Chapter 2 Quizzes
Published on May 28, 2004 By pseudosoldier In Politics
AND... Chapter 2, because I know everyone's been waiting with bated breath.

Multiple choice:
1. Widely shared ideas about who should govern, for what ends, and by what means, are generally called:
a. political culture
b. political conflict
c. political contradictions
d. political conditions

2. Classical liberalism asserts:
a. the worth and dignity of the elites
b. support for the Libertarian party
c. support for the Democratic party
d. the worth and dignity of the individual

3. Classical liberalism as a political idea is closely related to which economic idea?
a. Inflation
b. Capitalism
c. Marxism
d. Monetarism

4. Only ______ competes with liberty as the most honored value in the American political culture.
a. equality
b. justice
c. happiness
d. family values

5. The elimination of artificial barriers to success in life and the opportunity for everyone to strive for success creates:
a. Equality of Result
b. Equality of Opportunity
c. legal equality
d. political equality

6. The equal sharing of income and material goods regardless of one's efforts in life creates:
a. Legal Equality
b. Political Equality
c. Equality of Result
d. Equality of Opportunity

7. While Americans value absolute political equality, they tolerate vast disparities in:
a. the private economic sphere
b. access to education
c. voting rights
d. legal equality

8. In recent years, income inequality in the United States has:
a. stayed about the same
b. decreased
c. increased

9. Fairly steep inequalities in wealth may be tolerated if people have an expectation of:
a. the opportunity for social mobility
b. restricted social mobility
c. the ability to participate in the political process
d. individual freedom

10. The book The Bell Curve was controversial because:
a. the authors asserted that success is determined by intelligence and that intelligence is mostly genetic
b. the authors asserted that there are no high school dropouts among the very bright
c. the authors asserted that success is determined by training
d. the authors asserted that success is determined by intelligence

True/False:
1. Inequality of wealth in the United States is greater than inequality of income.
2. Class consciousness is the awareness of class position and the feeling of politcal solidarity with others within the same class.
3. Conflict between social classes over wealth and power is widespread and intense in America.
4. Most Americans describe themselves as "middle-class."
5. Historically Hispanics have constituted the nation's largest minority group.
6. Each state determines it's [sic] own immigration policy.
7. The Simpson-Mazzoli Act of 1986 sought to reform immigration policy.
8. Applicants for citizenship must be over age eighteen, be able to read, write, and speak English, possess good moral character, and understand and demonstrate an attachment to the history, principles, and form of government of the United States.
9. A political ideology tells us who will get what, when, and how.
10. Conservatism is less optimistic about human nature.

Essays (pick one):
Discuss the "end of history." What does this phrase mean? How is it relevant to the twentieth and twenty-first centuries?

Explain the origins and importance of classical liberalism. Distinguish classical liberalism from modern liberalism. Explain how classical liberalism led to capitalism.

How has income inequality changed recently? Why has this happened? Discuss the associations between social mobility, political conflict, and income inequality.


Answers in comments sections. Essay forthcoming.

Comments
on May 28, 2004
1. a. political culture
2. a. the worth and dignity of the elites
3. b. Capitalism
4. a. equality
5. b. Equality of Opportunity
6. c. Equality of Result
7. a. the private economic sphere
8. c. increased
9. a. the opportunity for social mobility
10. a. the authors asserted that success is determined by intelligence and that intelligence is mostly genetic

1. T
2. T
3. F
4. F
5. F
6. F
7. T
8. T
9. F
10. T

I have more done than this, it's just a pain in the ass to retype it all.
on Jun 14, 2004
Finally, the essay, and a brief promise to try and catch up:

Explain the origins and importance of classical liberalism. Distinguish classical liberalism from modern liberalism. Explain how classical liberalism led to capitalism.

Classical liberalism is defined as a political philosophy asserting the worth and dignity of human beings to determine their own destinies. It rejects ideas, practices, and institutions that submerge individuals into a larger whole and thus deprive them of their dignity. Classical liberalism grew out of 18th centruy Enlightenment, the Age of Reason in which great philosophers (among them Voltaire, Locke, Rousseau, Adam Smith and Jefferson) affirmed thier faith in reason, virtue and common sense. It originated as an attack on the hereditary prerogatives and distinctions of a feudal society, the monarchy, the priveleged aristaocracy, and the state-established church. It is due to the political philosophy now known as classical liberalism that the founders of the United States declared their independence from England, wrote the constitution, and established the Republic.
Modern liberalism retains the classical liberalism commitment to individual dignity, but it emphasizes the importance of social and economic security for the whole population. In contrast to classical liberalism which looked at governmental power as a potential threat to personal freedom, modern liberalism looks on the power of government as a positive force for eliminating social and economic conditions that adversely affect people's lives and impede thier self-development.
Classical liberalism as a political idea is closely related to capitalism as an economic idea. Both stress individuals' rights and choices, and both state preference for limited governmental intervention in economic affairs. It is the value of personal liberty that shines in both the "classically liberal" political and economic areas.

Apologies for the fact that it was mostly cut-and-pasted from the text...