Question 1

Which of the following characterizes journalist Walter Lippmann's views on democracy?

Accepted Answer

A) He felt that well-funded private interest groups and lobbyists had taken the true majoritarian power of democracy away from the voting public. 
B) He felt that modern democratic government had become an unhealthy,pluralistic enterprise. 
C) He believed that among forms of government,only democracy could provide a citizen with the ability to be a "progressive being". 
D) He worried that most citizens are too uninformed to play the role democracy assigns them. 
E) None of these answers is correct.

Question 2

In which of the following ways is the U.S.free-market system distinct from European economies?

Accepted Answer

A) its lack of regulatory intervention 
B) its lack of intervention through taxation 
C) its lack of intervention through spending policies 
D) the extent to which private transactions determine the allocation of economic costs and benefits 
E) the extent to which it exercises regulatory intervention by altering interest rates

Question 3

John Stuart Mill believed that any form of government should be judged on its ability to

Accepted Answer

A) offer the individual a "plethora of policy options" in the democratic process. 
B) transfer power peacefully from one set of governing officials to the next. 
C) provide social services for its citizenry. 
D) maintain peace and order in the territory over which it has control. 
E) promote the individual as "a progressive being".

Question 4

In a survey of college students,the Intercollegiate Studies Association found that the best predictor of a student's later participation in the nation's civic and political life is

Accepted Answer

A) a college degree. 
B) a solid understanding of public affairs. 
C) participation in student government. 
D) participation in Greek life. 
E) attending a school with a residential campus versus a "commuter" campus.

Question 5

In a constitutional system,

Accepted Answer

A) there are no restrictions on the lawful uses of power,as long as this power is obtained by majority rule. 
B) there are lawful restrictions on a government's power. 
C) the economy is based on the free enterprise system. 
D) officials govern according to the traditions established by their predecessors. 
E) all citizens have absolute free speech rights.

Question 6

________ is the ability of persons,groups,or institutions to influence political developments.

Accepted Answer

A) Apathy 
B) Politics 
C) Power 
D) Liberty 
E) Political culture

Question 7

Pluralism contends that,on most issues,

Accepted Answer

A) corporate elites have more control over economic policy than do "the politicians in the visible government". 
B) the will of the majority of the voting public determines government policy. 
C) it is the preference of the special interest that largely determines what government does. 
D) true authority lies with the elected politicians,and not with the public that put them in office. 
E) the diverse nature of the citizenry enhances the democratic process in policymaking.

Question 8

In which of the following policy areas does the U.S.spend more than European nations?

Accepted Answer

A) social welfare 
B) military policy 
C) subsidized housing for the poor 
D) public works 
E) public health care

Question 9

West Virginia,the state with the lowest percentage of college graduates in the United States,

Accepted Answer

A) is indicative of Americans' relative indifference to higher education. 
B) is evidence of the general truth that the states with the highest percentage of college graduates are located between the Rockies and the Mississippi River. 
C) is one of seven U.S.states with fewer than five institutions of higher learning. 
D) demonstrates how closed higher education in the United States is compared to the rest of the world. 
E) has a higher proportion of college graduates than most European countries.

Question 10

What is a major limit on majoritarianism suggested by the text?

Accepted Answer

A) The public as a whole takes an interest in only a few of the hundreds of policy decisions that U.S.officials make each year. 
B) The public lacks access to the information required to take informed political action on most issues dealt with by the government each year. 
C) The actions of special interest groups are ultimately more influential than the voting power of the public. 
D) The rapid turnover of government officials and members of the legislature prevents the majority public from making a sustained effort for any single issue. 
E) The most power tends to reside with a wealthy minority of the voting public,preventing the majority public from setting the issue agenda.

Question 11

What is the major barrier to political thinking?

Accepted Answer

A) unwillingness of citizens to make the effort 
B) lack of access to governmental institutions 
C) elite control of political power resources 
D) failure of politicians and government institutions to communicate policy details to the public 
E) lack of access to news media sources outside sensationalist television or Internet content

Question 12

The citizens of which of the following countries pay the lowest tax rates relative to the country's gross domestic product (GDP)?

Accepted Answer

A) Germany 
B) Canada 
C) France 
D) the United States 
E) Great Britain

Question 13

The Bill of Rights added to the Constitution,among other things,

Accepted Answer

A) a guarantee of freedom of speech. 
B) a division of governmental authority into three branches. 
C) checks and balances among the three branches of government. 
D) restrictions against the power of corporations to influence the election process. 
E) term limits for elected officials to reduce their power.

Question 14

How many lawyers does the United States have in comparison to Britain,Germany,and Italy?

Accepted Answer

A) The U.S.has twice as many lawyers on a per capita basis. 
B) The U.S.has roughly the same amount of lawyers on a per capita basis. 
C) The U.S.has roughly twice as many lawyers,in terms of total numbers. 
D) The U.S.has roughly five times as many lawyers on a per capita basis. 
E) The U.S.has roughly half as many lawyers on a per capita basis.

Question 15

Europeans have a greater acceptance than Americans of

Accepted Answer

A) tax and social policies that redistribute wealth. 
B) the strength of the executive branch of government. 
C) the majoritarian system of government. 
D) the influence of corporate special interests in the legislative process. 
E) the influence of corporate money in the election process.

Question 16

As described in the text,"political thinking"

Accepted Answer

A) is the reflection of an individual's ideological position when applied to political issues. 
B) results from an individual allowing personal bias to inform all thoughts about political issues,instead of doing objective learning or research to form an opinion. 
C) involves the careful gathering and sifting of information in the process of forming a knowledgeable view about a political issue. 
D) is the result of an individual's attempts to seek out news media that reinforce a pre-existing political bias. 
E) is a strategy taken by those seeking election to public office in which their publicly stated positions are designed to maximize their attractiveness to the widest voting bloc.

Question 17

The United States has certain rules in place to keep politics within peaceful bounds.These rules include all of the following EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

A) autocracy. 
B) democracy. 
C) constitutionalism. 
D) free markets. 
E) None of these answers is correct.

Question 18

The Greek words demos and kratis together mean

Accepted Answer

A) majority rule is sacred. 
B) the people rule. 
C) government is good. 
D) politics is immoral. 
E) the king is good.

Question 19

Research suggests which of the following is primarily to blame for the increase in faulty perceptions of news items among the public?

Accepted Answer

A) changes in the forms of communication 
B) a failure of government officials to communicate truthfully 
C) a growing disinterest in seeking out news items 
D) the growing public gap in access to more advanced forms of media transmission,such as the Internet 
E) the increasing political polarization of elected politicians

Question 20

Which of the following has democracy come to mean in practice?

Accepted Answer

A) pluralistic government through the combination of popularly elected representatives and the influence of interest groups 
B) oligarchic government through a legislature chosen through popular election 
C) elitist control through interest group politics 
D) pluralism through the election of representatives and the influence of corporate interests 
E) majority rule through the free and open election of representatives

Exam 1: Political Thinking and Political Culture: Becoming a Responsible Citizen