Political Science

Question 1

Elite Theory

Answer 1

a set of elite citizens are really in charge of government in the U.S. and no others have influence
- wealthy use their money/power to control the economy to benefit them
- laws are primarily made by well-educated white male professionals/businessmen
- Congress members are out of touch with the average American due to their wealth

Question 2

Pluralist Theory

Answer 2

political power rests with competing interest groups who share influence in govt
- citizens want to be involved in the system and have access points to do so
- people with shared interests will form groups to make their desires known to politicians
- citizens use political groups to speak for them as they don’t have the resources to do so
- politicians seek “electoral payoff” and use politically active citizens to become acquainted with their needs

Question 3

The Tradeoffs Perspective

Answer 3

Political influence is less of a tug-of-war, and more of a series of tradeoffs/compromises
- granting rights to citizens but also ensuring those rights don’t limit others rights (EX: freedom of speech)
- public policy is created as a result of competition among groups (EX: a law might be helpful to the poor but not favored by the elite, which will lead to a compromise to help both groups)

Question 4

Common in the U.S. Congress

Answer 4

• ignoring the home state voters in order to follow the leaders of a political party
• favoring the interests of some groups over others

Question 5

Deep State?

Answer 5

Deep divide? Yes. Deep state? No.

Question 6

Government and Economic Love Affair

Answer 6

Sometimes governmental and economic systems are confused with each other, and this occurs because some political thought are developed with certain types of economics (capitalism and American democracy/representative government)

Question 7

US Specific Gov and Econ

Answer 7

• Led to the equivalent of democracy, the right to govern themselves, with
• Democratic government promotes individualism, and capitalism relies on individualism
• Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, capitalism will lead to prosperity
• Some capitalists want control over capitalism to ensure their own liberty
• HOWEVER, they do not go hand in hand. This is caused by the rarity of excessive wealth - a very small minority with great influence over the government. Capitalism promotes the minority over the majority.