Deck 14: The Functions and Forms of Government

Question 1

Democracy is a Western ideology. For democracy to work, one needs the right environment, which includes:

A) a commitment to minority rights.
B) a commitment to religion over democracy.
C) the technology available for a print and other media communications network.
D) a tradition of respect for group over individual rights.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Anarchists and libertarians believe in the:

A) least role for government.
B) most important part of human life.
C) expansion of government public policies.
D) need for government intervention in society.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

What is the democratic concept of an individual, and why is it important in government? What is the role of the individual in a democratic government? How does the individual relate to the basic characteristics of a democracy?

Answer 3

The democratic theory holds that all individuals are equal before the law and that people are capable of listening to arguments and making rational choices after weighing evidence. These ideas are central to understanding a democracy, since in a democracy the emphasis is placed upon the dignity and worth of the individual. The characteristics of democracy, freedom of speech, representative legislative organs, and free elections are built around these key concepts of the individual, according to democratic theory.

Question 4

Democracy demands that the people:

A) obey their leader without question.
B) establish a ruling elite who will make the best choices for all.
C) exercise sovereign authority over themselves.
D) never compromise in legislation.

Question 5

What are three major views about the nature of government? How powerful should government be? What elements of truth can be found in the three major views about the nature of government?

Question 6

What are the primary functions of government? How do these functions help in better understanding what government is?

Question 7

"A philosophy of life which, by rejecting the democratic concept of the mass-man, endeavors to give this earth to the best nation, the highest type of human beings, . . . must secure leadership and greatest influence for the best brains. It rests on the basis of personality, not on that of the majority." The previous statement is:

A) an excerpt from the writings of Benito Mussolini about the virtues of liberal democracy.
B) taken from the writings of Abraham Lincoln to support the idea of a democratic republic.
C) a quote written by Benjamin Franklin at the time of the Declaration of Independence in America.
D) a quote from Mein Kampf written by Adolf Hitler used here as an example of classic totalitarian autocracy.

Question 8

The right of individuals to select their leaders by voting for them is called:

A) popular sovereignty.
B) divine right of the monarchy.
C) autocratic right.
D) oligarchy.

Question 9

Communist theory views government as a
(n):

A) positive good.
B) necessary protector of civilization.
C) necessary evil.
D) unnecessary evil.

Question 10

Reactionaries are people who believe that:

A) all governments should be abolished.
B) government is necessary but currently plays too large a role.
C) dictatorship is best and the government's role should be expanded.
D) only a minimal government is necessary.

Question 11

Democracy, the rule of the people, is rooted in the writings of:

A) George Washington.
B) Thomas Jefferson.
C) John Locke.
D) Aaron Burr.

Question 12

What is the right environment in which a democracy will work best? Describe at least five specific characteristics of the right environment for democracy. What are some possible consequences of not having the right environment for democracy? Is democracy a Western ideology?

Question 13

What are some of the justifications given for an autocracy? Why does classifying a country's government as autocratic not automatically mean a bad thing?

Question 14

Of all institutions of social control, government is the most powerful and:

A) inclusive.
B) exclusive.
C) dangerous.
D) safe.

Question 15

Political ideology consists of:

A) passing trends in economic theory.
B) deeply held beliefs in ideas about the best form of government.
C) temporary ideas about family institutions.
D) beliefs held with little conviction.

Question 16

Robert Nozick sees a role for a minimal state, and his views are called:

A) anarchist.
B) reactionary.
C) libertarian.
D) communist.

Question 17

The liberal, conservative, reactionary, and anarchist philosophies of government are:

A) really all the same.
B) identical in their views of the role of government.
C) different in their views of how strong government should be.
D) fundamentally similar in theories of government.

Question 18

Oliver Wendell Holmes and William O. Douglas both held the view of government as a:

A) positive good.
B) means to punish evil with maximum force.
C) means to regulate absolute conformity in all things.
D) necessary evil.

