Chapter 1: The Study of American Government Flashcards
Issue
A conflict, real or aparent, between the interests, ideas, or beliefs of different citizens.
Politics
The activity by which an issue is agitated or settled.
Power
The ability of one person to get another person to act in accordance with the first person’s intentions.
Authority
The right to use power
Legitimacy
Political authority conferred by law or by a state or national constitutions.
Democracy
The rule of the many
Direct or Participatory Democracy
A government in which all or most citizens parcipate directly.
Representative Democracy
A government in which leaders make decisions by winning a competitive struggle for the popular vote.
Elite
Person who possess a disproportionate share of some valued resource, such as money, prestige, or expertise.
Class View
View that the government is dominated by capitalists.
Power Elite View
View that the government is dominated by a few top leaders, most of whom are outside of government.
Beurocratic View
View that the government is dominated by appointed officials.
Pluralist View
View that competition among all affected interests shapes public policy.
Credal Passion View
View that morally impassioned elites drive important political changes.
Political Agenda
Issues that people believe require governmental action.
Cost
A burden that people believe they must bear if a policy is adopted.
Benefit
A satisfaction that people believe they will enjoy if policy is adopted.
Majoritarian Politics
A policy in which almost everybody benefits and almost everybody pays.
Interest Group Politics
A policy in which one small group benefits and another small group pays.
Client Politics
A policy in which one small group benefits and almost everybody pays.
Pork-barrel Legislation
Legislation that gives tangible benefits to constituents in several districts or states in the hope of winning their votes in return.
Log-rolling
A legislator supports a proposal favored by another in return for support of his or hers.
Entreprenurial Politics
A policy in which almost everybody benefits and a small group pays.
Policy Entrepreneurs
Activists in or out of government who pull together a political majority on behalf of unorganized interests.
What does power involve and how is it different from authority?
Power is the ability of a person to get another to do what they want, Authority refers to the right to use power, and Power may be obvious, or subtle
According to Aristotle’s rule of the many, democracy is when
all or most citizens participate directly, holding office or making policy
The pluralist view of power focuses on
no single group dominating the political process
A modern example of direct democracy would be citizens
voting on referendum issues.
In a referendum, citizens express their opinions about issues by means of
the ballot
A burden that people believe they must bear if a policy is adopted is called a(n)
cost
“Formal authority” refers to a right to exercise power that is derived from a(n)
governmental office
Variants of direct democracy include programs of citizen participation and
community control
Which statement best reflects the views of the Framers of the Constitution?
The will of the people was not synonymous with the public good.
Who argued that American democracy is dominated by a small “power elite”?
C. Wright Mills
When the cost and benefits of a policy are narrowly concentrated, they are
limited to a relatively small number of citizens.
Making appeals to large segments of voters in hopes of finding a majority is:
majoritarian politics
Pork-barrel legislation is an example of which type of politics?
client
