Chapter 1: Vocabulary

Question 1

Government

Answer 1

institutions and processes through which public policies are made for a society

Question 2

Public Goods

Answer 2

goods, such as clean air and clean water, that everyone must share

Question 3

Politics

Answer 3

process by which we select our governmental leaders and what policies these leaders pursue

Question 4

Political Participation

Answer 4

all activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue

Question 5

Single-Issue Groups

Answer 5

groups that have narrow interest, tend to dislike compromise, and often draw membership from people new to politics

Question 6

Policymaking System

Answer 6

process by which policy comes into being and evolves over time

Question 7

Linkage Institutions

Answer 7

political channels through which people’s concerns become political issues on the policy agenda

Question 8

Policy Agenda

Answer 8

issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actually involved in politics at any given point in time

Question 9

Political Issue

Answer 9

issue that arises when people disagree about a problem and how to fix it

Question 10

Policymaking Institutions

Answer 10

branches of government charged with taking action on political issues

Question 11

Public Policy

Answer 11

choice that government makes in response to a political issue

Question 12

Democracy

Answer 12

system of selecting policymaking and of organizing government so that policy represents and responds to the public’s preference

Question 13

Majority Rule

Answer 13

fundamental principle of traditional democratic theory

Question 14

Minority Rights

Answer 14

principle of traditional democratic theory that guarantees rights of those who do not belong to majorities and allows that they might join majorities through persuasion and reasoned argument

Question 15

Representation

Answer 15

basic principle that describes the relationship between the few leaders and the many followers

Question 16

Pluralist Theory

Answer 16

theory of government and politics emphasizing that politics is mainly a competition among groups, each one pressing for its own preferred policies

Question 17

Elite and Class Theory

Answer 17

theory of government and politics contending that societies are divided along class lines and that an upper-class elite will rule, regardless of the formal niceties of governmental organization

Question 18

Hyperpluralism

Answer 18

theory contending that groups are so strong that government is weakened

Question 19

Policy Gridlock

Answer 19

condition that occurs when no coalition is strong enough to form a majority and establish policy

Question 20

Gross Domestic Product

Answer 20

sum total of the value of all the goods and services produced in a nation

Question 21

Individualism

Answer 21

belief that individuals should be left on their own by the government