Deck 15: Economy and Politics

Question 1

Discuss the situation for women in the military; include the rate of their participation and the branches in which they are most likely to enlist, as well as the problems that women in the military must contend with.

Answer 1

The situation for women in the military has evolved significantly over the years. Women have been serving in the military for centuries, but it wasn't until the 20th century that they were officially recognized as members of the armed forces. Today, women make up approximately 16% of the total military force in the United States.

Women are most likely to enlist in the Army and the Air Force, with smaller numbers in the Navy and the Marine Corps. These branches offer a wide range of career opportunities for women, including combat roles, intelligence, logistics, and healthcare.

Despite the progress that has been made, women in the military still face a number of challenges. One of the most significant issues is sexual harassment and assault. According to a report by the Department of Defense, the rate of sexual assault in the military is significantly higher for women than for men. This creates a hostile work environment and can have long-lasting effects on the mental and emotional well-being of female service members.

Additionally, women in the military often struggle to balance their military careers with family responsibilities. The demands of military life, including frequent relocations and long deployments, can make it difficult for women to maintain stable family lives.

Overall, while women have made great strides in the military, there are still significant obstacles that they must contend with. Efforts to address issues such as sexual harassment and to provide better support for work-life balance are ongoing, but there is still much work to be done to ensure that women in the military are able to serve effectively and without fear of discrimination or harassment.

Question 2

List and describe the basic characteristics of the four models of power in society presented in the text.

Answer 2

The four models of power in society presented in the text are the pluralist model, the power-elite model, the Marxist model, and the feminist model.

1. Pluralist model: This model suggests that power is distributed among various groups in society, and no single group holds all the power. It emphasizes the importance of competition and negotiation among different groups to influence decision-making. This model also highlights the role of interest groups and social movements in shaping public policy.

2. Power-elite model: This model argues that power is concentrated in the hands of a small, interconnected group of individuals who hold key positions in government, business, and the military. According to this model, these elites make decisions that benefit themselves and perpetuate their own power and privilege.

3. Marxist model: The Marxist model views power as being held by the ruling class, who control the means of production and exploit the working class. This model emphasizes the role of economic inequality and class struggle in shaping power dynamics in society.

4. Feminist model: The feminist model of power focuses on the ways in which gender inequality intersects with other forms of oppression to shape power relations. It highlights the ways in which patriarchy and sexism contribute to the marginalization of women and other gender minorities, and how these power dynamics play out in various social institutions.

These four models offer different perspectives on how power operates in society, and each highlights different aspects of power dynamics, such as competition, class struggle, and gender inequality. Understanding these models can help us analyze and critique power structures in society and work towards creating a more equitable and just social order.

Question 3

What is the gender gap? Relate this specifically to differences between men and women in terms of voting behavior and political attitudes.

Answer 3

The gender gap refers to the differences in political attitudes and voting behavior between men and women. In general, women tend to vote for more liberal or progressive candidates and policies, while men tend to vote for more conservative or traditional candidates and policies. This gap can be attributed to a variety of factors, including socialization, education, and life experiences.

One specific example of the gender gap in voting behavior is that women are more likely to prioritize issues such as healthcare, education, and reproductive rights, while men are more likely to prioritize issues such as national security and economic policy. Additionally, women are more likely to support candidates who advocate for gender equality and women's rights.

In terms of political attitudes, women are more likely to favor government intervention in areas such as healthcare and social welfare, while men are more likely to favor limited government intervention and free market policies. These differences in attitudes can be seen in the way men and women approach political issues and the candidates they support.

Overall, the gender gap in voting behavior and political attitudes highlights the diverse perspectives and priorities of men and women in the political arena. It also underscores the importance of considering gender dynamics in political campaigns and policy-making.

Question 4

What are electronic sweatshops, and how are they similar to more traditional sweatshops?

Question 5

Discuss the unique family-related challenges faced by military members. 

Question 6

According to C. Wright Mills, who are the power elite in society? How do the power elite create the interconnection of institutions?

Question 7

Explain the difference between the state and government, and the relationship between the two.

Question 8

Mills's original concept of power elite includes all of the following areas except

A) the economy.
B) the military.
C) the government.
D) the courts.

Question 9

Discuss how feminist theory of the state differs from the pluralist and power elite theories of the state.

Question 10

Why did Weber believe that rational-legal authority inevitably leads to the formation of bureaucracies?

Question 11

Discuss the role of PACs in American politics.

Question 12

Explain how the military serves as a social institution.

Question 13

Discuss recent technological changes within the workplace and their impact on workers.

Question 14

 Discuss the pluralist model of power and interest groups; explain the relationship between them. Explain Mills's criticism of the pluralist model.

