Deck 13: Politics and Economic Life

Question 1

According to the textbook,what is a typical characteristic of multiparty political systems?

A) There is a greater concentration of political ideas on the middle ground than in two-party systems.
B) Coalitions in which no one party has a clear majority can result in stalemate and deadlock.
C) Legal restrictions are placed on the number of political parties.
D) There is a closer resemblance among the various political parties than in two-party systems.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Why did Max Weber assume that direct democracy is impossible as a means of regular government in large-scale societies?

A) Direct democracies would be at a military disadvantage to other more authoritarian societies.
B) When Weber wrote,no direct democracies had yet existed.
C) The costs of direct democratic rule in large-scale societies would be especially prohibitive.
D) Millions of people cannot meet to make political decisions in large,complex societies.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Eduardo lives in Montevideo,Uruguay.Recently he has seen the pay that he receives for his work as a hotel clerk reduced significantly because of legislation that reduced the minimum monthly wage for workers.Eduardo and his colleagues have taken to the street to protest against this law.What kind of right are Eduardo and his colleagues fighting for?

A) a civil right
B) a political right
C) a social right
D) a cultural right

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Sybil lives in a country where she cannot always participate as fully as others.For example,only men can run for election to the local government council.Sybil actively protests this restriction.What kind of right is Sybil fighting for?

A) a civil right
B) a political right
C) a social right
D) a cultural right

Question 5

When was the welfare state firmly established in most Western societies?

A) in the 17th century
B) in the 18th century
C) in the 19th century
D) in the 20th century

Question 6

Monica has always loved animals,but just a few months ago,she decided to take a more active role in protecting them.She joined an organization that defends animals through political action.Now she regularly travels to her state capital to try to persuade legislators to pass laws to protect certain types of animals.What do sociologists call this kind of organization?

A) a political party
B) a women's group
C) a political action committee
D) an interest group

Question 7

According to the textbook,what upset protesting Wisconsin state workers the most about the passage of the Budget Repair Bill?

A) the reduction of health benefits for many workers
B) the elimination of pensions for retired workers
C) the fact that a Republican governor signed it
D) the efforts to limit their ability to engage in collective bargaining

Question 8

According to the textbook,which of the following statements is true about political action committees (PACs)?

A) They are committees made up of senators who work together on financial issues that the president recommends.
B) They have little influence on presidential elections.
C) They provide about a third of the funding for congressional elections.
D) They are legally barred from giving political opinions publicly during the months leading up to an election.

Question 9

Countries in which voters can choose between two or more political parties and the majority of the adult population has the right to vote are usually called:

A) absolute monarchies
B) participatory democracies
C) liberal democracies
D) communist democracies

Question 10

Some people advocate for political forms of decision-making in which everyone votes on decision that affect them.This kind of political system can best be described as?

A) an absolute monarchy
B) a constitutional monarchy
C) a liberal democracy
D) a participatory democracy

Question 11

Marie lives in Marseilles,France.She loves to watch the Olympics to see athletes compete and is especially pleased when French athletes win events and the French national anthem is played during medal award ceremonies.She feels pride in her country and in its heritage.What term would sociologists probably employ to explain her reactions?

A) sovereignty
B) nationalism
C) alienation
D) citizenship

Question 12

Svetlana is a Russian who lives in Moscow.She moved from a small town to the big city to look for a job after she finished a degree in computer science.Her great-great-grandfather,Anton,had been a Russian serf who was legally bound to the land on which he had lived decades ago.Svetlana's ability to move about more freely than her great-great-grandfather demonstrates achievement of:

A) a civil right
B) a political right
C) a social right
D) a cultural right

Question 13

As a member of the National Organization for Women (NOW),Mercedes would be most likely to try to lobby for which of the following issues?

A) increasing the military budget
B) a constitutional amendment to provide free universal housing
C) vouchers for parents who want to send their children to private religious schools
D) equality in the workplace

Question 14

Jordi is a Spaniard who lives in Barcelona.Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia,a region of northeastern Spain.Jordi feels more loyalty to his region,Catalonia,than to his country,Spain.He prefers to speak the local language,Catalan,although he speaks Spanish equally well.Jordi's feelings for Catalonia are an example of:

A) sovereignty
B) citizenship
C) civil rights
D) local nationalism

Question 15

According to the textbook,which of the following statements may help explain why so many people decide not to vote in the United States?

