Deck 4: The American Political Economy

Question 1

Explain civil society.

Answer 1

Students' answers may vary.
Civil society encompasses the voluntary associations that lie between the private realm of the family and the public sphere of politics.Alexis de Tocqueville, the French democratic theorist who visited the United States in the 1830s, argued that the great strength of American democracy lay precisely in the character of its voluntary associations.Voluntary associations, from food banks to labor unions, from Boys and Girls Clubs to arts associations, act like informal schools, enabling citizens to develop the civic skills that are necessary to participate effectively in a democracy.Civic associations can help to take the rough edges off of American individualism, with its tendency to worship individual wealth and competitiveness.Such associations help people realize that they are part of a community and that a meaningful life is found not in possessions but in building a shared life with others.

Question 2

What is the fortunate fifth?

Answer 2

Students' answers may vary.
The fortunate fifth is the top 20 percent of income earners.The United States has the greatest income inequality (measured by the ratio between the incomes of families at the ninetieth percentile with those at the tenth percentile)among all advanced industrial countries.

Question 3

What is the privileged position of business?

Answer 3

Students' answers may vary.
This is the idea that business has the advantage in most political disputes because of its power to threaten "disinvestment" when goverrnment proposes regulations and/or taxation.

Question 4

The text suggests that

A)the elite democratic view of the economy is more widely available than the popular democratic view.
B)both elite and popular democratic views receive an equal hearing from Americans.
C)the popular democratic view of the economy is more widely available than the elite democratic view.
D)Americans are largely kept in the dark when it comes to economic arguments.

Question 5

What is shareholder democracy?

Question 6

Explain the similarities between the World Trade Organization (WTO)and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Question 7

What is corporate welfare?

Question 8

Explain the implications of economic planning.

Question 9

What were the implications of subprime mortgage lenders?

Question 10

The text argues that corporations

A)have little autonomy in the face of market imperatives.
B)are free to ignore consumer demand.
C)engage in a great deal of planning.
D)rely on government to advise them on their investments.

Question 11

Using the examples of Walmart and Countrywide Financial Corporation, please explain the issues with corporate power.How do they demonstrate the flaws in the American political system?

Question 12

Popular democrats believe that in modern corporate capitalism

A)worker ownership is replacing traditional capitalism.
B)power is concentrated.
C)business has become as much concerned with social responsibilities as with profits.
D)abuses and inequities are inevitably leading to revolution.

Question 13

Elite democrats praise the American market economy because it

A)produces relative equality.
B)is completely self-regulating.
C)benefits from government planning.
D)is based on voluntary actions by individuals.

Question 14

Describe in detail a civil society.What has been happening to civil society in the United States in recent years? How is it important to a healthy democratic system?

Question 15

Explain corporate capitalism.

Question 16

What is the importance of the Wagner Act?

Question 17

Who are paper entrepreneurs?

Question 18

Ford was different from Walmart in that he

A)bought his materials from China.
B)cut customer service.
C)provided housing for his employees.
D)paid his workers enough so that they could buy cars.

Question 19

Examine the supposed controls on corporate behavior: stockholders, market pressures, labor unions, and the government.In what ways do these controls fail?

Question 20

Walmart is able to make high profiles while keeping prices low by

A)selling products at a high mark-up.
B)cutting back on customer service.
C)paying very low wages to its workers.
D)All of the above are correct.

Question 21

In the United States, CEOs are paid ____ times the average employee.

A)10
B)25
C)531
D)595

Question 22

Modern corporations engage in economic planning which means they

A)decide where to build factories.
B)decide what workers to hire.
C)decide how much to pay the CEO.
D)All of the above are correct.

Question 23

_____ encompasses the voluntary associations that lie between the private realm of the family and the public sphere of politics.

A)Fortunate fifth
B)Civil society
C)Inequality
D)Individual development

Question 24

Which of the following are areas where policies of the government and private corporations have contributed to economic insecurity?

A)Pensions
B)Unemployment Insurance
C)Mortgages
D)All of the above

Question 25

Which of the following is not a special privilege of corporate organizations?

A)Shareholder democracy
B)Joint stock ownership
C)Limited liability
D)Continuous legal identity

Question 26

The U.S.government has promoted globalization by signing on to which international trade agreement?

A)World Trade Organization
B)International Criminal Court
C)Wagner Act
D)None of the above