Question 15

Define nationalism and discuss two examples of its occurrence in the United States today.

Question 16

Discuss the privatization of the military. How does privatization change the military as a social institution?

Question 17

According to sociologists, the state has a central role in

A) determining cultural values.
B) determining the rights and privileges of various groups.
C) determining the outcome of elections.
D) organizing communities.

Question 18

Define nationalism and give examples of possible positive and negative consequences of nationalism.

Question 19

Compare and contrast mental and manual labor in the United States; include a discussion of the prestige associated with both.

Question 20

Explain how a postindustrial economy is related to deindustrialization.

Question 21

In _____, the Supreme Court ruled that state-funded military academies such as the Citadel and the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) may not refuse to admit women.

A) 1976
B) 1986
C) 1996
D) 2006

Question 22

A comparison of 2016 unemployment rates among various groups indicates that

A) Whites remain the hardest hit by the 2008 recession.
B) unemployment among African Americans is greater than that among Hispanics.
C) for any racial-ethnic group, unemployment among women exceeds unemployment among men.
D) Asian Americans have higher rates of unemployment than Whites.

Question 23

When debating with his family at a holiday dinner, Harry asserts that a small number of extremely wealthy families effectively control much of the United States because they all serve on each other's corporate boards of directors and often serve on institutional and charitable boards as well. Harry's argument rests on the idea of _____ and is most consistent with _____ theory.

A) interlocking directorates; conflict
B) traditional authority; conflict
C) interlocking directorates; symbolic interactionist
D) traditional authority; symbolic interactionist

Question 24

Which of the following best represents how feminist theories view the state?

A) The state should be predominantly matriarchal.
B) Power is directly linked to social class.
C) Women should boycott involvement in the state.
D) The state reflects men's interests and is run primarily by men.

Question 25

The Americans with Disabilities Act, adopted by Congress in 1990, does all of the following except

A) require employers to provide "reasonable accommodation" on the job.
B) prohibit discrimination against disabled people in employment.
C) require that state and local governments comply with its provisions.
D) require equal pay among all workers, regardless of disability.

Question 26

Which of these is a change resulting from the economic restructuring of the workplace?

A) The percentage of workers who are White women and people of color has declined.
B) The workforce is becoming increasingly diverse.
C) The employment opportunities in the service industry are declining.
D) The manufacturing economy is growing.

Question 27

According to autonomous state theory, the state is

A) an administrative organization.
B) a dominant group.
C) an elaborate system of power elites.
D) a military-style apparatus.

Question 28

In 1948, President Truman signed an executive order that

A) created the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
B) banned transgender individuals from joining the military.
C) banned discrimination in the armed services.
D) allowed women to enter into combat roles in the military.

Question 29

The term deindustrialization refers to that fact that

A) goods are no longer being produced in the United States.
B) fewer workers in the United States are required to produce goods.
C) production using computer technologies will replace service industries.
D) the workforce is becoming more diverse.

Question 30

According to your text, the current U.S. government is an example of

A) the pluralist model since it balances so many competing interests so effectively.
B) the power elite since it is controlled exclusively by the wealthy.
C) an autonomous state because of the huge government apparatus now in place in the United States.
D) a populist mechanism since "little people" are allowed to vote.

Question 31

Which of the following types of labor is the most rewarded in the United States?

A) Emotional labor
B) Mental labor
C) Manual labor
D) Household labor

Question 32

In their protests over government decisions, women may carry signs or wear shirts with the slogan "Keep Your Laws Off My Body," most often with respect to abortion but also with respect to access to contraception. Feminist theory would understand this conflict between women and government as

A) the competition between diverse groups that mobilize to promote their interests.
B) stemming from the domination of elites over less powerful groups.
C) developing between states as each vies to uphold its own interests.
D) resulting from the power men have over women.

Question 33

Which statement best characterizes the U.S. military?

A) The military is divided by ranks that do not have clear definitions.
B) There are few divisions of rank in the military.
C) The military has well-defined ranks with rights and responsibilities.
D) The military allows a lot of personal freedom.

Question 34

Which of these statements about the U.S. military as a social institution is false?

A) The U.S. military is the single largest employer in the country.
B) The function of the military is to protect the country from both external and internal threats.
C) The U.S. military is one of the most hierarchically structured social institutions.
D) The division of labor within the military is unclear.

Question 35

Develop a scenario based on current events depicting an interlocking directorate. Explain how the power elite perspective would view this set of relationships in society.

Question 36

Explain how the influence of the government, as a social structure, extends beyond our day-to-day lives.