A) Countries with high literacy rates tend to have lower voter turnout.
B) Relatively high incomes in the United States compared with other countries means that potential voters have less incentive to cast their vote.
C) Voters may sometimes feel that they lack effective choices due to the domination of only two political parties.
D) The existence of well-established political freedoms and civil liberties gives voters less incentive to go to the polls.

Question 16

What term is used to describe the undisputed political rule of a state over a given territorial area?

A) capitalist state structuralism
B) nationalism
C) sovereignty
D) territorialism

Question 17

Which of the following reasons is given in the textbook to help explain the quick spread of democracy around the world in the late 20th and early 21st centuries?

A) Democracy tends to be associated with competitive capitalism in the economic system,and capitalism has shown itself to be superior to communism as a wealth-generating system.
B) The economic situation of emerging third-world countries changed rapidly due to the expansion of transnational corporations that offered a democratic example for the peoples of those states to follow.
C) The rising number of American students who studied abroad carried ideas of American democracy to the rest of the world.
D) The increasing prevalence of natural disasters around the globe allowed the Western democracies to demonstrate the benefits of their systems through humanitarian missions in the third world.

Question 18

What did the Supreme Court rule in Roe v.Wade?

A) that women had a legal right to abortion
B) that federal money could not be used to subsidize facilities that carried out abortions
C) that states could restrict abortions as they saw fit
D) that women who could not afford an abortion had the right to receive subsidies

Question 19

Morgan was elected to her state legislature in a close election three-and-a-half years ago.She is a Republican.In the upcoming election,she will be running for the same office against a male candidate from the Democratic Party.Morgan's district is currently experiencing an economic boom with lower than normal unemployment.According to the textbook,which of the following statements is most likely to be true?

A) Morgan will lose the election.
B) Morgan will raise more money than her opponent.
C) Morgan's opponent will concentrate his campaign ads on the economy.
D) Morgan's opponent will try to focus voters' attention on the fact that she is a woman.

Question 20

Nadia lives in a country with a royal family that receives money from taxpayers to live in a palace and carry out certain ceremonial functions,but the king and queen have no real political power.Instead,a parliament of elected officials makes all the important political decisions.What kind of political system does Nadia live in?

A) a republic
B) a participatory democracy
C) a socialist state
D) a constitutional monarchy

Question 21

According to the textbook,which of the following statements best describes old-style terrorism?

A) It is global in scope.
B) Its point is to establish states in areas where nations do not have control of the territory's state apparatus.
C) Its proponents carry out acts designed to kill as many people as possible.
D) It seeks to restructure all of world society.

Question 22

Max spends most of his time in the house taking care of his children and his sister's children.He cooks for them,takes them to school,and keeps an eye on them when they get out of school in the afternoons and in the summertime.In exchange for this help,his sister lends his family an extra apartment she has in her multifamily home.What is the term that sociologists use to refer to this kind of transaction?

A) informal economy
B) tax-evasion planning
C) dual goods exchange
D) socialism

Question 23

What author's most famous work,The Wealth of Nations,opens with a description of the division of labor in a pin factory?

A) Karl Marx
B) Max Weber
C) Frederick Winslow Taylor
D) Adam Smith

Question 24

U.S.military spending today:

A) is lower than before 1989 because of the almost complete collapse of communism
B) continues to lag behind countries such as Russia and China
C) is greater than that of the next 15 countries combined
D) is about the same as China's

Question 25

Many sociologists argue that large numbers of Americans are dissatisfied with the U.S.political system today because:

A) the capitalist economies have failed to generate sufficient wealth compared with other economic systems
B) the United States has a worse record of civil rights abuse than most underdeveloped states
C) even though capitalist economies,such as that of the United States,have proved to generate more wealth than any other type of economic system,that wealth is unevenly distributed
D) more people are unemployed today than ever before in the United States

Question 26

Miriam is a sociologist who has great faith in the U.S.political system.She subscribes to the theory that continual processes of bargaining among numerous groups representing different interests influence government policies in a democracy.Miriam's ideas could best be described as:

A) libertarian communist
B) pluralist
C) power elitist
D) multicultural

Question 27

Eugenia has worked in the same company for 15 years repairing icemakers.She drives from town to town in a few counties in California and sees to the maintenance of the machines that her company has in different supermarkets,convenience stores,and gas stations.Although her company manufactures other machines,she only repairs the icemakers that they make.What term would sociologists use to describe the specialization of Eugenia's work tasks?