Question 19

Political theory has its origins in the writings of:

A) Aristotle.
B) Douglas.
C) Comte.
D) Durkheim.

Question 20

The concept of the individual as a rational being, equal to all others, is a primary idea of:

A) totalitarianism.
B) democracy.
C) authoritarian autocracy.
D) autocracy.

Question 21

Libertarians advocate strong governments led by educated elite.

Question 22

Karl Marx wrote that there should be an expansion of the "coercive powers of government."

Question 23

In small societies forms of organized government do not exist.

Question 24

Nazism and Marxism are two examples of ideologies underlying:

A) democracy.
B) parliamentary democracy.
C) totalitarian rule.
D) authoritarian democracy.

Question 25

The form of government in which the society is ruled by a dictator or clique that forbids all threats to its position is called:

A) a democracy.
B) a liberal democracy.
C) an authoritarian autocracy.
D) a unitary democracy.

Question 26

Special interests have no role in determining government regulations.

Question 27

A basic function of government is to protect its citizens from internal and external enemies.

Question 28

Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes said, "I like to pay taxes. With taxes I buy civilization."

Question 29

All governments strive for justice.

Question 30

The belief in the rule of an elite whose members have special abilities is called fascism.

Question 31

Autocrats:

A) expect that people will make good decisions in free elections.
B) do not expect people to know what is good for them.
C) believe in majority rule.
D) believe in the power of the people.

Question 32

Thomas Paine contended that government is unnecessary "to supply the defect of moral virtue."

Question 33

Justice means:

A) the same things to all people.
B) different things to different people.
C) some are entitled to more than others.
D) inequality is the way of life.

Question 34

Thomas Hobbes concluded that government results from a contract among free persons desirous of preserving life and increasing its contentment.

Question 35

The set of institutions by which a society is ruled is called a:

A) conglomerate.
B) corporation.
C) social league.
D) government.

Question 36

The view that government must exist as is and should not be tampered with because it serves a necessary function is called the:

A) positivist approach.
B) functionalist approach.
C) conflict approach.
D) rationalist approach.

Question 37

Anarchists believe that institutions, like private property and the state, exploit and corrupt humans.

Question 38

Of all institutions of social control, government is the least inclusive.

Question 39

An autocratic government's right to rule:

A) is derived from the people.
B) depends on the will of the majority.
C) is derived from popular sovereignty.
D) is derived from power.

Question 40

Government is by far the most powerful of all social institutions.

Question 41

In the early 2000s, about 20 percent of the countries of the world were autocracies.

Question 42

The functionalist approach to government is too rigid a position for most social scientists.

Question 43

The Magna Carta is a document that helps enforce the power of autocracies.

Question 44

Propaganda is the product of the state controlling the press and structuring the flow of information to the people in order to make the state look good.

Question 45

The lack of an effective government in Libya:

A) supports the theory that only some states need a government.
B) led to economic prosperity for the Libyan people after being freed from taxation and regulation.
C) led to anarchy-widespread looting and devastation.
D) is a classic example supporting the theory that government is an unnecessary evil to be abolished as soon as possible in all states.

Question 46

In an autocracy, a leader who has lost the support of the people may find it difficult to stay in power.

Question 47

In many countries of the world, the environment for democracy does not exist, making the establishment of a democracy difficult.

Question 48

In an autocracy, the press, religion, family, work, and society are all subject to strict controls designed to maximize the freedom of citizens.

Question 49

Radicals believe that existing governments are important and must be maintained unchanged.

Question 50

Three distinguishing characteristics of a democracy are freedom of speech, effective representation of the people, and free elections.

Question 51

The primacy of the individual can be seen in the Miranda Rights.

Question 52

The number of people counting themselves as politically independent is decreasing as more and more people affiliate themselves with one of the two mainstay parties, Republicans and Democrats.

Question 53

The advantage of democracy is that it can be defined in a precise way that satisfies everyone.