Question 37

According to the text, why are women and racial-ethnic minority group members underrepresented in national government?

A) There is no evidence that voters would vote for a woman or member of a minority group since those groups are known to be less skilled.
B) They are disadvantaged by the power of incumbents who are generally White men.
C) There is a lack of interest among women and members of racial-ethnic minority groups in running for national offices.
D) The day-to-day roles fulfilled by women and members of minority groups preclude their participation in government.

Question 38

Which of the following groups had the largest number of congressional members in the 115th Congress (January 3, 2017, through January 3, 2019) ?

A) Asians
B) African Americans
C) Hispanics
D) Native Americans

Question 39

In the 115th Congress (January 3, 2017, through January 3, 2019, there were _____ women in the U.S. House of Representatives and _____ women in the U.S. Senate.

A) 33; 2
B) 104; 21
C) 19; 7
D) 99; 41

Question 40

In the United States, immigrants make up more than _____ of the labor force in industries such as agriculture, building and construction.

A) one-fifth
B) one-quarter
C) one-third
D) one-half

Question 41

The state

A) is made up of government, the police, the military, and the legal system.
B) is an individual unit, separate from the police and the military.
C) is made up of only government and the legal system.
D) cannot be meaningfully defined.

Question 42

According to research done for the Pentagon, in 2012, _____ of women in the military had experienced sexual harassment, including sexual coercion.

A) one-fifth
B) one-quarter
C) one-third
D) one-half

Question 43

Which perspective is most likely to view work as valuable for society because it teaches people shared values?

A) Functionalism
B) Conflict theory
C) Symbolic interaction theory
D) Social exchange theory

Question 44

Research documenting the changes in labor force participation among different groups indicates that

A) women and minorities are taking jobs away from White men.
B) the jobs historically dominated by White men are growing in number.
C) Black women are just now catching up with White women in terms of rate of employment.
D) jobs in areas of the labor market that are race- and gender-segregated, such as fast-food work, are increasing.

Question 45

Within the global economy, the role of the more developed nations tends to be that of

A) assembly-line work.
B) provision of natural resources.
C) research and management.
D) manufacturing goods.

Question 46

Sociologists define work as

A) participation in any activity that increases the gross domestic product.
B) human activity that is paid by either hourly wage or salary.
C) productive activity that creates something of value-goods or services.
D) human activity in the public sphere.

Question 47

Politicians often campaign on promises to increase manufacturing jobs. In the United States today, the manufacturing sector employs about _____ percent of workers.

A) 10
B) 20
C) 30
D) 50

Question 48

Fear and hatred of foreigners is called

A) arachnophobia.
B) cultural relativism.
C) xenophobia.
D) Anglophilia.

Question 49

In terms of the frequency of occurrence of sexual harassment,

A) there is evidence that White women are harassed more often than women of color.
B) the rate has dropped sharply and few working women are ever harassed.
C) men are sometimes the victims of sexual harassment, although far less frequently than women.
D) same-gender sexual harassment does not occur.

Question 50

According to _____, society "sorts" people into occupations, with the more qualified people having the more prestigious occupations.

A) functionalists
B) symbolic interactionists
C) conflict theorists
D) feminists

Question 51

Emotional labor, in which the purpose is to manage customers' emotions, is work that

A) is done only by women.
B) is common in a service-based economy.
C) involves health care in particular.
D) requires a degree in psychology.

Question 52

_____ theorists look to the class division of labor as the source of unequal rewards that workers receive for their work.

A) Symbolic interaction
B) Conflict
C) Functionalist
D) Feminist

Question 53

Cashiers have come to rely on electronic cash registers to tell them how much change to return to a customer. Sociologists refer to this as

A) routinization.
B) deskilling.
C) deindustrialization.
D) the service economy.

Question 54

U.S. campaigns to "buy American" are an example of the trend toward

A) cultural relativism.
B) multinational corporations.
C) postindustrialism.
D) xenophobia.

Question 55

Globally, most of the work involving the assembly of goods is done by

A) men.
B) Americans.
C) workers in more developed nations.
D) women and children in poor nations.

Question 56

The term _____ refers to the permanent loss of certain job types that occurs when employment patterns shift.

A) global economic shift
B) deskilling
C) job displacement
D) urban renewal

Question 57

Which of the following is not included in the sociological concept of the state?

A) Organized power and authority in society
B) The military
C) The court system
D) An ecclesia

Question 58

The Carp Corporation has decided to quit making its own components and instead buy them from a company in Thailand. This is an example of

A) postindustrial society.
B) xenophobia.
C) outsourcing.
D) stratification.

Question 59

In general, what has been the impact of global economic restructuring?

