Deck 10: Not Quite Right,but Still Good: The Democratic Ideal in Modern Politics

Question 1

Arrow's theorem demonstrates that elections cannot be the perfect means of making decisions because of which of the following?

A)The way votes are tallied can significantly alter the outcome.
B)Too many people do not vote.
C)Elections are always confusing to many people.
D)Corruption is an inevitable part of politics.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Winner-take-all systems are likely to produce ______.

A)moderate candidates
B)a two-party system
C)many smaller parties on the extremes of the political spectrum
D)both A and B

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Direct democracy systems can result in the creation of an unrestrained majority of citizens who band together to rule society with a ferocity and cruelty comparable to a dictator,a ______.

A)tyranny of the majority
B)hierarchy of authority
C)factionalism
D)cross-cutting cleavages

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the following refers to questions placed on the ballot by citizens?

A)initiative
B)referendum
C)alliance
D)injunction

Question 5

Which ancient Greek city-state was a direct democracy?

A)Sparta
B)Carthage
C)Athens
D)Madrid

Question 6

Which of the following statements regarding proportional representation systems is true?

A)Voting is local,not national.
B)The higher the qualifying threshold,the fewer smaller parties there will be.
C)Voters vote for political parties rather than specific candidates.
D)Only the party that outright wins an election will get any seats.

Question 7

An election where the two candidates with the highest pluralities face a secondary election is a ______.

A)proportional election
B)run-off election
C)plurality election
D)congressional election

Question 8

An election where the winning candidate is the one who received the most votes,not a majority,is a ______.

A)proportional election
B)run-off election
C)plurality election
D)presidential election

Question 9

The one vote in the exact center of the political spectrum is called ______.

A)the median voter
B)the modal voter
C)the centrist voter
D)the key voter

Question 10

Which of the following refers to questions that a legislature puts on the ballot for a vote by the people?

A)initiative
B)referenda
C)alliance
D)injunction

Question 11

While initiatives themselves may not make it beyond the ballot,they often have positive results in ______.

A)bringing legislative attention to issues
B)causing legislative blocking of issues
C)prompting the issuance of executive orders
D)bringing national attention to issues

Question 12

The notion of direct democracy is quaint and appealing,but the actual achievement of direct democracy is difficult.For example,direct democracy was possible in Athens only because the city was relatively small and because ______.

A)there was a public school system so voters were very educated
B)minor government positions were filled by appointment,not election
C)women could vote
D)Athenians had slaves to do much of their work,so the citizens were free to engage in politics directly

Question 13

Democracy means ______.

A)rule by the people
B)representative government
C)rule by constitutional authority
D)rule by divine right

Question 14

Of the following,which is not one of the four factors that are critical to the effectiveness and endurance of the American political system?

A)the institutionalization of revolt
B)the frequent use of referenda
C)the use of representatives to create a democratic government of specialists
D)the use of nondemocratic features in the democracy

Question 15

Which of the following statements about winner-take-all district elections with primaries is true?

A)The need to win the primary drives candidates away from the overall center.
B)The candidate nearest to the "ideological edge" virtually always wins the general election.
C)The need to win the general election drives candidates to the overall center.
D)These types of elections typically lead to two parties that claim ideological ground just to the right and left of center.

Question 16

Which of the following is not a reason people do not like direct democracy?

A)Direct democracy requires too much time for the evaluation of proposals.
B)Direct democracy requires too much expertise.
C)People prefer not to be too engaged in politics.
D)People are not bright enough to engage in direct democracy.

Question 17

Which of the following voting methods is best at representing the majority?

A)ranking of votes
B)round-by-round voting
C)The candidate with the most votes wins.
D)None is best;all of the methods are flaweD.

Question 18

A democratic system in which citizens vote to select who will represent their interests rather than voting on the actual issues of the moment themselves is a ______.

A)direct democracy
B)constitutional monarchy
C)representative democracy
D)capitalist democracy

Question 19

Which of the following scholars argued "the democratic method is that institutional arrangement for arriving at political decisions in which individuals acquire the power to decide by means of a competitive struggle for the people's vote"?

A)Aristotle
B)Joseph Schumpeter
C)Anthony Downs
D)Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Question 20

A political system in which all citizens gather together to share perspectives,debate,and vote on policies is a ______.

A)representative democracy
B)constitutional democracy
C)direct democracy
D)capitalist democracy

Question 21

Arrow's theorem shows us that elections cannot be the perfect means of making decisions.

Question 22

Identify and explain the four factors that are critical to the effectiveness and endurance of the American political system.

Question 23

Initiatives are a part of a representative democracy.

Question 24

Which of the following is not one of the four factors critical to the effectiveness and the remarkable endurance of the U.S.system?

A)use of representatives as specialists
B)use of the military to spread democracy
C)institutionalization of revolt
D)recognition of the potential downside of democracy

Question 25

Why is it highly unlikely that third parties will be successful in the United States?

Question 26

Despite a representative democracy at the national level,the United States experiences direct democracy across all state governments.

Question 27

A tyranny of the majority takes place when an unrestrained majority bands together to rule a society.

Question 28

Using some serious math,economist Kenneth Arrow demonstrated that ______.

A)the public sector should underwrite corporations' losses
B)the use of elections does not ensure that the majority's preference will be selected
C)the cost-effectiveness of alternative sources of energy depends on usage volume
D)outsourcing prisons to Mexico is more cost-effective than welfare

Question 29

Why does the real-life use of initiatives lead some to argue that the initiative process represents exactly what is wrong with democracy?

Question 30

In a representative democracy,you vote to select who will represent your interests rather than voting on the actual issues of the moment.

Question 31

According to your text,the rationale for U.S.entry into this war was to "make the world safe for democracy."

A)World War I
B)World War II
C)Vietnam War
D)Cold War

Question 32

Democracy quite literally means "rule by the elites."

Question 33

The United States utilizes a winner-take-all electoral system wherein a candidate does the following,EXCEPT ______.

A)is the sole representative of a single-member district
B)wins the election for the district by receiving the most votes
C)received a proportion of the legislative seats based on his party's votes earned in the election
D)does not face a run-off election

Question 34

Identify two different methods for counting votes and explain how these methods might lead to different results.

Question 35

Which of the following is a process that provides a mechanism for the people to circumvent the legislature?

A)nomination
B)confirmation
C)initiative
D)reformation

Question 36

Winston Churchill once said,"Democracy is the worst form of government,except for all those other forms." Explain some of the criticisms that have been made of democracy (Plato and Aristotle had some good ones),and then explain why,in spite of these issues,democracy remains a very powerful idea and ideal.

Question 37

Kenneth Arrow was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1972.

Question 38

According to the author,the U.S.Constitution really encapsulates the battle of the real versus the ideal when it comes to democracy.

Question 39

Arrow's theorem demonstrates that the use of elections does not ensure that the majority's preference will be selected.Explain Arrow's theorem,detail what some of the different methods of tallying votes are,and give a real-world example of at least one of these methods and the shortcomings associated with it.