Deck 17: Politics and Government

Question 1

Pre-industrial societies, explained Max Weber, are characterized by having

A) mostly traditional authority.
B) mostly rational-legal authority.
C) mostly charismatic authority.
D) no authority at all.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

In Max Weber's view, monarchy claims legitimacy based on

A) traditional authority.
B) charismatic authority.
C) rational-legal authority.
D) sheer force.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Capitalist societies base their claim to democracy on

A) people having personal liberty.
B) meeting the basic needs of all.
C) maintaining public order.
D) their high living standards.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

In which of the following types of societies would you expect to find monarchy as the political system?

A) hunting and gathering
B) industrial
C) agrarian
D) post-industrial

Question 5

Which of the following concepts refers to a political system in which a single family rules from generation to generation?

A) democracy
B) monarchy
C) totalitarianism
D) aristocracy

Question 6

Canada's democracy is a capitalist system tinged with

A) communism.
B) totalitarianism.
C) socialism.
D) evangelism.

Question 7

In 2015, about what share of the world's people lived in countries that can be considered politically "free"?

A) 6%
B) 26%
C) 40%
D) 66%

Question 8

Industrialization increases the importance of which type of authority?

A) traditional authority
B) rational-legal authority
C) charismatic authority
D) no authority at all

Question 9

Which of the following concepts refers to a political system in which power resides in the hands of the people as a whole?

A) democracy
B) monarchy
C) totalitarianism
D) aristocracy

Question 10

Max Weber said that a crisis of charismatic authority results from

A) the death of the leader.
B) the fact that few people follow a charismatic leader.
C) the fact that charisma existed only in the ancient world.
D) moments when a charismatic leader behaves in ways contrary to popular opinion.

Question 11

Which nations in the world today claim to be democratic?

A) all low-income nations
B) only middle-income nations
C) most high-income nations
D) all nations

Question 12

As Max Weber saw it, the essential difference between power and authority is that

A) authority is more rational.
B) people perceive authority as legitimate rather than coercive.
C) raw power is always the foundation of justice.
D) power is more efficient in getting the job done.

Question 13

Which of Weber's types of authority rests on extraordinary personal abilities that inspire devotion in followers?

A) traditional authority
B) rational-legal authority
C) charismatic authority
D) militant authority.

Question 14

Canada is a _______________ monarchy.

A) political
B) constitutional
C) traditional
D) postmodern

Question 15

Which of the following concepts refers to the formal organization that directs the political life of a society?

A) the political system
B) rational-legal authority
C) the power elite
D) government

Question 16

Politics is a social institution that is defined in terms of a society's

A) distribution of power, goals, and decision making.
B) system of elections.
C) income distribution.
D) types of authority.

Question 17

People who attract followers, including Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, display

A) traditional authority.
B) rational-legal authority.
C) charismatic authority.
D) power rather than authority.

Question 18

For which of the following reasons might you argue that Canada is not truly democratic?

A) There is little economic inequality.
B) Millions of bureaucratic officials are not elected.
C) Most Canadian adults have never voted.
D) Voting is mandatory after the age of 18.

Question 19

What Weber called the routinization of charisma involves charismatic authority

A) disappearing entirely.
B) becoming a reflection of a leader's unique personality.
C) becoming sheer force.
D) transforming into some combination of traditional authority and rational-legal authority.

Question 20

Max Weber defined power as

A) simply a reflection of wealth.
B) the ability to achieve desired ends, despite resistance.
C) the operation of a government.
D) the source of all bureaucracy.

Question 21

Which of the following categories of voters is most likely to support the Liberal Party of Canada?

A) blue-collar workers
B) high-income citizens
C) immigrants and visible minorities
D) women

Question 22

Which of the following regions of Canada entered Confederation most recently?

A) Newfoundland and Labrador
B) Nunavut
C) Saskatchewan
D) B.C.

Question 23

Which of the following nations comes closest to having a political system that is "totalitarian"?

A) Mexico
B) France
C) North Korea
D) Japan

Question 24

According to Lipset (1991), the Canadian Charter of Rights, as compared to the American Bill of Rights

A) places more emphasis on the individual.
B) discourages litigious action.
C) preserves the principle of parliamentary supremacy.
D) does not constitute a due-process bill.

Question 25

Which of the following is TRUE?

