unit 1

Question 1

Government

Answer 1

Institutions through which public policies are made for a society

Question 2

collective goods

Answer 2

good and services, such as clean air and clean water, that by their nature cannot be denied to anyone

Question 3

Politics

Answer 3

The process determining the leaders we select and the policies they pursue. Politics produces authoritative decisions about public issues.

Question 4

Political participation

Answer 4

All the activities by which citizens attempt to influence the selection of political leaders and the policies they pursue. Voting is the most common means of political participation in a democracy. Other means include contracting public officials, protest, and civil disobedience.

Question 5

single- issued groups

Answer 5

Groups that have a narrow interest on which their members tend to take an uncompromising stance

Question 6

policymaking system

Answer 6

the process by which policy comes into being and evolves. peoples interests, problems, and concerns create political issues for the goverment policymakers. These issues shape policy, which in turn impacts people, generating more interests, problems, and concerns.

Question 7

linkage institutions

Answer 7

The political channels through which people’s concerns become political issues on the policy agenda. In the United States, linkage institutions include elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media

Question 8

policy agenda

Answer 8

The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people involves in politics at a point in time

Question 9

political issue

Answer 9

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

Question 10

institutions

Answer 10

Established organizations or systems that play a significant role in society

Question 11

policy making

Answer 11

A process that unfolds in neat, predictable stages

Question 12

policy impacts

Answer 12

The effects a policy has on people and problems. Impacts are analyzed to see how well a policy has met it’s goal and at what cost.

Question 13

democracy

Answer 13

A system of selecting policymakers and of organizing government so that policy represents and responds to the public’s prefrences.

Question 14

majority rule

Answer 14

A fundamental principle of traditional democratic theory. In a democracy, choosing among alternatives requires choosing among alternatives requires that the majority’s desire to be respected.

Question 15

minority rule

Answer 15

A Principle of traditional democratic theory that guarantees right to those who do not belong to majorities.

Question 16

elitism

Answer 16

A theory of American democracy contending that an upper- class elite holds the power and makes policy, regardless of the formal governmental organization.

Question 17

pluralism

Answer 17

A theory of American democracy emphasizing that the policymaking process is very open to the participation of all groups with shared interests, with no single group usually dominating. Pluralists tend to believe that as a result, public interest generally prevails.

Question 18

Hyperpluralism

Answer 18

A theory of American democracy contending that groups are so strong that government, which gives in to the many different groups, is thereby weakened.

Question 19

policy gridlock

Answer 19

A condition that occurs when interests conflict and no coalition is strong enough to form a majority and established policy, so nothing gets done

Question 20

political culture

Answer 20

An overall set of values widely shared within a society

Question 21

Gross domestic product

Answer 21

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