Exam 9: Public Policy, Power, and Decision

Critics of the pluralist approach argue that

In the elite approach, the term understructure generally refers to the

The analysis of Swaziland in Focus in 9 most closely conforms to the------approach.

According to Karl Marx, class distinctions are based primarily on

Compare the central claims of the elite, class, and pluralist explanations of the political decision making process. Which claim of each approach is most compelling? Least persuasive?

A major factor in the elite approach explanation of policymaking is

What might be the relative importance of cognitive knowledge (factual information) and political ideology at each stage of the policy process in certain policy domains that you specify?

In the pluralist approach, the government is viewed as

Which of the following types of evidence would most seriously undermine the elite approach?

The class approach differs from the elite approach because it assumes that

The assumption that many different resources can influence policy decisions is crucial to

It could be argued that the elite approach is correct, because every society is run by the elite and most people have little impact on political decisions. Do you agree with this argument? Why or why not?

In which stage of the public policy process is the emphasis on assessing the impacts of a policy that has been enacted?

Which of the following types of evidence would most seriously undermine the class approach?

A seminal scholar of the pluralist approach is

Pluralism shares with the class approach the assumption that

The idea that inequality inevitably produces political conflict is most consistent with

While the class approach sees the masses as-------- ,the elite approach views them as---------.

According to C. Wright Mills, the power elite in the United States consists primarily of

The most important shared concept between the elite approach and the class approach is