Exam 10: Not Quite Right,but Still Good: The Democratic Ideal in Modern Politics

Democracy means ______.

While initiatives themselves may not make it beyond the ballot,they often have positive results in ______.

According to the author,the U.S.Constitution really encapsulates the battle of the real versus the ideal when it comes to democracy.

Arrow's theorem demonstrates that the use of elections does not ensure that the majority's preference will be selected.Explain Arrow's theorem,detail what some of the different methods of tallying votes are,and give a real-world example of at least one of these methods and the shortcomings associated with it.

Which of the following statements regarding proportional representation systems is true?

Which of the following statements about winner-take-all district elections with primaries is true?

A political system in which all citizens gather together to share perspectives,debate,and vote on policies is a ______.

Why is it highly unlikely that third parties will be successful in the United States?

The notion of direct democracy is quaint and appealing,but the actual achievement of direct democracy is difficult.For example,direct democracy was possible in Athens only because the city was relatively small and because ______.

Despite a representative democracy at the national level,the United States experiences direct democracy across all state governments.

Direct democracy systems can result in the creation of an unrestrained majority of citizens who band together to rule society with a ferocity and cruelty comparable to a dictator,a ______.

Winner-take-all systems are likely to produce ______.

Winston Churchill once said,"Democracy is the worst form of government,except for all those other forms." Explain some of the criticisms that have been made of democracy (Plato and Aristotle had some good ones),and then explain why,in spite of these issues,democracy remains a very powerful idea and ideal.

Kenneth Arrow was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1972.

An election where the two candidates with the highest pluralities face a secondary election is a ______.

An election where the winning candidate is the one who received the most votes,not a majority,is a ______.

Which ancient Greek city-state was a direct democracy?

Which of the following voting methods is best at representing the majority?

The one vote in the exact center of the political spectrum is called ______.