman. This is acceptable behavior because the officer ______.

A) has legitimate power to shoot anyone he wants
B) has absolute power to hold the man accountable for his crime
C) has a social contract to protect citizens, even if he has to kill someone to do it
D) didn't know the man and wasn't personally involved

Question 10

What was Jefferson referring to when he stated in the Declaration of Independence, "Governments are instituted by Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

A) the social contract
B) the state of nature
C) democratic domination
D) charismatic domination

Question 11

The Queen of England is one of a long line of rulers who gained their power by inheriting it. This is an example of ______ domination.

A) royal
B) traditional
C) rational-legal
D) charismatic

Question 12

Which of Weber's forms of domination is based on "the authority of the eternal yesterday"?

A) historical
B) traditional
C) rational-legal
D) charismatic

Question 13

In which of Weber's forms of legitimate state power is power typically absolute and cannot be questioned or countermanded?

A) historical
B) traditional
C) rational-legal
D) elected

Question 14

Which of these states is ruled under a form of traditional domination?

A) the United States
B) Iraq
C) the Vatican
D) Cuba

Question 15

The office of president of the United States is an example of ______ domination.

A) charismatic
B) traditional
C) federal
D) rational-legal

Question 16

Leaders who derive their authority through a legally defined position are using ______ domination.

A) charismatic
B) traditional
C) electoral
D) rational-legal

Question 17

What is the best way to distinguish rational-legal domination from traditional domination?

A) whether the leader is duly elected or seizes power through force
B) whether power is vested in the office or the person who occupies the office
C) whether the person gains control through the devotion of followers or by election
D) whether the leader is beholden to a system or not

Question 18

Under which type of legitimate domination does the leader gain power because followers believe the leader possesses some extraordinary personal qualities?

A) charismatic
B) traditional
C) electoral
D) rational-legal

Question 19

According to Weber's types of legitimate domination, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a ______ leader.

A) charismatic
B) traditional
C) popular
D) rational-legal

Question 20

Which form or domination is the most inherently unstable?

A) charismatic
B) traditional
C) popular
D) rational-legal

Question 21

Putin has remained president of Russia for years, primarily because he has had a high public opinion rating in spite of problems with the national economy and accusations of government corruption. He was at one time ranked the world's most popular politician. Putin has probably maintained his power through ______.

A) the legitimate use of violence
B) the routinization of charisma
C) a power contract
D) rational-legal defiance

Question 22

States that are ruled by kings and queens are called ______.

A) autocracies
B) democracies
C) monarchies
D) parliaments

Question 23

During medieval times, a king was said to get his power through the doctrine of ______.

A) the royal proclamation
B) parliamentary law
C) the divine right of kings
D) the reign of royalty

Question 24

The form of government that is typically used in rational-legal societies is ______.

A) autocracy
B) democracy
C) monarchy
D) parliamentary

Question 25

In ancient Athens, everyone had a say in decisions of the state. This describes ______.

A) representative democracy
B) popular rule
C) general elections
D) direct democracy

Question 26

In ______ democracy, people vote to decide who will make decisions on state matters.

A) representative
B) indirect
C) general
D) direct

Question 27

What is the primary reason elected officials must run for reelection periodically?

A) to make the people feel that have a say in government
B) to hold the politicians accountable to their constituents
C) to give special interests an opportunity to be heard
D) to solidify positions of the powerful

Question 28

A system of government in which a small group of elites holds the power is a(n)______.

A) democracy
B) monarchy
C) autocracy
D) oligarchy

Question 29

What system is a form of oligarchy in which power is held by a group of economic elites?

A) a financial oligarchy
B) a democracy
C) a plutocracy
D) apartheid

Question 30

Robert Michels believed that all representative democracies eventually become ______ because some members have a greater investment than others.

A) an oligarchy
B) a direct democracy
C) a plutocracy
D) a dictatorship

Question 31

When democracies evolve into oligarchies because of a divide that grows between leaders of the organization and its members, this is called ______.

A) the inevitable transformation
B) a democratic oligarchy
C) the iron law of oligarchy
D) a voluntary transfer of power

Question 32

Dana was elected freshman class president, and three of her friends were also voted in as class officers. In fact, they were voted into these positions sophomore, junior and senior years also because no one else wanted the responsibility. Michels might say this is due to ______.

A) the inevitable decay of participation
B) a democratic stalemate
C) the iron law of oligarchy
D) the voluntary transfer of power

Question 33

According to Michels, elected leaders' priority must be ______.

A) holding onto their positions
B) keeping promises to constituents
C) raising money
D) supporting their party

Question 34

Why do some researchers feel the United States is more of an oligarchy than a democracy?

A) Politicians pay more attention to individuals and groups that give them money.
B) Politicians pay more attention to voters that attend town halls and use social media.
C) Government is beholden to too many disparate groups.
D) The people don't care who is elected as long as they have jobs and security.

Question 35

President X rules a country in which his authority is NOT restricted in any way. It is most likely that President X's form of government is ______.

A) an oligarchy
B) a direct democracy
C) a plutocracy
D) an autocracy

Question 36

Most autocratic governments are ______.

A) democracies
B) dictatorships
C) plutocracies
D) oligarchies

Question 37

Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq with absolute power through the use of fear and terror. He was a ______.

A) dictator
B) traditional leader
C) rational-legal leader
D) revolutionary

Question 38

______ is like autocracy except the government attempts to control every aspect of life - social, political, and economic.

A) Democracy
B) Totalitarianism
C) Plutocracy
D) Dictatorship

Question 39

Nazism is an example of ______ that was driven by a race-based identity movement.

