Deck 8: Power and Politics

Question 1

The idea that power is controlled by an alliance of military, political, and corporate leaders is associated with

A) power elite theory
B) social class theory
C) pluralist theory
D) status attainment theory

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Women are best represented in the national legislatures of

A) Sweden and Norway
B) the United States and Japan
C) Israel and Kuwait
D) India and Russia

Answer 2

A

Question 3

A major force in the distribution of global power in the 21^st century is

A) the emergence of resource-rich Africa as an economic powerhouse
B) the spread of NATO into south and east Asia
C) the growth of multinational corporate wealth and power
D) the shift of wealth away from Europe and North America to Africa and Latin America

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Black and Hispanic voters together now make half of the U.S. electorate.

Question 5

The pluralist perspective, associated with Robert Dahl, David Reisman, and others, suggests that elites do not control all decisions because

A) they cannot always agree
B) they are no longer that rich
C) they cannot influence elections
D) the media exposes their activities

Question 6

G. William Domhoff claims that big corporations can unify their actions through the use of

A) corporate spies
B) interlocking directorates
C) class consciousness
D) the social register

Question 7

Women are more likely than men to support government provision of social services.

Question 8

Black voters in the United States now support the two major political parties about equally.

Question 9

Max Weber defined power as

A) the ability to achieve one's will in spite of opposition
B) a concentration of social energy
C) dominance in the electoral process
D) the accumulation of wealth in the hands of a few

Question 10

Since 1950, recent decades have seen a shift in the national political power base from

A) those over 65 to those under 25
B) the South to the North
C) cities to suburbs
D) the wealthy to the poor

Question 11

Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal coalition included

A) diverse groups with strong anti-immigrant sentiments
B) wealthy businesspeople and corporate and military leaders
C) working-class Roman Catholics, immigrants, and black workers
D) the new rich and the old Protestant elites

Question 12

Karl Marx believed that workers could not effectively fight for their rights until they had attained

A) full unionization
B) electoral democracy
C) disposable income
D) class consciousness

Question 13

The gender gap in voting refers to

A) men being more likely to vote than women
B) women being more likely to vote for Democrats than men are
C) the lack of women in electoral office
D) men's unwillingness to vote for female candidates

Question 14

In the United States, voters tend to vote along strictly social class lines.

Question 15

Since the late 1800s, the African American vote has shifted from

A) heavily Democratic to heavily Republican
B) heavily Republican to heavily Democratic
C) the major parties to third parties
D) overwhelmingly liberal to overwhelmingly conservative

Question 16

The "paradox of democracy" is that as

A) globalization spreads, more and more governments become authoritarian and anti-democratic
B) more new countries become democratic, older democracies face low voter turn-out
C) more people demand democracy, more military takeovers create fewer electoral democracies
D) corporations gain wealth, they lose political influence in democratic societies

Question 17

Voting patterns seem to indicate that, compared to Europe, the working class in the U.S. is

A) more radical
B) less class conscious
C) more class conscious
D) more unionized

Question 18

Karl Marx contended that governments in capitalist countries serve the interests of the wealthy.

Question 19

"Soft money" refers to money that is

A) used for bribes and kickbacks
B) gained through illegal activities
C) given to political organizations but not subject to donation limits
D) promised by candidates to ease the burdens of the poor and dispossessed

Question 20

With more at stake, poor people are more likely to go to the polls to vote than the rich.

Question 21

In the 2012 presidential election, what factors made voters more likely to vote for Romney?

Question 22

Campaign finance reform has meant that now less money is spent on political campaigns than was the case 20 years ago.

Question 23

What are the major shifts that have occurred in democracy and the distribution of power in the world with globalization? What factors have affected the amount and extent of influence exerted by large corporations, both nationally and internationally?

Question 24

What are reasons that voting in the United States has not been more sharply divided along class lines? How are class, race, and gender intertwined in U.S. voting patterns?

Question 25

Large multinational corporations may control more assets and net worth than many governments.

Question 26

What are the arguments for and against the idea that the United States is dominated by a power elite that controls decisions? In what ways is power concentrated, and how is wealth used to influence elections?

Question 27

C. Wright Mills believed that the power elite of the 19^th century had been replaced by political pluralism in the 20^th century.

Question 28

In the 2012 presidential election, what factors made voters more likely to vote for Obama?

Question 29

Due to separation of church and state, religious affiliation does not predict likely voting behavior in the United States.