A) Canadian politicians are more likely to emphasize their religiousness during an election than American politicians.
B) Both American and Canadian politicians seldom mention their religious affiliation during an election.
C) American politicians are more likely to emphasize their religiousness during an election than Canadian politicians.
D) During an election, politicians in most countries discuss their religiousness fairly regularly.

Question 26

Which of the following statements accurately describes events surrounding Confederation in Canada?

A) The impetus was strictly political.
B) The impetus involved fear of economic absorption and possible military conquest by the United States.
C) Canada, as we know it today, was formed in 1867.
D) Various parts of Canada came together eagerly.

Question 27

Which of the following is TRUE of political socialization?

A) Most elementary school students know that Queen Elizabeth is Canada's head of state.
B) Our political socialization is more formal than that of the United States.
C) Canadian school children do not learn what the Canadian flag looks like.
D) Very few Canadian schools offer formal civics classes.

Question 28

The impetus behind the demand for a Triple-E Senate is

A) satisfaction with the political clout of central Canada in the House of Commons.
B) unhappiness with the political clout of central Canada in the Senate.
C) a desire for a decrease in the number of senators.
D) the west wanted less power in the Senate and more in the House of Commons.

Question 29

Political sociologists have discerned that Canadians

A) tend to vote for the same party at both the provincial and federal level.
B) want the party system introduced into municipal politics.
C) show no observable patterns in party support.
D) commonly vote for different parties at federal and provincial levels.

Question 30

Socialist societies base their claim to democracy on

A) people having personal liberty.
B) meeting the basic needs of all.
C) maintaining public order.
D) their high living standards.

Question 31

Quebec and Ontario elect _______ percent of the members of the House of Commons.

A) 40
B) 57
C) 68
D) 75

Question 32

According to Lipset (1991), the difference between the United States and Canada is

A) the United States is the country of counter-revolution.
B) Canadians place more emphasis on "individualism."
C) "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" are the primary goals of Canadians.
D) "peace, order, and good government" are the primary goals of Canadians.

Question 33

The concept "authoritarianism" refers to a political system that

A) is well-legitimated.
B) relies on more than one kind of authority.
C) denies most people participation in government.
D) has free elections.

Question 34

Those on the political left can be described as being

A) concerned with "family values."
B) pro-big business.
C) supportive of social welfare programs.
D) in favour of privatizing Crown corporations.

Question 35

Organizations operating within the political system that seek control of the government are called

A) state parties.
B) state factions.
C) political parties.
D) political factions.

Question 36

Which of the following is TRUE?

A) In both Canada and the U.S., citizens are less likely to vote today than they were a century ago.
B) In both Canada and the U.S., citizens are more likely to vote today than they were a century ago.
C) Canadians are more likely to vote than they were a century ago and Americans are less likely.
D) Americans are more likely to vote than they were a century ago and Canadians are less likely.

Question 37

Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Quebec entered Canadian Confederation in

A) 1776.
B) 1867.
C) 1899.
D) 1903.

Question 38

A totalitarian political system

A) mixes politics with religion.
B) is completely democratic.
C) is government without any bureaucracy.
D) concentrates power and closely regulates people's lives.

Question 39

An analysis of the history of Canadian political parties shows that

A) Tories have always been "anti-protectionist."
B) Grits have always been expansionist and pro-business.
C) of the minor parties that appeared on the scene since World War I, the CCF-NDP is the most long-lived.
D) in 1999, the Reform Party entered the political arena.

Question 40

Which of the following is NOT considered a function of a political party?

A) promoting political pluralism
B) increasing political involvement
C) selection of political candidates
D) undermining political coalitions

Question 41

Traditional authority gains importance as a society becomes industrialized.

Question 42

The military-industrial complex refers to

A) the fact that war often destroys a country's economic infrastructure.
B) the close link between the government, defense contractors, and the military.
C) the fact that the post-industrial economy is increasingly dominated by war production.
D) the fact that the military is the world's largest industrial corporation.

Question 43

According to Max Weber, authority is just another word for power.

Question 44

For almost fifty years, what strategy has kept the peace between the world's nuclear superpowers?

A) deterrence
B) high-technology defense
C) disarmament
D) resolving underlying differences

Question 45

Charismatic authority is based on extraordinary personal abilities.

Question 46

The first female cabinet minister in Canada was

A) Kim Campbell.
B) Alexa McDonough.
C) Agnes McPhail.
D) Ellen Fairclough.

