First Exam

Question 1

Define Politics

Answer 1

Defined by Lasswell, who gets what, when and how. A way to determine without resource to violence, who gets power and resources in society, and how they get them.

Question 2

Define Power

Answer 2

The ability to get others to do what you want.

Question 3

Define Authority

Answer 3

Power that is recognized as legitimate or rigth.

Question 4

Legitimacy

Answer 4

Something that is accepted as right or proper, power we have consented.

Question 5

Government

Answer 5

System or organization for exercising authority over a body of people

Question 6

Anarchy

Answer 6

The absence of government and laws. Most extreme form of nonauthoritarian government.

Question 7

Ideology

Answer 7

Set of beliefs about politics and society that help people make sense of their world.

Question 8

Liberal Democracy

Laissez-faire

Answer 8

Combines the structure of a representative democracy with the principles of liberal political philosophy. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into different branches of government, the rule of law in everyday life as part of an open society, a market economy with private property, universal suffrage, and the equal protection of human rights, civil rights, civil liberties and political freedoms for all people.

Question 9

Capitalist economy

Answer 9

Economic system in which the market determines production, distribution and price decisions, and property is privately owned.

Question 10

Regulated capitalism

Answer 10

A market system in which the government intervenes to protect rights.

Question 11

Socialist economy

Also called social democracy

Answer 11

Decisions are not made by individuals through the market, but rather polititians based on their judgement of what society needs. The state owns factories, lands….

Question 12

Socialism

Answer 12

Economic decisions are not made by individuals through market but rather by politians based on their judgement of what society needs. The state determines production, distribution and price decisions and property is government owned. It’s emphasized substantive guarantees of what they believe to be fair outcomes, rather than procedural guarantees.

Question 13

Social democracy

Answer 13

Mixed economy that uses the democratics process to bend capitalism towards socialist goals like more equality.

Question 14

Totalitarianism

Answer 14

A system in which absolute power is exercised over every aspect of life.

Question 15

Authoritarianism

Answer 15

Gives ultimate power to the state rather than to the people to decide how they ought to live their lives. People cannot effectively claim rights against the state.

Question 16

Authoritarian capitalism

Answer 16

A system in which state allows people economic freedom but mantains stringent social regulations to limit noneconomic behavior.

Question 17

Conservatives

Answer 17

People who generally favor limited government, and are cautious about change. Promote a political narrative based on traditional social values, distrust of government action except in matter of national security, resistance to change, and maintainance of a prescribed social order.

Question 18

Liberals

Answer 18

People who generally favor government action and view changes as progress. Tell a narrative based on potential progress and change, trust in government, innovations as answers to social problems and expansions of individual rights.

Question 19

Libertarians

Answer 19

Favor minimal government role in any sphere.

Question 20

Authoritarian populism

Answer 20

Radical right wing movement that appeals to popular discontent but whose underlying values are not democratic

Question 21

American Founding

Answer 21

-Articles of Confederation
-Virginia Plan
-New Jersey Plan
-Constitution

Question 22

What is the Declaration of Independence?

Answer 22

Political document that dissolved colonial ties between the United States and Britain

Question 23

What are the Articles of Confederation?

Answer 23

The first Constitution of the United States (1777) creating an association of states with weak central government.

Showed that the state guarded their power. Reflected great concern that the rules wouldn’t give any states preferences.

Question 24

What is the Virginia Plan?

Answer 24

A proposal at the Constitutional Convention that congressional representation be based on population, thus favoring the large states. Created by James Madison and Edmund Randolph presented it at the Convention.

Question 25

What is the New Jersey Plan?

Answer 25

A proposal at the Constitutional Convention that congressional representation be equal, thus favoring small states, reinforcing the Articles of the Confederation. Each state would have one vote.

Question 26

What is the Great Compromise?

Answer 26

Is a Constitutional solution to congressional representation: equal votes in the Senate, votes by population in the House.

Question 27

What is the three-fifts compromise?

Answer 27

Was the formula for counting five enslaved people as three people for purposes of representation, which reconciled northern and southern factions at the Constitutional Convention.

Question 28

Define Federalists

Answer 28

They are the supporters of the Constituion who favored a strong central government. Favor a political system in which power is divided between central and regional units.

Question 29

Define Anti-federalists

Answer 29

Advocates of states rights who opposed the Constitution.

Question 30

What is the Bill of Rights?

Answer 30

They are a summary of citizens rights guaranteed and protected by the government; added to the Constitution as its first ten amendments in order to achieve ratification. By Alexander Hamilton in Federalist No. 84, he thinks it was unnecesary and dangerous.

Question 31

What is Federalism?

Answer 31

Is a political system in which power is divided between central and regional units. Gives the central government its own source of power, Constitution

Question 32

What are The Federalist Papers?

Answer 32

They are a series of essays, written in support of the Constitution to build support for its ratification. They were published, as Publius, written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Hay.

Question 33

Explain Federalist No. 10

Question 34

What are factions?

Answer 34

Factions are groups of citizens united by some common interest or passion and opposed to the rights of other citizens or to the interest of the whole comunity. Factions are problematic when they are a majority.

Question 35

What was Shay’s Rebelion?

Answer 35

Was a grassroot uprising (1787) by armed Massachussetts farmers protesting foreclosures. Mobs of musket-wielding farmers from western Massachussetts interrupting trials of debtors in attempts to prevent their lands from being foreclosed, beacuse they thought legislature favored the interests of the rich.

Question 36

Define Separation of Powers

Answer 36

Is the institutional arrangement that assigns judicial excutive, and legislative powers to different persons or groups, thereby, limiting the powers of each.

Question 37

What are Checks and Balances?

Answer 37

Is the principle that allows each branch of government to excersice some form of control over the others. Checking any abuse, ensuring that no branch can exercise power tiranically.

Question 38

What is the Electoral College?

Answer 38

Is an intermediary body that elects the president. Citizens vote for state electors who turn their votes for the candidates about six weeks after the general election, they wouldn’t be bribed.

Question 39

Define Majoritarian democracy

Answer 39

Means the representative democracy, based on consent of the majority rule.

Question 40

Consensual Democracy

Proportional Government

Answer 40

Can sometimes help to maintain internal peace, provide opportunities. Nor proportional representation nor democratization diminished the long standing Sweish tradition of Consensus.

Almost everyone can win.

It helps to maintain a broad consensus for government policies.

Question 41

What is Parlamentary System

Answer 41

A prime minister is chosen by the national legislature, and in mixed systems, important constitutional powers are assigned to the prime minister, but an elected president is also provided with certain powers.

Question 42

What is a Presidential System?

Answer 42

The roles of prime minister and ceremonial head of state are blended, constitutionally and in popular expectations. They claim to represent the american people together with efforts to promote particular national policies.

Question 43

What is the American Hybrid?

Answer 43

The system is not proportional, neither majoritarian.
-Three majorities
-Divided Government
-Presidential consensual, majoritarian, neither or both?
-Accountability