A) globalization
B) specific specialization
C) division of labor
D) economic independence

Question 28

A terrorist attack on a major metropolitan area in an industrialized society kills thousands of people.Investigators establish with certainty that the aim of the attack was to kill as many people as possible.According to the textbook,which of the following statements is most likely to be true?

A) The terrorists were trained in a religious school.
B) Sociologists would label this kind of attack as an example of old-style terrorism.
C) The terrorists had global geopolitical aims.
D) The terrorists will be caught and tried in a court of law.

Question 29

Which of the following statements is true,according to C.Wright Mills in The Power Elite?

A) Those who are in the highest positions in politics,the economy,and the military come from similar social backgrounds,have parallel interests,and often know one another personally.
B) The consolidation of power in Western societies during the 20th century led to the proliferation of democracy around the world through the projection of military,economic,and political power globally.
C) The elite nuclear energy transnational corporations dominated American policy during the 20th century and pushed the United States into various wars that the American people largely rejected.
D) The U.S.elite forces,especially the Army Rangers and Navy SEALs,constitute the most highly trained special operations forces in the world.

Question 30

Jennifer works in a factory that manufactures microwave ovens.During her eight-hour shift,she tightens four screws on each unit that passes on an assembly line belt.She performs this task on more than 1,500 microwave ovens per day.Her work is an example of whose innovation in industry?

A) Max Weber
B) Karl Marx
C) Adam Smith
D) Henry Ford

Question 31

What term do sociologists use to describe the use of science and machinery to achieve greater productive efficiency?

A) mathematics
B) power
C) authority
D) technology

Question 32

What term refers to carrying out tasks that require mental and physical effort,with the objective of the production of goods and services that cater to human needs?

A) technology
B) work
C) power
D) authority

Question 33

Stan just turned 18 years old.His parents are both 55 years old.Stan's father expresses continuing trust in government,but Stan and his mother are highly suspicious of government.According to the textbook,which of the following statements is most likely to be true?

A) Stan's parents are more concerned about environmental issues than their son is.
B) Stan is more likely to vote than his mother.
C) Stan's father is more likely to vote than Stan's mother.
D) Stan is more likely to vote than his father.

Question 34

Sally has a well-paying job and is a voter who is more interested in being able to say what she thinks freely on the Internet than any other single issue.Some sociologists would describe her attitude as an example of:

A) extreme voter antipathy
B) the shift in political values in democratic nations from scarcity values to postmaterialist values
C) power elitism
D) anarchism

Question 35

Frederick works in a university,studying the extent to which individuals depend on others to produce many or most of the goods they need to sustain their lives.He is struck by the fact that many people could not survive in the modern world because they simply do not have the knowledge to carry out certain basic tasks,such as growing food.The process that Frederick studies is known to sociologists as:

A) class conflict
B) scarcity society
C) economic interdependence
D) informal economy

Question 36

Laura is a researcher who studies technological and economic change.Her work shows clearly how forces of global economic competition are changing the nature of the work we do.What term do sociologists use to describe the process she studies?

A) epistemology
B) communism
C) capitalism
D) globalization

Question 37

Joseph Schumpeter argued that:

A) democracy ensured that the will of the people trumped that of politicians
B) democracy is more important as a method of generating effective and responsible government than as a means of providing significant power for the majority
C) only through the separation of government into three branches-the legislative,the judicial,and the executive-can people be protected from tyrannical dictators
D) democracy was impossible to achieve until technological achievements rendered it possible

Question 38

President Dwight David Eisenhower,who had been supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe in World War II,warned in his presidential farewell address:

A) of the dangers of what he termed the "military-industrial complex"
B) that any decrease in military spending might put the United States "at risk of terrorism"
C) that a two-party system was unsustainable in the long term
D) of the danger of Cuba falling to "communist insurgents"

Question 39

In 1908,who designed his first auto plant at Highland Park,Michigan,to manufacture only one product,thereby allowing the introduction of specialized tools and machinery designed for speed,precision,and simplicity of operation?

