Intro To Political Science Chapter 2

Front 1

What is Aristotle's primary argument?

Back 1

He felt the best polity had a large middle class.

Large middle class leads to democracy

Front 2

According to Aristotle, what can form if there are too many poor or wealthy?

Back 2

An oligarchy or an extreme democracy can form.

Front 3

What do modern scholars think is necessary for a sustainable democracy?

Back 3

A large middle class.

Front 4

What is Machiavelli's argument in The Prince?

Back 4

Focused on power in The Prince – urging the ruler tobe rational, but tough in serving the interests of the polity.

Front 5

What is Machiavelli's argument in The Discources?

Back 5

He preferred a broad-based and participatory society – It shouldemphasize the law as fundamental and supreme (the rule of law vs. the rule bylaw)

Front 6

Hobbes' state of nature

Back 6

Saw as brutish and anarchic

Front 7

Hobbes' view of rational self-interest

Back 7

Society and government arises naturally out of fear.

Front 8

What did Hobbes think was the reason people submit to government?

Back 8

People submit to government to prevent anarchy...out of fear.

Front 9

Locke's state of nature

Back 9

People lived in relative equality and tolerance with one another.

People are born free and had inalienable rights

Front 10

Locke's social contract

Back 10

Government to secure "life, liberty, and property"

Front 11

What did Locke think societies and political systems are formed from?

Back 11

Societies and political systems are formed out of rational self-interest

Front 12

Locke's view of rational self-interest

Back 12

Securing property rights... leads to creation of modern societies and political systems.

Front 13

What did Rousseau think about people and society?

Back 13

Society make people, not the other way around. If people are bad, it is because society made them that way.

Front 14

What is Rousseau's view of the state of nature?

Back 14

Saw life as downright good. The state of nature was perfect.

Front 15

What did Rousseau think corrupted people?

Back 15

Society itself corrupted humans "Man is born free but everywhere is in chains."

Front 16

Rousseau social contract

Back 16

A just society would be a voluntary community with a will of its own. A "general will"

Front 17

Rousseau self-interest

Back 17

General will should always take precedence over individuals' "particular wills"

Front 18

What did Rousseau mean by particular will and general will?

Back 18

General will is what everyone wants over and above the selfish "particular wills" of individuals and interests' groups.

Front 19

What is a proletariat and some characteristics according to Marxist?

Back 19

Workers. Are international and all suffering under the heel of the capitalists.

Front 20

What is a bourgeoisie and some characteristics according to Marxist?

Back 20

Capitalists. Obsessed with hanging on to to their property.

Front 21

What is dialectical materialism?

Back 21

Low worker wages leads to overproduction. Workers cannot affordproducts. That contribute to economic and political decay.

Front 22

What is socialism and how does it happen according to Marxist?

Back 22

Theproletariat take control of government, and then implement reforms to benefittheir class. Confiscation of private property which is then taken under statecontrol and run for the benefit of the people rather than for the interests ofprivate profit.

Front 23

What is communism?

Back 23

A socialist society developed into an entirely classless system.

A perfect society.

Front 24

What is a perfect democracy according to Marxist?

Back 24

Communism - everyone has procedural equality (Political and economic decisions) and material equality (comfortable, healthy, and prosperous life)

Front 25

What is institutional theory?

Back 25

Concentrated on designing perfect institutions through constitutional engineering.

Assumed what is on paper would work in practice.

Front 26

What are some criticisms about institutional theory?

Back 26

Too mechanistic and naive, and for making unreasonable simplifying assumptions.

Front 27

What is behaviorism?

Back 27

Concentrates on actual behavior... not on thoughts, feelings, or formal government structures.

Front 28

What is the doctrine of positivism?

Back 28

An idea that social phenomena can be studies scientifically just like physical phenomena.

Front 29

How do behaviorists study behaviors?

Back 29

Observable basis for political science with numerous quantitativestudies, especially on voting and public attitudes.

Front 30

What are some criticisms of behaviorism?

Back 30

Criticized as being static (examining only what existsat a given moment and ignoring changes over time), conservative, biased, andirrelevant to the big and urgent problems of the real world.

Front 31

What is systems theory?

Back 31

Views the political world as a complex and interconnected system.

Front 32

What is input as defined by Easton

Back 32

Citizens' demands

Front 33

What is output as defined by Easton

Back 33

Government responses, which have an impact on the social, economic, and political environment.

Front 34

What is feedback as defined by Easton

Back 34

Citizens may or may not like outputs, creating new demands.

Front 35

What is withinput as defined by Easton

Back 35

Internal governmental pressures, competition, and compromise.

Front 36

What is the conversion process as defined by Easton

Back 36

Decision-making process within the political institutions.

Front 37

What is the bottom-up theory/model?

Back 37

Publiccreates most policy proposals, to which government responds.

Front 38

What is the top-down theory/model?

Back 38

Government creates proposals instead of the people.

Front 39

Which theory/model does the original systems theory use?

Back 39

Bottom-up

Front 40

Which theory/model does the modified systems theory use?

Back 40

Top-down

Front 41

What are some criticisms for the original systems theory model?

Back 41

It is criticized for being too static, and for failing to explain the conversion process.

Front 42

What are some criticisms for the modified systems theory model?

Back 42

Puts theconversion process of government first: government originates most decisions,not citizens.

Front 43

What facets does modernization theory have?

Back 43

Economic, cultural, and political

Front 44

What are some characteristics of modernization theory?

Back 44

As economy develops, incomes grow… middle class grows…they begin to demand more political rights and freedoms – leading to thecreation of democracy.

Stable democracies (typically) emerge when per capitaGDP rises over $8,000.

Front 45

What is conflictual modernization?

Back 45

When states modernize just one piece ofthe package, they face internal turmoil, and are more likely to be involved ininterstate wars.

Front 46

What are some criticisms of modernization theory?

Back 46

Assumes thatEuropean and American (Western) path to development is the only “right” way tobe modern.

Cannotexplain un-westernized paths to democracy, or wealthy countries who are notdemocratic.

Front 47

What does rational-choice theory assume?

Back 47

Assumes people are rational actors who consciously maximize their interests/beliefs while minimizing costs.

Front 48

What is a criticism about rational-choice theory?

Back 48

It tends to ignore the impact of culture and religion.

Front 49

What is neo-institutional theory?

Back 49

Believes that institutions, such as agencies, parties, legislatures, develop their own internal culture and procedures.

This organizational culture and procedures shape thebehavior and attitudes of participants in those institutions… institutionsdevelop lives of their own.