Question 1

The number of each state's electors in the Electoral College is based on the number of senators and representatives in that state. The problem with this system is states with

Accepted Answer

A)   large populations receive a disproportionatly high number of electoral votes.
B)   small populations receive a disproportionatly high number of electoral votes.
C)   more senators receive a disproportionatly high number of electoral votes.
D)   large populations dominate the Electoral College process. B

Question 2

The pluralist idea of interest groups is the groups that primarily exercise power vary with the issue. This idea of _____ means that interest groups band together to neutralize each other when their interests do not align.

Accepted Answer

A)   power elites
B)   veto groups
C)   voting dominance
D)   camaradaries B

Question 3

Parenti asserted that the wealthy and powerful are served because of the way society is organized. Which of the following is NOT one of the three ways he identified as how this bias occurs?

Accepted Answer

A)   By their influence over elected and appointed governmental officials at all levels
B)   Through systemic imperatives
C)   Through the ideological control of the masses
D)   By means of democratic elections and public education D

Question 4

Who maintained that the psychological similarity among the members of the elite is derived from their similar social origins and lifestyles?

Accepted Answer

A)   Karl Marx
B)  G. William Domhoff
C)   C. Wright Mills
D)   Michael Parenti

Question 5

Which of the following noted in his Dominant Class model of power that appointees to influential, unelected positions are either members of the upper class or people who have held positions in major corporations, and are thereby people who accord with the wishes of the upper class?

Accepted Answer

A)   Karl Marx
B)   C. Wright Mills
C)   Michael Parenti
D)   G. William Domhoff

Question 6

Which of the following is NOT a reason that the government opts for trickle-down solutions?

Accepted Answer

A)   Trickle-down spending is the most efficient and effective way to get government money to the places where it will do the most good.
B)   Government officials believe in the conservative ideology that says what is good for business is good for the United States.
C)   Government officials are more likely to hear from business leaders who are organized and have access to the halls of power.
D)   Because the weak, by definition, are not organized, their voice is not heard or, if heard, not taken seriously in decision-making circles.

Question 7

According to the journalists Barlett and Steele, there are two ways to get favorable treatment by Congress and the White House. Those two wars are

Accepted Answer

A)   petition your local congressperson and technology.
B)   contribute generously to the right people and spend lavishly on lobbying.
C)   be a military war hero and an astronaut.
D)   conduct secret meetings with journalists and rise in the ranks of the Masons.

Question 8

Despite paying lip service to laissez-faire capitalism, the U.S. government actually _____ big business.

Accepted Answer

A)   greatly subsidizes
B)   completely ignores
C)   closely regulates
D)   overtaxes

Question 9

Mills argued that the members of the ruling elite interact with each other, their children go to the same schools, and they do business together. Hence, these people who are the inner circle of the upper social classes tend to see the world alike. This idea is the basis of which of his factors of unity?

Accepted Answer

A)   Pyramid of power
B)   Psychological similarity
C)   Social interactionBias
D)   Coinciding interests

Question 10

Who is most likely to bear the burden of decisions made by the powerful?

Accepted Answer

A)   Rival power brokers
B)   The poor
C)   Corporations
D)   Small business

Question 11

The shipping industry, railroads, airlines, and exporters of iron, steel, textiles, paper, and other products receive direct subsidies from

Accepted Answer

A)   several state governments.
B)   local chambers of commerce.
C)   the federal government.
D)   the members of NAFTA.

Question 12

A criticism of the pluralist model of power is that

Accepted Answer

A)   those who promote this idea are actually secret elitists from the upper-economic stratum.
B)   a truly pluralist model would support campaign finance reform.
C)   in real life, people from all walks of life routinely vote against their own interests.
D)   the leaders in each sector come disproportionately from the upper-economic stratum, and thus share common goals and interests.

Question 13

According to the chapter, the most important component of a democratic model is that representatives, because they are elected by the people,

Accepted Answer

A)   can do whatever it takes to keep the country safe.
B)   are responsive to the wishes of the people.
C)   do the will of the majority at all times.
D)   remember that the legislature is the most important branch of government.

Question 14

How did Domhoff's view of the military differ from Mills's view?

Accepted Answer

A)   Domhoff saw the military as having much less power and being dominated by the corporate rich through the executive branch.
B)   Domhoff saw the military as having much more power and dominating the executive branch via the corporate rich.
C)   Mills saw the military as having much less power and being dominated by the corporate rich through the executive branch.
D)   Mills saw the military as having much more power and dominating the executive branch via the corporate rich.

Question 15

Which of the following developed a model of power broadly based on the idea of a dominant class?

Accepted Answer

A)   Karl Marx
B)   G. William Domhoff
C)   Michael Parenti
D)   C. Wright Mills

Question 16

Wright Mills divides the U.S. power structure into _____, with the leaders of these groups forming the top level of a power pyramid.

Accepted Answer

A)   the unions, the media, and the federal government
B)   national opinion leaders, the judicial branch of government, and the media
C)   local opinion leaders, the legislative branch of government, and interest groups
D)   the corporate rich, the executive branch of government, and the military

Question 17

Which of the following is NOT part of Mills's pyramid of power?

Accepted Answer

A)   Power elite
B)   Local opinion leaders, legislatures, and interest groups
C)   Clerisy
D)   Powerless masses

Question 18

In the _____ view, the ruling class rules by controlling political officials and institutions through money and influence.

Accepted Answer

A)   order model
B)   instrumentalist
C)   structuralist
D)   pluralist

Question 19

Which of the following tech companies mentioned in the chapter is new to lobbying and spent only about $350,000 on this process in 2010?

Accepted Answer

A)   Microsoft
B)   Apple
C)   Facebook
D)   Google

Question 20

During the Viet Nam war, the chances for getting killed while in the service were about _____ for the less educated than for the college educated.

Accepted Answer

A)   four times lower
B)   about equal
C)   twice as great
D)   three times greater

Exam 12: Power and Politics