A) John Pierpont Morgan
B) Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca
C) Henry Ford
D) John Davison Rockefeller

Question 40

Premodern,as opposed to modern,systems of production were based above all on:

A) agriculture
B) heavy industry
C) technology
D) communication technologies

Question 41

Shirley has worked for more than 20 years in a factory where automated machines recently took over some of the more onerous work that she had been required to perform.As a result,her job has become a bit less repetitive and easier to carry out,and she feels less alienated.What author's conclusions about automation would Shirley's experience most likely support?

A) Robert Blauner
B) Harry Braverman
C) Richard Sennett
D) Max Weber

Question 42

According to the textbook,why did labor unions develop?

A) to ensure that business owners could control unruly workers
B) to provide a pool of unskilled labor that business owners could draw on in times of economic depression
C) to redress the imbalance of power between workers and employers
D) to force politicians to invest heavily in certain strategic sectors

Question 43

According to the textbook,all of the following factors help explain why levels of unemployment increased in Western societies in the 1970s and the 1980s EXCEPT:

A) the rise of international competition in industries on which Western prosperity used to be founded
B) the worldwide economic recession of the 1980s,which has still not fully abated
C) the increasing use of microelectronics in industry
D) the widening income gap between blue-collar and white-collar workers

Question 44

Why were workers powerless to be helpful and make things work again in sociologist Richard Sennett's study on the skill debate cited in the textbook?

A) They lacked a university education.
B) Labor unions refused to allow them proper training.
C) Automation had diminished their autonomy.Their employers fired them before they could do so.
D) As employees of large transnational corporations,they changed location of employment too often to get a true handle on how to do their jobs properly.

Question 45

What do Edna Bonacich and Richard Appelbaum mean when they write about a global "race to the bottom" in the retail-dominated production of clothing?

A) Clothing retailers and manufacturers race to get out new products before anyone else and thus foment innovation and increasing quality in the sector.
B) Retailers and manufacturers will go anywhere on Earth to pay the lowest possible wages,which results in dismal wages for workers-who are often mere children.
C) As the manufacture of clothing for large retailers was increasingly centered on areas of the Southern Hemisphere,competition for workers gradually brought wages up in these parts of the world.
D) A manufacturing race has been on for more than 20 years,and it pits large northern retailers against southern manufacturers.

Question 46

Pat has worked in a transnational corporation for the past five years.According to the textbook,which of the following statements is most likely to be true?

A) The transnational corporation for which Pat works is based neither in the United States nor in Japan.
B) The transnational corporation for which Pat works is based in China.
C) The transnational corporation for which Pat works is based in Japan.
D) The transnational corporation for which Pat works is based in the United States.

Question 47

John Davison Rockefeller was an American industrialist who founded the Standard Oil Company in 1870.He later founded and bought several other companies and became the world's richest man.He also founded and donated large amounts of money to philanthropic organizations.Rockefeller's career is an excellent example of what the textbook refers to as:

A) welfare capitalism
B) managerial capitalism
C) family capitalism
D) institutional capitalism

Question 48

According to the textbook,capitalism began to spread with the growth of the Industrial Revolution in the:

A) 17th century
B) 18th century
C) 19th century
D) 20th century

Question 49

Tamara studies modern societies,which most researchers define as capitalistic.She would probably assert that these capitalistic societies share all the following traits EXCEPT:

A) private ownership of the means of production
B) highly centralized government decision making for all economic issues
C) profit as incentive
D) relatively free competition for markets to sell goods,acquire cheap materials,and utilize cheap labor

Question 50

Sofia is a sociologist who sees capitalism as developing through three distinct phases.In what chronological order would she probably put these three phases of capitalism?

A) managerial capitalism,family capitalism,and institutional capitalism
B) institutional capitalism,managerial capitalism,and family capitalism
C) family capitalism,institutional capitalism,and managerial capitalism
D) family capitalism,managerial capitalism,and institutional capitalism

Question 51

A temporary stoppage of work by a group of employees to express a grievance or enforce a demand is known as:

A) alienation
B) a strike
C) socialism
D) Marxism

Question 52

According to the theory of alienation,how does the division of labor alienate human beings from their work?