A) an autocracy
B) totalitarianism
C) a plutocracy
D) a dictatorship

Question 40

Elected officials in the United States must balance demands from both the interest groups who helped elect them and constituents in their districts. This is the struggle associated with ______.

A) direct democracy
B) the power elite
C) pluralism
D) distributive power

Question 41

Pluralist theory sees the state as a ______ forum, where different groups make their preferences known.

A) competitive
B) antagonistic
C) destabilizing
D) neutral

Question 42

Conflict theorists see the state as a ______ forum, where a dominant elite is able to control policy.

A) battleground
B) balanced
C) diffused
D) neutral

Question 43

Many in the United States believe that policy that affects everyone is in the hands of a very few, wealthy individuals who have the power to shape policy to benefit themselves. C. Wright Mills calls this the ______.

A) power elite
B) economic powers
C) financial executives
D) political elite

Question 44

Which sphere of the power elite includes various appointed Congressional aides, advisors, and agency directors?

A) the corporate elite
B) the political elite
C) the military elite
D) the government elite

Question 45

C. Wright Mills called the military elite the ______.

A) conscience of the nation
B) real power elite
C) warlords
D) true patriots

Question 46

G. William Domhoff's ______ theory suggests that the economic elite can control society because of their power over the workings of the economy.

A) distributive justice
B) economic distribution
C) elite power
D) class domination

Question 47

Of the three elites-political, military and economic, Domhoff sees ______ as the most powerful.

A) political
B) military
C) economic
D) none

Question 48

Who first used the phrase, "It's the economy, stupid," as an unofficial campaign slogan?

A) George W. Bush
B) Bill Clinton
C) Ronald Reagan
D) Richard Nixon

Question 49

The systematic transformation of an economy from a focus on agricultural production to one focused on the manufacturing of finished goods is called ______.

A) industrialization
B) the manufacturing era
C) the production era
D) the economic turning point

Question 50

The system of mass production of standardized, relatively inexpensive products by unskilled workers paid wages sufficient to purchase those products is called ______.

A) Fordism
B) automotive economics
C) industrialized manufacturing
D) non-specialized manufacturing

Question 51

Prayla lives in a society where competition helps keep the prices of goods down and quality high. She most likely lives in a ______ society.

A) socialist
B) capitalist
C) communist
D) laissez-faire

Question 52

Denmark is an example of a ______ country, in which health care and college education are paid for by the government for all citizens.

A) democratic socialist
B) capitalist
C) communist
D) laissez-faire

Question 53

In Drava's ideal country, there is no private ownership of property. All citizens are considered socially and economically equal; there is no need for anyone to rule the country. This is the definition of a ______ system.

A) socialist
B) capitalist
C) communist
D) laissez-faire

Question 54

In the former Soviet Union, the Communist Party made all decisions about goods being produced. This is a ______.

A) shared production system
B) people-controlled mechanism
C) socialist economic power
D) command economy

Question 55

Which statement about fascism is true?

A) Fascist societies have always had very different goals and styles.
B) Fascism is usually considered to be a right-wing political ideology.
C) Fascist societies abhor displays of military might.
D) The economic goal of fascist societies is to let the people control the means of production and break down class structures.

Question 56

Hobbes describes the life of people living in the state of nature as "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."

Question 57

The People's Republic of China is an oligarchy because it is controlled by the Communist Party.

Question 58

Dictators can be charismatic leaders, drawing their support from citizens with their personalities.

Question 59

Structural functionalism sees society as a complex system where each part serves a purpose in maintaining the stability of the status quo.

Question 60

The three spheres of the power elite operate independently with different goals and objectives.

Question 61

Non-profit think tanks and foundations that are funded by the corporate community and the upper class are called the corporate community.

Question 62

Marx felt that the nature of a state's economy was the most important factor in which political system the state operated under.

Question 63

Claudia won $560 million dollars in the lottery, and she immediately quit her job, bought a penthouse apartment in Chicago, and hired a chauffeur to drive her around while she shopped at high-end stores. Claudia demonstrates the concept of extreme shopping.

Question 64

The shift away from mass production to more specialized production in smaller quantities is called Post-Fordism.

Question 65

Of the top ten most profitable companies on the 2018 Fortune 500 list, only one manufactures products.

Question 66

The unregulated laissez-faire economy of Marx's time exists today in a few European countries.

Question 67

Many Americans like the idea of the government providing certain benefits to citizens, such as welfare, but NOT the concept of socialism.

Question 68

The Soviet Union was the only country that ever came close to Marx's ideal of the communist state.

Question 69

Fascism is a form of socialism.

Question 70

Fascism is generally considered a twentieth century ideology.

Question 71

Describes Hobbes' concept of the social contract.

Question 72

Why is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. considered to be a charismatic leader?

Question 73

Describe the concept of the divine right of kings. Do modern day royals still operate under this doctrine, in your opinion?

Question 74

How did Fordism change manufacturing in the United States, and what impact did it have on workers?

Question 75

Socialism is a term that is used a lot, and many people misunderstand it. Differentiate between socialism and democratic socialism.

Question 76

Compare and contrast the three types of legitimate power as outlined by Max Weber, and give an example of each one.

Question 77

Differentiate between direct democracy and representative democracy. When did direct democracy exist, and are there places with direct democracy today?

Question 78

Explain C. Wright Mill's concept of the power elite, and differentiate between the three types that he described.

Question 79

How did industrialization change manufacturing, and consequently class structure in the United States?

Question 80

How does socialism differ from communism?