Chapter 1

Question 1

politics

Answer 1

the process of deciding who benefits in society and who does not

Question 2

efficacy

Answer 2

citizens’ belief that they have the ability to achieve something desirable and that the government listens to people like them

Question 3

civic engagement

Answer 3

individual and collective actions designed to identify and address issues of public concern

Question 4

political engagement

Answer 4

citizen actions that are intended to solve public problems through political means

Question 4

citizens

Answer 4

members of the policy who, through birth or naturalization enjoy the rights, privileges, and responsibilities attached to membership in a given nation

Question 5

government

Answer 5

the institution that creates and implements policies and laws that guide the conduct of the nation and its citizens

Question 6

naturalization

Answer 6

the process of becoming a citizen by means other than birth, as in the case of immigrants

Question 7

legitmacy

Answer 7

a quality conferred on government by citizens who believe that its exercise of power is right and proper

Question 8

public goods

Answer 8

goods whose benefits cannot be limited and that are available to all

Question 9

monarchy

Answer 9

government in which a member of a royal family, usually a king or queen, has absolute authority over a territory and its government

Question 10

oligarchy

Answer 10

government in which an elite few hold power

Question 11

democracy

Answer 11

government in which supreme power of governance lies in the hands of its citizens

Question 12

tolitarianism

Answer 12

system of government in which the government essentially controls every aspect of people’s lives

Question 13

authoritarianism

Answer 13

system of government in which the government holds strong powers but its checked by some forces

Question 14

constitutionalism

Answer 14

government that is structured by law, and in which the power of government is limited

Question 15

limited government

Answer 15

government that is restricted in what it can do so that the rights of the people are protected

Question 16

divine right of kings

Answer 16

the assertion that monarchies, as a manifestation of God’s will, could rule absolutely without regard to the will or well-being of their subjects

Question 17

social contract

Answer 17

an agreement between people and their leaders in which the people agree to give up some liberties so that their other liberties are protected

Question 18

natural law

Answer 18

the assertion that standards that govern human behavior are derived from the nature of humans themselves and can be applied universally

Question 19

popular sovereignty

Answer 19

the theory that government is created by the people and depends on the people for the authority to rule

Question 20

social contract theory

Answer 20

the idea that individuals possess free will and that every individual is equally endowed with the God-given right of self-determination and the ability to consent to be governed

Question 21

direct democracy

Answer 21

a structure of government in which citizens discuss and decide policy through majority rule

Question 22

indirect democracy

Answer 22

sometimes used a “representative democracy”, a system in which citizens elect representatives who decide policies on behalf of their constituents

Question 23

political culture

Answer 23

the people’s collective beliefs and attitudes about government and political processes

Question 24

liberty

Answer 24

the most essential quality of American democracy; it is both the freedom from governmental interference in citizens’ lives and the freedom to pursue happiness

Question 25

capitalism

Answer 25

an economic system in which the means of producing wealth are privately owned and operated to produce profits

Question 26

property

Answer 26

anything that can be owned

Question 27

consent of the governed

Answer 27

the idea that, in a democracy, the government’s power derives from the consent of the people

Question 28

majority rule

Answer 28

the idea that, in a democracy, only policies with 50 percent plus one vote are enacted

Question 29

political ideology

Answer 29

integrated system of ideas or beliefs about political values in general and the role of government in particular

Question 30

liberalism

Answer 30

an ideology that advocates change in the social, political, and economic realms to better protect the well-being of individuals and to produce equality within society

Question 31

conservatism

Answer 31

an ideology that advocates economic equality, theoretically achieved by having the government or workers own the means of production (businesses and industry)

Question 32

libertarianism

Answer 32

an ideology whose advocates believe that government should take a “hands-off” approach in most matters