Thanks for the help.
1. Which is true concerning John Locke�s ideas about government:
a. They suggest they we would be better off if we lived in the �state of nature�.
b. They form the basis of what is known as �classical liberalism�.
c. They were considered completely wrong by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence.
d. They emphasize that governments should provide basic services for the poor.
2. Aristotle�s notion of political freedom suggests that:
a. Humans were not meant to be free.
b. Freedom means having to take action and participate in self-rule
c. As long as the government leaders don�t do things you oppose, you are free.
d. Having a voice in the decision making process is less important than being free from
4. American tolerance for economic inequality in the United States is fostered most directly by the belief in:
a.. individualism and social mobility. b. a strong national government.
c. democracy and federalism. d. redistributive public policies
5. Which of the following is true of the relationship between political and economic systems:
a. Command economies such as communism are usually democratic.
b. Capitalism is always associated with democracy.
c. Socialist countries can be democratic.
d. The U.S. is based on laissez faire economy and direct democracy
6. A person who wanted to measure the degree of substantive democracy in a country would most likely examine ____________.
a. whom the policies of the government serve
b. the frequency of elections
c. checks and balances
d. the number political parties
7. Compared to a pure direct democracy, a republic ____________.
a. gives less power to the majority
b. relies less on electing government policy makers
c. rejects the concept of that some people are more capable of others
d. must be smaller in size
8. Which is considered a basic principle of western liberal democracy:
a. majority rule
b. minority rights
c. freedom of speech
d. right to organize in opposition to the government
e. all of the above
9. Which best describes major American media:
a. ownership tends to be more politically liberal than the journalists
b. it is mostly owned by small independent companies
c. news coverage tends to steer towards the middle
d. ownership is becoming more diverse
40. Which is true of the ideological spectrum:
a. historically liberals associated authority more with God and scripture while conservatives emphasized secularism and human reason
b. liberals tend to emphasize economic equality while conservatives emphasize economic freedom
c. it is not possible to be socially liberal but economically conservative
d. all of the above
41. A difference between 19th century classical liberalism and modern liberalism is that:
a. today�s liberals want a smaller role for government than did 19th century liberals
b. today�s liberals see change as inherently bad
c. today�s liberals are more likely to support the regulation of big business
d. today�s liberals are associated with the �right wing�
45. The "watchdog" role of the media is one in which the press should
a. help the president achieve his policy agenda.
b. uncover as much information as possible about the private lives of candidates for public office.
c. dig up facts and warn the public when officials are doing something wrong.
d. take sides on controversial issues.
46. How does corporate ownership of the media influence the type of news gathered?
a. it encourages the network news shows to have a decidedly conservative bias
b. it keeps reporters attuned to sensational sources, rather than those
that are most important
c. it encourages reporters to provide detailed stories that emphasizes facts over images
d. it makes journalists fearful of covering scandals.
47. Which best describes major American media:
a. ownership tends to be more politically liberal than the journalists
b. it is mostly owned by small independent companies
c. news coverage tends to steer towards the middle
d. ownership is becoming more diverse
1. A
2. B
4. A
5. C+D
6 A+C
7. B
8. E
9. B
40.C
41.B
45.C
46.A
47.C
Thank you for posting your answers to these questions. I am much more likely to help someone if they show that they tried to answer the question, even if they’re on the wrong track, than if they just demand that someone answer for them. You’re on the right track with some of these, but you need to look at a few again.
The first questions deals with the views of John Locke. You said the correct answer is that “they suggest they we would be better off if we lived in the ‘state of nature’.” Not true. Locke is sympathetic to a natural state, because he believed in natural law, a principle that governs our actions. Locke saw, though, would make choices that benefited them, even if it violated the principles of natural law. This would lead to the state of war. So, Locke decided that a system of government had to be developed to guarantee life, liberty, and property rights (Jefferson changed the last to “pursuit of happiness” in the Declaration of Independence). This is a positive view of government: it is not a force to suppress natural law and the rights of individuals, but to guarantee that an individual’s rights, and those of his neighbor, are upheld. Locke did not talk about social welfare; he saw the role of government as guaranteeing rights by creating a system wherein contracts and agreements are enforced. What he created was the basis of classic liberalism, with an emphasis on natural rights, which is answer B.
For question 5, you picked C and D as being correct. Answer D says, “The U.S. is based on laissez faire economy and direct democracy.” This is not true. The US is a representative democracy, not a direct one: we elect officials to make governing decisions, rather than voting on them ourselves. The US is also not a laissez faire economy: our government does regulate business (although, perhaps, not as well as it should). Laissez faire means, roughly, “hands-off”, and the US government has not been hand-off when it comes to the economy since early in the twentieth century, when the first President Roosevelt began breaking up monopolies. Answer C, “Socialist countries can be democratic,” is true. To one extent or another, most democracies in Western Europe are socialist, with partial state ownership of some industries, and extensive social welfare policies (health care, pensions, etc.) to protect the citizens against economic failure.
Question 6, “A person who wanted to measure the degree of substantive democracy in a country would most likely examine…” is a bad question. A really good answer (“the transparency of its electoral system”) does not make the list. Of the choices given, A is a good choice, but C is probably a better one. If checks and balances function properly, then a government will be generally responsive to the needs of its citizens, and its policies will reflect that.
Question 7 asks, “Compared to a pure direct democracy, a republic…?” You picked B, “relies less on electing government policy makers.” Not true. In a direct democracy, the people – all of the people who can vote – make the decisions directly. In a representative system, like a republic, the decisions are made by elected officials; the people choose the officials, and they carry out the will of the people in making specific decisions. Democratic republics feature structures that balance power among several different forces (legislatures and courts, for example), typically with systems of law that specifically limit a government’s power. In a direct democracy, the will of the majority can make decisions over-riding the rights of the minority. Incidentally, a republic is a democracy, even if your teacher tells you differently. A direct democracy, as I said, is a system where everyone makes decisions, but that is only one type of democracy (and it’s not used by any country in the world). A democracy is a government that is freely chosen by the people, elected to office, and governing within the rule of law (which means that the government can’t exceed the limits of its own power). A republic is one type of democracy (as in the USA and Germany), a constitutional monarchy (like in Britain or Spain) is another type.
Question 9 asks, “Which best describes major American media?” You chose B, “it is mostly owned by small independent companies.” Not true. ABC is owned by Walt Disney. Rupert Murdoch, a very wealthy conservative, owns Fox, the “Washington Times,” the “Wall Street Journal,” and a string of other assets. The major media are owned by large conglomerate corporations, and more and more media outlets are controlled by fewer companies (which makes answer D invalid). The best answer here is C, “news coverage tends to steer towards the middle.” This is true. The media has its darlings, and paints them in a better light, but generally, the media, taken as a whole, TENDS to strive for balance. This is the case even when one side, left or right, says something untrue; reporters are extremely hesitant to say, “C