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30 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Government |
The institutions and processes through which public policies are made for society |
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Five functions of national governments |
maintain a national defense provide public services preserve order socialize the young collect taxes |
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Public goods |
if they exist, by their very nature they cannot be denied to anyone and therefore must be shared by everyone |
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What determines who we select as our governmental leaders and what policies these leaders pursue? |
Politics |
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What does the media usually focus on in politics? |
Who |
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The "who" of the media usually includes (4) |
voters, candidates, groups, parties |
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Political participation |
The ways in which people get involved in politics |
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How do members of the single-issue groups vote? |
They cast their votes on the basis of that issue only, ignoring a politicians stand on everything else |
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Linkage institution |
Transmit Americans' preferences to the policymakers in government |
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Our Linkage institutions (4) |
parties, elections, interest groups, media |
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Policy Agenda |
the issues that attack the serious attention of public officials and other people actively involved in politics |
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3 policy making institutions |
Congress, the presidency, the courts |
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What do many political scientists consider as a fourth policy making institution? |
The bureaucracy |
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How did the writers of the Constitution feel about Democracy? |
They lacked fondness for it |
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5 criteria of an ideal democracy according to Robert Dahl |
Equality in voting Effective participation Enlightened understanding Citizen control of the agenda Inclusion |
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Majority rule |
Policies made should reflect the will of over half the voters |
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Minority rights |
freedoms for those in a minority as well as the majority |
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Representation |
make present once again |
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Pluralism |
groups with shared interests influence public policy by pressing their concerns through organized efforts |
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Putnam's problems with American democracy |
People are growing away from each other. We are becoming more self-defined |
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"Bowling alone" |
Participation in interest groups has declined and it is more of a "do it yourself" thing |
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Elitism |
Our society is divided along class lines and an upper class elite pulls the strings of the government |
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Hyperpluralism |
many competing groups are so strong that the government is weakened, as the influence of so many groups cripple government's ability to make policies |
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PAC |
political action committees, represents specific economic interests |
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Policy gridlock |
each policy coalition finds its way blocked by others |
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Political culture |
the overall set of values widely shared within american society |
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American creed 5 elements |
liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, laissez-faire, populism |
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What does egalitarianism in the US involve? |
Everyone being able to vote |
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What do laissez faire economic policies promote? |
Free markets and limited governments |
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Gross Domestic Product |
The total value of all goods and services produced annually by the US |