A) The global economy has had a positive effect on the U.S. economy, creating many new jobs in the manufacturing sector.
B) In the global economy, assembly-line work is performed in nations with less power.
C) State regulation has made the transfer of jobs overseas unattractive to U.S. manufacturers.
D) Economic restructuring has had no real impact globally.

Question 60

The term _____ refers to the contemporary transformations in the basic structure of work that are permanently altering the workplace.

A) privatization of the workplace
B) government regulation
C) economic restructuring
D) de-mechanization

Question 61

German sociologist _____identified three types of authority in society: _______

A) Karl Marx; traditional, charismatic, and rational-legal.
B) Max Weber; traditional, charismatic, and rational-legal.
C) Max Weber; power based, prestige based, and emotion based.
D) Karl Marx; power based, prestige based, and emotion based.

Question 62

Some people believe that the government is run by the wealthy and serves the needs of the wealthy. This would be an example of which model of power?

A) Pluralist
B) Power elite
C) Autonomous state
D) Feminist theory

Question 63

The Never Again movement was founded by survivors of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School with the goal of changing laws related to gun ownership. The formation and influence of such interest groups is of particular importance to the

A) power elite model.
B) authoritarian model.
C) pluralist model.
D) autonomous state model.

Question 64

The differences in women's and men's political attitudes and behavior are referred to as the

A) sex ratio effect.
B) gender gap.
C) androgyny factor.
D) glass wall.

Question 65

The _____ model sees the state as representing the interests of a small but economically dominant class.

A) pluralism
B) power elite
C) autonomous state
D) feminist theory

Question 66

In general, how do women's political attitudes and behavior differ from men's?

A) Women tend to be more socially conservative.
B) Men are more likely to vote Democrat than are women.
C) Women tend to have more liberal views than men.
D) Men are more likely to vote than women are.

Question 67

Women in the entertainment industry who spoke out as a result of the #MeToo movement stated that it was made clear to them that they would have to engage in sexual conduct with certain individuals if they wanted to be hired by those individuals for roles in television programs and movies. This is best described as

A) a hostile environment.
B) a personal problem.
C) quid pro quo sexual harassment.
D) work related harassment.

Question 68

Applying the _____ model of state power, it could be argued that the dominant values of the state are based on hierarchical relationships, aggression, and force.

A) pluralist
B) power elite
C) autonomous state
D) feminist theory

Question 69

Critics of guest worker programs argue that

A) they limit immigration.
B) they depend on economic restructuring.
C) they encourage illegal immigration.
D) they threaten jobs for U.S. workers.

Question 70

The U.S. government has a large number of organizations and departments for various purposes, all run by bureaucrats who are not elected and who may be most interested in their own employment rather than public interests. For which model of state power would this be the most important?

A) Pluralist
B) Power elite
C) Autonomous state
D) Populist

Question 71

According to the _____ model of state power, the state develops its own needs and interests that are separate from those of its constituents.

A) pluralist
B) power elite
C) autonomous state
D) populist

Question 72

As of 2016, _____ of American public say they would vote for a woman for president.

A) less than 10 percent
B) about a quarter
C) about half
D) the overwhelming majority

Question 73

In which type of theory does the pluralist model of state power have its origins?

A) Functionalist
B) Conflict
C) Symbolic interaction
D) Feminist

Question 74

Which statement about 2019 representation in the houses of Congress is true?

A) African Americans have disproportionately low representation.
B) White women have disproportionately high representation.
C) White men have disproportionately low representation.
D) Hispanics have disproportionately high representation.

Question 75

_____ authority stems from rules and regulations typically written down as statutes, procedures, or codes of conduct.

A) Traditional
B) Charismatic
C) Rational-legal
D) Expertise-based

Question 76

The largest contributors to political campaigns are typically _____, and the funds generally go to support incumbents.

A) political action committees (PACs)
B) many different people from the general population
C) major corporations
D) the national committees of Democrats and Republicans

Question 77

Which of these groups is disproportionately Republican in comparison to Latinos as a whole?

A) Dominican Americans
B) Puerto Rican Americans
C) Cuban Americans
D) Mexican Americans

Question 78

The leaders of cults most often exemplify _____ authority.

A) traditional
B) charismatic
C) rational-legal
D) expertise-based

Question 79

Despite recent gains, the U.S. Senate is typically _____ male.

A) less than 50 percent
B) 50 to 70 percent
C) 71 to 90 percent
D) more than 90 percent

Question 80

The authority that the older people in society may seem to have over others is an example of _____ authority.

A) traditional
B) charismatic
C) rational-legal
D) coercive