Exam 4: Political Inequality

Power based on position within a formal organization is called coercive power.

Jones and Keiser (1987) found that the less visible the issue, the greater the effects of PAC contributions on the voting behavior in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Part of the world's "new geography of power" are:

Historically, the less economically advantaged have been the most politically organized and powerful in terms of influencing the political system.

After reviewing the evidence on voting, office holding, and candidate selection, which of the theories concerning the structure of power in the U.S. is the most viable? Defend your answer.

In contrast to its power-elite counterpart, ruling-class theory often views the lower segments of society as more active and in conflict with those at the top.

Individuals and groups can participate in the political process by:

The Enron scandal increased interest in more closely regulating the connection between those with economic power and those with political power.

Political inequality focuses on inequality in political power at both the national level as well as in everyday relationships between individuals.

Domhoff (1998) argues that the power of the elite is based both class position and corporate attachment.

Mills's "higher immorality" refers to the idea that:

An example of "soft power" in terms of a nation's power and influence would be:

Useem's study of inner-circle corporate leaders found that:

Since the 1960s, there has been:

Data support the pluralist view of a balance of power between groups with different interests in that there is fairly broad representation of women, racial minorities, and lower-class individuals in national-level offices of political power.

From studying the U.S. institutional elite, Thomas Dye observes that although it is characterized by a general consensus on key Values, a split between two factions is now evident. He labels these factions:

Evidence suggests that well-educated offspring:

Which of the following is a core idea of the pluralist view?

Research on Cabinet members reveals that:

Mills' power elite theory has been criticized for: