Chapter 14 Exam Questions Government And The Economy

Sociology: Brief, 13e (Schaefer)

Chapter 14 Government and the Economy

1) The sociocultural evolution approach developed by Gerhard Lenski categorizes preindustrial societies according to the way in which the ________ is organized.

A) political system

B) economy

C) religious system

D) polity

2) Which type of society relies chiefly on mechanization for the production of its economic goods and services?

A) Agrarian society

B) Horticultural society

C) Industrial society

D) Postmodern society

3) A society such as France or Italy that has an economy based on the production of goods in factories through mechanization would be an example of a(n) ________ society.

A) agrarian

B) industrial

C) postindustrial

D) horticultural

4) What are the two types of economic systems that are seen in contemporary societies?

A) Democracy and communism

B) Capitalism and socialism

C) Communism and informalism

D) Capitalism and democracy

5) Capitalism is an economic system in which

A) the means of production are largely in private hands, and the main incentive for economic activity is the accumulation of profits.

B) all property is communally owned and no social distinctions are made on the basis of people's ability to produce.

C) the means of production and distribution are collectively owned.

D) all property is owned individually, and no social distinctions are made on the basis of people's ability to produce.

6) Laissez-faire refers to a form of ________ under which people compete freely with minimal government intervention in the economy.

A) socialism

B) communism

C) totalitarianism

D) capitalism

7) Monopoly is

A) a market with relatively few sellers.

B) a form of capitalism under which people compete freely, with minimal government intervention.

C) the control of a market by a single business firm.

D) a social institution through which goods and services are produced, distributed, and consumed.

8) For many years, there was only one long-distance telephone company in the United States—the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. This company was an example of a(n)

A) monopoly.

B) oligopoly.

C) veto group.

D) pressure group.

9) A particular computer software manufacturer creates a product that all computers are required to use. The exclusive product allows the manufacturer to dictate prices, standards of quality, and product availability. This would be an example of a(n)

A) monopoly.

B) oligopoly.

C) oligarchy.

D) conglomerate.

10) Which sociological perspective would most likely suggest that although pure monopolies are not a basic element of the U.S. economy, competition is still far more restricted than is ideal?

A) Functionalist perspective

B) Conflict perspective

C) Interactionist perspective

D) Global perspective

11) Socialism is defined as

A) an economic system under which all property is communally owned and no social distinctions are made on the basis of people's ability to produce.

B) an economic system in which the means of production are largely in private hands and the main incentive for economic activity is the accumulation of profits.

C) an economic system under which the means of production and distribution are collectively owned.

D) an economic system in which the people compete freely, within minimal government intervention.

12) In which type of economic system is the laissez-faire philosophy rejected and the central government, acting as a representative of the people, makes basic economic decisions?

A) Informal economy

B) Capitalism

C) Socialism

D) Agrarianism

13) Socialist societies differ from capitalist societies in their commitment to

A) free elections.

B) support of the mass media.

C) the provision of social service programs.

D) overseeing all aspects of public life.

14) The United States has considered a national health care system that would guarantee medical care to all citizens as a basic human right. The government's involvement in providing health care for all citizens is characteristic of which type of economic system?

A) Communism

B) Socialism

C) Laissez-faire capitalism

D) Contemporary capitalism

15) Which term do we use to refer to an economic system under which all property is communally owned, and no social distinctions are made on the basis of people's ability to produce?

A) Communism

B) Socialism

C) Laissez-faire capitalism

D) Contemporary capitalism

16) Communism is an economic system in which

A) the means of production are largely in private hands, and the main incentive for economic activity is the accumulation of profits.

B) all property is communally owned and no social distinctions are made on the basis of people's ability to produce.

C) the means of production and distribution are collectively owned.

D) all property is individually owned, and social distinctions are made on the basis of people's ability to produce.

17) Which of the following is true of a government of a capitalist nation?

A) They monitor prices.

B) Values business over consumer.

C) Takes ownership of entire industries.

D) Disregards safety and environmental standards.

18) Which of the following theorists point out that although pure monopolies are not a basic element of the economy, competition is still much more restricted than one might expect?

A) Conflict

B) Interactionists

C) Functionalists

D) Globalists

19) Moses is working on a kibbutz in Israel where all the members have the same standard of living and they equally divide the profits from the citrus crop that is the primary source of income for the community. This kibbutz is an example of which type of economic system?

A) Communism

B) Informal economy

C) Laissez-faire capitalism

D) Contemporary capitalism

20) Transfers of money, goods, or services that are not reported to the government are indicative of

A) socialist sanctions.

B) communism.

C) an informal economy.

D) capitalistic profits.

21) Trading a haircut for a computer lesson is an example of

A) socialist sanctions.

B) communism.

C) an informal economy.

D) capitalistic profits.

22) An unlicensed street vendor sells watches, which may have been stolen, at a makeshift stand in New York City's Times Square. Another person repairs cars for "private" clients in a garage attached to his home. Neither reports their activities to the government. Both of these people are part of

A) a multinational corporation.

B) the informal economy.

C) the private economy.

D) the underground economy.

23) Which of the following theorists contend that bureaucratic regulations sometimes contribute to the rise of an informal, or underground, economy?

A) Conflict

B) Functionalists

C) Interactionists

D) Globalists

24) What term do we use to refer to "who gets what, when, and how"?

A) Power

B) Interests

C) Politics

D) Economic

25) Which term was used by Max Weber to refer to the ability to exercise one's will over others?

A) Legitimacy

B) Politics

C) Influence

D) Power

26) A particular sociology instructor decides what subject matter will be covered each time her class meets. The fact that the instructor can make these decisions and that the students must follow her lead is an example of

A) charisma.

B) power.

C) politics.

D) force.

27) Max Weber defined force as

A) the actual or threatened use of coercion to impose one's will on others.

B) the exercise of power through a process of persuasion.

C) the ability to exercise one's will over others.

D) power that has been institutionalized and is recognized by the people over whom it is exercised.

28) When leaders imprison or even execute political dissidents, they are applying

A) influence.

B) force.

C) authority.

D) legitimacy.

29) The exercise of power through a process of persuasion is known as

A) force.

B) influence.

C) pressure.

D) charisma.

30) After a dinner-table argument with his grown children, a man changes his position on the issue of immigrant refugees being granted asylum in the U.S. His children have exercised what kind of power?

A) Force

B) Authority

C) Legitimacy

D) Influence

31) Which of the following terms refers to power that has been institutionalized and is recognized by the people over whom it is exercised?

A) Influence

B) Authority

C) Legitimacy

D) Political efficacy

32) Which of the following would most likely be an example of authority?

A) Terrorism

B) Political dissidents who seize an embassy and assassinate a political leader

C) A newspaper editorial that convinces members of the population to vote for a particular candidate for mayor

D) A person who leads a group because of his or her charming and magnetic personality

33) Power made legitimate by law is known as

A) rational-legal authority.

B) charismatic authority.

C) traditional authority.

D) influence authority.

34) Traditional authority refers to

A) legitimate power conferred by custom and accepted practice.

B) power made legitimate by a leader's exceptional personal or emotional appeal to his or her followers.

C) power made legitimate by law.

D) the exercise of power through a process of persuasion.

35) The perception that the orders of superiors are legitimate because "this is how things have always been done" is characteristic of a political system based on

A) egalitarian authority.

B) charismatic authority.

C) traditional authority.

D) rational-legal authority.

36) In a society with leadership based on rational-legal authority, leaders derive their authority from

A) custom and accepted practice.

B) their exceptional personal or emotional appeal.

C) the written rules and regulations of the political system.

D) threats to use coercion to impose their will on others.

37) In the United States, there is a presidential election every four years. After the election, nearly half the population readily accepts the leadership of the person for whom they did not vote. This is an example of

A) egalitarian authority.

B) charismatic authority.

C) traditional authority.

D) rational-legal authority.

38) In a society with leadership based on charismatic authority, leaders derive their authority from

A) custom and accepted practice.

B) their exceptional personal or emotional appeal.

C) the written rules and regulations of the political system.

D) threats to use coercion to impose their will on others.

39) ________ authority is derived more from the beliefs of followers than from the actual qualities of leaders.

A) Traditional

B) Rational-legal

C) Charismatic

D) Democratic

40) Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Adolf Hitler, and Joan of Arc were all leaders who used their respective power to press for changes in accepted social behavior. Their power came from what kind of authority?

A) Egalitarian authority

B) Charismatic authority

C) Traditional authority

D) Rational-legal authority

41) In pointing out that the growth of the electronic media has facilitated the development of charismatic authority, sociologist Carl Couch draws on the

A) Functionalist perspective.

B) Conflict perspective.

C) Interactionist perspective.

D) Global perspective.

42) Which of the following is a social institution founded on a recognized set of procedures for implementing and achieving society's goals?

A) Political action committee

B) Interest group

C) Elite group

D) Political system

43) Which form of government is led by a single member of a royal family?

A) Democracy

B) Dictatorship

C) Oligarchy

D) Monarchy

44) Which form of government governed on the basis of traditional forms of authority?

A) Democracy

B) Dictatorship

C) Oligarchy

D) Monarchy

45) Which form of government now often takes the form of military rule?

A) Democracy

B) Dictatorship

C) Oligarchy

D) Monarchy

46) What term for government do we use to refer to a small group of individuals who rule?

A) Democracy

B) Dictatorship

C) Oligarchy

D) Representative democracy

47) In which type of government does a single person have nearly total power to make and enforce laws, and rules primarily by coercion?

A) Democracy

B) Dictatorship

C) Oligarchy

D) Representative democracy

48) Totalitarianism is a form of

A) Oligarchy.

B) Dictatorship.

C) Monarchy.

D) Representative democracy.

49) The United States utilizes which type of government?

A) Democracy

B) Dictatorship

C) Oligarchy

D) Representative democracy

50) Which of the following statements about political apathy in the U.S. is correct?

A) The demographic with the most voter apathy is the young; however, the young do vote more often as they grow older.

B) Half the people in the U.S. have contacted a national, state, or local official about a political issue or problem.

C) Only a small minority of all citizens are familiar with the political process in the U.S., and very few tend to identify with a political party.

D) Young people are not alienated from the political system, contrary to popular belief.

51) Because many young, minority, or poor citizens are not engaged politically, political power brokers

A) have made efforts to reach this portion of the electorate through increased use of social media.

B) will probably continue to ignore their interests.

C) are creating programs to help get these potential voters registered.

D) feel alienated from the political system.

52) A decline in political participation allows governments to

A) become dictatorships.

B) be held to higher standards.

C) operate with less accountability.

D) become more efficient.

53) Historically, voter turnout has been particularly low among which group?

A) Young adults

B) The middle class

C) Senior citizens

D) The wealthy

54) A recent analysis of newspaper coverage of female gubernatorial candidates indicated that

A) coverage focused more often on the personal life, appearance, or personality of a female candidate than it did on that of a male candidate.

B) articles are more likely to illustrate political issues with statements made by female candidates.

C) newspapers often fail to cover the political rallies of female candidates.

D) male and female candidates have received equal treatment by the news media in recent elections.

55) According to G. William Domhoff, today's power elite in the U.S. is composed of which of the following?

A) White males

B) African American males

C) White females

D) African American females

56) Which model of power relations suggests that society is ruled by a small group of individuals who share a common set of political and economic interests?

A) Pluralist model

B) Elite model

C) Functionalist model

D) Interactionist model

57) Which of the following terms did C. Wright Mills use to refer to the military leaders of the power elite at the top of his pyramid structure?

A) Warlords

B) Opinion leaders

C) Exploited masses

D) Rulers

58) According to C. Wright Mill's model, which of the following groups is located at the bottom of the pyramid?

A) Exploited masses

B) Legislators

C) Military leaders

D) Social upper class

59) According to G. William Domhoff's model of the political power structure, to which coalition would colleges and universities likely belong?

A) Corporate-conservative coalition

B) Liberal-labor coalition

C) Environmental-elite coalition

D) Policy-formation coalition

60) The pluralist model of power relations in the United States suggests that

A) power is concentrated in the hands of a small group of military, corporate, and political leaders.

B) power is held by many competing groups that have access to government, so no single group is dominant.

C) power is held by a group of charismatic leaders.

D) power is concentrated in the hands of a small group of military, corporate, and political leaders along with a group of highly charismatic leaders.

61) The pluralist model is criticized most significantly for

A) its failure to weigh the impact of new communications technologies.

B) constituting a kind of "reverse discrimination" against White males.

C) an almost total exclusion of racial and ethnic minorities from the political process.

D) only recognizing minority racial and ethnic groups at election time.

62) Studies of the pluralist model within distinct communities, such as Dahl's work in New Haven, have which important limitation?

A) They are not scientific because they lack effective controls.

B) Racial and ethnic minorities are largely absent from such studies.

C) Observation is necessarily limited to local elites who belong to a larger national ruling class.

D) They fail to address the potential of elites keeping certain matters out of government debate.

63) Sociologists Theodore Caplow and Louis Hicks have defined ________ as conflict between organizations that possess trained combat forces equipped with deadly weapons.

A) terrorism

B) war

C) pluralism

D) strife

64) According to the Global Peace Index, which nations are at the top or are otherwise considered "very peaceful"?

A) Iran and Somalia

B) Denmark and Sweden

C) Jamaica and Mexico

D) Iceland and New Zealand

65) What term do we use to refer to the use of or threat of violence against random or symbolic targets in pursuit of political aims?

A) Politics

B) Terrorism

C) Hard negotiation

D) War

66) Utilizing Erving Goffman's dramaturgical approach, Alfred McClung Lee has suggested that terrorism

A) always pits the powerful against the have-nots.

B) always has a religious basis.

C) is similar to the theater, in that certain scenes are played out in a predictable fashion.

D) always pits the powerful against the have-nots and is similar to the theater, in that certain scenes are played out in a predictable fashion.

67) Which of the following is predictable in the aftermath of a terrorist attack?

A) Terrorists admit responsibility for the attack.

B) Terrorists deny having any knowledge of the attack.

C) Terrorists give public interviews to denounce the enemy.

D) Terrorists neither deny or admit that they had any say in the attack.

68) Affirmative action is defined as

A) the act of admitting minorities to colleges, regardless of their credentials.

B) the act of hiring minorities for open positions, regardless of their qualifications.

C) positive efforts to recruit minority group members or women for jobs, promotions, and educational opportunities.

D) efforts to further segregate minority groups from employment and educational opportunities.

69) Positive efforts to recruit minority group members or women for jobs, promotions, and educational opportunities are known as

A) reverse discrimination.

B) quotas.

C) pluralism.

D) affirmative action.

70) Which sociological perspective would likely view affirmative action as a legislative attempt to reduce inequality embedded in the social structure by increasing the opportunities of groups that have been deprived in the past?

A) Functionalist perspective

B) Conflict perspective

C) Interactionist perspective

D) Global perspective

71) Which sociological perspective would be interested in studying how the introduction of an affirmative action program in a factory creates labels and stereotypes within a workplace and affects the relationships among employees?

A) Functionalist perspective

B) Conflict perspective

C) Interactionist perspective

D) Global perspective

72) Which sociological perspective would be likely to suggest that in the changing face of the workforce, workers will find themselves supervising and being supervised by people very different from themselves?

A) Functionalist perspective

B) Conflict perspective

C) Interactionist perspective

D) Feminist perspective

73) The systematic, widespread withdrawal of investment in basic aspects of productivity such as factories and plants is known as

A) downsizing.

B) shrink wrapping.

C) deindustrialization.

D) modernization.

74) A particular dress manufacturer closes a factory in South Carolina and moves the factory to Malaysia, where labor costs are lower. This is an example of

A) gentrification.

B) deindustrialization.

C) downsizing.

D) modernization.

75) When a corporation in the U.S. relocates its plants to a country where prevailing wages are lower than in the U.S., this is the final stage of

A) modernization.

B) post modernization.

C) deindustrialization.

D) downsizing.

76) Reductions in a company's workforce as part of deindustrialization are called

A) deindustrialization.

B) downsizing.

C) anomie.

D) alienation.

77) Downsizing refers to reductions in

A) the size of urban communities through advanced planning techniques.

B) a company's workforce.

C) the size of unions as a result of satisfied worker apathy.

D) factory pollutants output.

78) A particular restaurant experiences a decrease in business, and this leads to a budget deficit. To balance the budget, the management initially pares down the menu so that there is less spoilage. Management then dismisses the busboys and buys an inferior quality of meat and fish. Finally, management fires several waiters and waitresses and increases the workload of those who remain. These actions illustrate

A) deregulation.

B) downsizing.

C) deindustrialization.

D) modernization.

79) Which perspective would suggest that downsizing in the mid-1990s reflects the continuing importance of social class in the United States?

A) Functionalist perspective

B) Conflict perspective

C) Interactionist perspective

D) Ethnocentric perspective

80) Offshoring refers to

A) doing work on an offshore ship.

B) sending jobs overseas.

C) managing offshore oil rigs.

D) agreeing to move if one's position is relocated.

81) Which of the following employment areas is most vulnerable to offshoring?

A) computer programming

B) medicine

C) road construction

D) sociological research

82) Lending small sums of money to the poor so they can work their way out of poverty is referred to as

A) outsourcing.

B) microfinancing.

C) offshoring.

D) reshoring.

83) The term microfinancing refers to

A) lending small sums of money to the poor so that they can work their way out of poverty.

B) welfare handouts for poor people in developing countries.

C) welfare handouts for poor people in industrial countries.

D) pyramid schemes.

84) The majority of microloan recipients are

A) men.

B) entrepreneurs.

C) women.

D) urban business owners.

85) Feminist theorists are particularly interested in microfinancing because the majority of these loans

A) go to men.

B) go to women.

C) have a high interest rate.

D) go to sex traffickers.

86) Capitalism and socialism serve as ideal types of economic systems.

87) The People's Republic of China, Vietnam, and Cuba are the remaining societies that serve as ideal types of communist systems.

88) Capitalist systems vary in the degree to which the government regulates private ownership and economic activity.

89) The majority of the total economic activity in the United States comes from an informal economy.

90) Participants in the informal economy are less likely than others to save and invest their income.

91) Countries such as Russia and Sweden overhauled their socialist economies in the early 1980s, transforming them to laissez-faire capitalism.

92) Informal economies exist only in developing countries.

93) Power lies at the heart of a political system.

94) Power relations can involve large organizations, small groups, or even people in an intimate association.

95) According to the classification system developed by Max Weber, the power of the president and Congress in the United States is based on traditional authority.

96) Traditional authority is absolute when the ruler has the ability to determine laws and policies.

97) Most monarchs now have little practical power; they serve primarily ceremonial purposes.

98) Germany during Hitler's reign, the Soviet Union in the 1930s, and North Korea today are classified as dictatorships.

99) The segment of the voting population that has shown the most voter apathy is the young; however, they do vote more often as they grow older.

100) If political participation declines, government operates with less of a sense of accountability to society.

101) Political participation makes government accountable to the voters.

102) Low voter turnout is essentially non-existent in the United States.

103) The media tend to cover the personal lives of male politicians more than those of female politicians, since males are more likely to be elected to political offices.

104) Many countries have adopted quotas in order to ensure participation of females in the legislative process.

105) Karl Marx believed that democracy was a sham.

106) Mills' power elite is not a conspiracy, but rather a community of interest and sentiment among a small number of influential people.

107) A fundamental element in Mills' power structure model is that the power elite are relatively few in number and also operate as a self-conscious and cohesive unit.

108) The United States is an example of an elite system.

109) Today, social media is the major force in political and civic engagement.

110) Robert Dahl's model of political power in the United States suggests there are three levels: corporate, executive, and military elites; local opinion leaders; and the unorganized, exploited masses at the bottom of the pile.

111) Today's corporate elite are overwhelmingly White and male.

112) One common point between the elite perspective and the pluralist perspective is that power is unequally distributed within the U.S. political system.

113) Sociologists who take a global view of war study how and why two or more nations become engaged in military conflict.

114) Public opinion plays a significant role in the execution of war.

115) Nations can maintain their security by threatening violence.

116) Affirmative action is now illegal.

117) Conflict theorists note that job loss has long been a feature of deindustrialization among blue-collar workers.

118) United States employers have been relying more and more on the part-time workforce.

119) Discuss the emergence of capitalism within an industrialized society. Include definitions of laissez-faire and monopoly in your answer.

120) Discuss the similarities and differences among socialism, communism, and capitalism. Give examples to illustrate each type of economic system.

121) Explain how power operates in society.

122) Differentiate the various types of authority as outlined by Max Weber. Give examples to illustrate each type.

123) Compare and contrast the various types of government.

124) Do you believe that the United States is genuinely a representative democracy? Why or why not?

125) Discuss the importance of political participation in representative democracy.

126) Explain the importance of the Latino/a political voice in American politics. Has their growing presence translated to more votes? Why or why not?

127) Discuss the representation of women and minorities within the U.S. governmental structure.

128) Describe the various models of the power structure in the United States and give examples to support your answer.

129) Who do you believe holds the power in the United States? Explain your answer.

130) Do you agree with the claim that the United States is a pluralist model? Why or why not?

131) Discuss the three ways sociologists are interested in the concept of war.

132) Define the concept of terrorism and discuss the role media play in its contemporary forms.

133) Discuss how deindustrialization and downsizing have changed the face of the workforce in the United States.

134) Explain how temporary and part-time positions are re-shaping the workforce in the United States.

135) Discuss the arguments posed by both critics and proponents of the sharing economy. Do you agree with the critics or proponents? Why?