exam 1 Flashcards
to say we regard preferences as “givens” means which of the following?
Individuals and groups know what they want.
Institutional design ______.
politics convey advantages for some interests
Which of the following best describes the difference between authority and power?
Authority is the right to make a particular decision and power is the actual influence the institution has over that action.
political science
the scientific study of politics
So political science is about describing, explaining, and predicting
things related to govt. and politics
Bargaining
process that leads to compromise
typically involves exchanging proposals and
counterproposals until both sides nd one they can agree on
Transaction costs:
the costs of actually engaging in collective action
Conformity costs:
the costs of having to do something you don’t
want to do in order to reach an agreement
Opportunity costs:
you can’t spend time, effort, on multiple things
The tragedy of the commons:
if one person uses the resource without replacing what they’ve
used, it won’t deplete very much
but if everyone thinks that and uses the resource without
maintaining/replenishing, the resource will disappear
One solution to the tragedy of the commons:
convert the public
good to a private good
authority
the acknowledged right to make a decision
I two kinds of authority: formal (what the rules say) and real
(how it works in practice)
power
actual infuence over what other people do
James Madison attributed the failure of the Articles of Confederation to which of the following?
faulty institutions
The nation’s debt was at a staggering all-time high after the six years of the war. The most urgent concern was ______.
the back pay owed to the army
Under the Articles of Confederation, the states faced a classic prisoner’s dilemma for which of the following reasons?
no enforcement mechanism , no state would contribute its share of the revenue so suspected other states not meet obligations.
home rule
England let the (American) colonies manage their own business
The first attempt at forming a government:
the Articles of
Confederation
A confederation:
decentralized system, limited authority in national govt.
The national government
a Congress, and that’s it
only one chamber
no executive, no judiciary
Supermajority voting rules
you needed more than 50% plus 1 vote
Any congressional action (law)
needed to be approved by 9/13 delegations
Shays’ Rebellion
many military veterans still had
not been paid or reimbursed
MA veterans led by Daniel Shays started blocking
courthouse door, demanding courts stop prosecuting debtors
Why did The Articles of Confederation fail?
the decision rules in place . States within state delegations, had too much
veto power within Congress
The Anti-Federalists argued:
states should retain more power over the national govt
specifically feared powers of the new executive, the new Senate
separation of powers
legislature
Executive
judicial
The Federalist Papers
collected newspaper columns in favor of the new Constitution
Written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay
principal
who wants the thing done
agent
who they
get to do it
Veto points:
a veto is a power to say no
Veto points
establish bargaining situations or relationships
Voting rules:
determine who can vote and how many votes are needed to succeed
Plurality
whomever gets the most votes wins
Plurality
whomever or whatever gets the most votes wins, doesn’t
need to be majority
most of our elections have this voting rule
Majority:
you need 50% of the vote plus one more to win
Supermajority
you need more than a bare majority
Agenda control
being able to define other peoples’ choices
State and local govts.
own policy also national govt. policy
federalism
whatever the higher-level govt. says it is
federal structure
vertically (levels of govt.) horizontally (diffusion of policies across states)
Delegation
getting someone else to do something you want
The biggest problem facing principals:
lack of information
Fiscal federalism
requiring states to carry out policy, give them $ to do it
$ has to be used for specific purpose
states have less discretion over how to spend $
formula
if a state meets certain criteria in law, it gets money
project
states/programs apply to federal agencies for money, reviewed
Dual (layer cake) federalism
national, state govts. have their own authority
Cooperative (marble cake) federalism
some areas of shared/joint responsibility
The U.S. has shifted from dual to cooperative federalism over time.
A few key reasons:
post-Civil War economy
shifts in public view of role of govt.
shifts in Supreme Court
Commerce clause:
Congress has power to regulate with foreign nations
elastic clause (or necessary and proper clause)
Congress has power to make all Laws
The free rider problem
individual benefits from the actions of another without paying
The prisoner’s dilemma
two parties, unable to communicate, must each choose between cooperating with the other or not.
A confederation is a form of government best described as which of the following?
Lower-level governments possess primary authority.
Who is the ultimate arbiter of controversies involving American federalism?
the Supreme Court
______ occurs when national and state governments jointly supply services to the citizenry.
shared federalism
