Deck 4: Ideology and Issues

Question 1

Which of these statements about political ideologies is FALSE?

A) Socialism developed as a reaction to the Industrial Revolution and the interests of the working class.
B) Conservatism rejects radical change in society.
C) Early conservative thinkers advocated constitutional rather than absolutist rule based on a belief of people's
Natural right to life, liberty and property.
D) Socialists tend to focus on the distribution of wealth and means of production.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Imagine a situation where two parties compete for the votes of three voters. Ideologically, the actors are aligned along a left-right dimension as shown below. Where will the parties move to maximize votes according to Downs?

A) Party A to Voter 3, Party B to Voter 2.
B) Party A to Voter 2, Party B to Voter 2.
C) Party A to the centre of the line, Party B to Voter 3.
D) Party A to Voter 1, Party B to the centre of the line.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

What does the "inverted u-curve" describe?

A) Political parties in the centre of the left-right spectrum generally support European integration, while those at either extreme tend to oppose it.
B) Electorally successful parties generally support European integration, while unsuccessful ones oppose it.
C) Parties that are left on the economic dimension tend to be on the right on the social dimension.
D) Ideologically extreme parties get less votes than parties in the ideological middle.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

In the early decades of European integration, researchers often spoke of a "permissive consensus" around European integration. What does this refer to?

A) Citizens agreed that the EU is an important and valuable project.
B) Political elites supported EU integration.
C) People went to the street demanding increased EU integration.
D) Citizens generally supported EU integration, but did not care much about it.

Question 5

Which of the following is NOT part of the definition of populism as presented by Mudde?

A) The population is split into two groups: the pure people and the corrupt elite.
B) Politics should be an expression of the general will of the people.
C) Populism as a thin ideology can be easily integrated with any other ideology.
D) Xenophobic views are a core feature of populist ideology.