A) by forcing many immigrant workers to become illegal aliens in other countries and to work without the basic protections offered to documented workers
B) by dividing workers into separate industries and thus disallowing them from uniting in common causes
C) by separating workers on the basis of racial,economic,and social differences into ghettos far from their places of work
D) by giving workers little control over their jobs and no influence over how or to whom their products are sold

Question 53

Merle is a student who believes that since share ownership of corporations is so dispersed,actual control has passed into the hands of managers who run firms on a day-to-day basis.Merle's ideas echo those of:

A) Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations
B) Karl Marx in The Communist Manifesto
C) Adolf Berle and Gardiner Means in The Modern Corporation and Private Property
D) C.Wright Mills in The Power Elite

Question 54

According to the textbook,the combined sales of what kind of corporations accounted for over half of the value of goods and services produced by the entire world in 2007?

A) transnational
B) energy
C) media
D) state-owned

Question 55

Molly is a Keynesian economist,which means that she subscribes to the ideas of John Maynard Keynes.She recently began working as an economic advisor to the president.Just when she started her new job,the country spiraled into economic recession.What would Molly probably recommend the president do to fight the recession?

A) cut subsidies to agricultural businesses to encourage cheap imports
B) invest in public infrastructure to create jobs
C) slash welfare programs for the poor
D) reduce government unemployment benefits

Question 56

Based on what you've read in the textbook,why would you say that most countries largely abandoned Keynesian policies in the 1970s and 1980s?

A) In the face of economic globalization,governments lost the ability to control economic life as they once had.
B) The publication of Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations pushed governments toward more liberal economic policies.
C) High rates of unemployment forced governments to admit that Keynesian policies had failed and to look for alternatives.
D) The fall of the Berlin Wall demonstrated the failure of communist economic policies in general and Keynesian economics specifically.

Question 57

All of the following terms are synonymous to sociologists EXCEPT:

A) the postindustrial society
B) the information age
C) the Neolithic age
D) the new economy

Question 58

Mary and Bridget both work in the same company; Mary is a full-time worker,and Bridget is a temporary worker.Based on this information,which of the following statements is most likely to be true?

A) Bridget has a higher salary than Mary.
B) Mary shirks her responsibilities more than Bridget.
C) Bridget has more paid vacation time than Mary.
D) Mary is covered by medical insurance from the company,but Bridget is not.

Question 59

Rick is a sociologist who specializes in the study of labor issues.Which of the following explanations would he probably be LEAST likely to cite to explain the difficulties faced by labor unions since 1980?

A) Increased globalization has strengthened workers' bargaining power.
B) There has been a recession in world economic activity associated with high levels of unemployment.
C) The intensity of international competition has increased.
D) Trends toward more flexible production have begun.

Question 60

Miles has been working on an assembly line in a U.S.car-manufacturing factory for the past 30 years.Which of the following trends is he most likely to have witnessed?

A) An increasing amount of the parts assembled at the plant are made in the United States.
B) The factory has increased its production in the plant,which has required management to hire more blue-collar workers.
C) Many of the activities that were formerly carried out in the plant have been outsourced to other countries.
D) The new workers who are hired in the plant are less skilled than he was when he began.

Question 61

According to the textbook,why is voter turnout so low in the United States?

Question 62

Compare and contrast old- and new-style terrorism.

Question 63

How are power and authority different,according to the textbook?

Question 64

Describe the role interest groups play in U.S.politics.

Question 65

Explain the three forms of democracy.

Question 66

According to the textbook,all of the following factors help sociologists to explain why some people find it more difficult to find employment than others EXCEPT:

A) their race or ethnic background
B) the number of children they have
C) the industry they work in
D) the geographic region they live in

Question 67

Using the concept of division of labor,describe the key differences in the nature of work in traditional versus modern societies.

Question 68

What are the main features of capitalism?

Question 69

Compare and contrast pluralist theories of modern democracy and the power elite model.

Question 70

Why is it important for sociologists to study economic institutions?

Question 71

What is a welfare state? Can the United States be classified as a welfare state?

Question 72

John is an American who works in the United States,and Jacques works in his home country of France.According to the textbook,which of the following statements is most likely to be true regarding their future working lives?

A) Both men will increasingly work more hours per week.
B) Only Jacques will increasingly work more hours per week.
C) Both men's employers will force them to work an average of over 200 hours per year of overtime.
D) Both men will retire earlier than their fathers.

Question 73

What is a labor union? Why have unions in the United States suffered from a decline in membership since the 1980s?