Question 47

Which of the following serves as the earliest influencing factor on political socialization?

A) the family
B) school
C) the media
D) clubs and extracurricular organizations

Question 48

The concept "government" refers to the formal organization that directs the political life of a society.

Question 49

The text explains that

A) human beings are naturally eager to engage in war.
B) there is nothing in our human biology that makes it natural to go to war.
C) nations usually fight wars simply over wealth.
D) Canadian military efforts are highly regarded across the world.

Question 50

In Canadian politics today

A) women are given only portfolios deemed "suitable" for women.
B) overall, women are under-represented.
C) the Conservative Party has been most persistent, over the long-term, in the promotion of women.
D) the proportion of females among those running for office and winning is greatest at the provincial level.

Question 51

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A) The difference between a "terrorist" and a "freedom fighter" is clearly defined.
B) Democratic societies are especially vulnerable to terrorism.
C) Identifying and effectively targeting terrorists is fairly simple, given their visibility.
D) Any use of violence against the citizenry is an example of authoritative power, and is accepted as legitimate by society.

Question 52

Traditional authority is one source of strength for patriarchy.

Question 53

Terrorism has been called a new kind of warfare because

A) it is less violent.
B) it is "symmetrical," involving two opponents of roughly equal power.
C) it lacks clearly stated objectives and is not about controlling territory.
D) advances in technology means that most combat takes place in the virtual world.

Question 54

Which of the following concepts refers to the use of violence by governments often against their own people?

A) authoritarianism
B) state terrorism
C) totalitarianism
D) counter-terrorism

Question 55

Which of all U.S. wars was the deadliest in terms of loss of Canadian lives?

A) the Korean War
B) World War I
C) World War II
D) the Vietnam War

Question 56

Authority refers to power that people perceive as coercive.

Question 57

A power-elite model is an analysis of politics that which of the following views?

A) Power is concentrated among the rich.
B) An anti-democratic bias exists in the capitalist system.
C) Power is widely dispersed throughout society.
D) Many people do not vote because they are alienated from the political system.

Question 58

A pluralist approach to political systems suggests that

A) power is concentrated in the hands of a few.
B) an anti-democratic bias exists in the capitalist system.
C) power is widely dispersed throughout society.
D) many people do not vote because they are alienated from the political system.

Question 59

Which of the following is NOT one of the five factors that promote war?

A) perceived threats
B) political objectives
C) moral objectives
D) attacking an internal enemy

Question 60

About what percentage of federal spending goes to military defense in the United States?

A) 25
B) 50
C) 15
D) 20

Question 61

The sociologist closely associated with the power-elite model is C. Wright Mills.

Question 62

Terrorism is considered to be a new form of asymmetrical warfare.

Question 63

Democracy and rational-legal authority are linked just as monarchy and traditional authority are.

Question 64

Authoritarian governments give people little voice in politics.

Question 65

Nuclear proliferation is the process by which the two super-powers engage in an arms race.

Question 66

The Marxist political-economy model suggests that capitalist societies are democratic, giving some political voice to everyone.

Question 67

Rational-legal authority is also called "bureaucratic authority" because it usually is rooted in formal offices.

Question 68

The pluralist model states that the United States is far less democratic than most people would like to think.

Question 69

Political revolutions tend to occur when and where living standards are the lowest.

Question 70

The concept "military-industrial complex" refers to the close association among the federal government, the military, and defense industries.

Question 71

Extensive civil liberties make democratic societies very vulnerable to terrorism.

Question 72

In the 2015 federal election in Canada, Alberta was the province where a majority of people voted Liberal.

Question 73

In a totalitarian political system, one political organization claims total control of society.

Question 74

Weber's idea of the routinization of charisma states that charisma does not exist in the modern world.

Question 75

A large majority of the world's people live in nations that are considered to be politically free.

Question 76

In absolute monarchies, hereditary rulers claim a virtual monopoly of power based on divine right.

Question 77

The Canadian prime minister can have more power in decision-making than the American president.

Question 78

Canadians are highly concerned with the religiosity of our political leaders, with less emphasis on physical fitness or athletic ability.

Question 79

Just as the economy is becoming more and more global, so is the world developing a single global political system.

Question 80

An examination of socialist and capitalist systems suggests that political liberty and economic equality almost always go together.