Chapter 1 Self-test questions

. How did the American political scientist Harold Lasswell summarize political activity?

'Politics is the art of the possible'.

'Man is a political animal'.

Politics is about 'who gets what, when and how'.

All political power is corrupting.

. Students of politics are interested in...

Who makes the key decisions.

The values that influence key decisions.

Whether or not ordinary people have a chance to influence key decisions.

All of the above.

. How did Karl Marx understand politics?

As a way for one class to oppress another.

As a way of reaching mutually beneficial compromises.

As a natural product of human competitiveness.

As the only way to resolve class antagonisms.

. A key thesis of the 'end of ideology' and 'end of history' arguments is that...

No-one believes in ideology any more.

Liberal democratic values are dominant in the developed world.

Karl Marx was right after all.

History is a very tedious subject which should disappear from the National Curriculum.

. Aristotle believed that...

Democracy was inevitable.

Aristocratic rule was always corrupt.

Monarchy was the 'ideal' form of government.

Democracy could work but only in states which adopted proportional representation.

. Authority is best understood as...

Something which is guaranteed to anyone who holds a high office of state.

The strength to impose one's will.

The possession of legitimate power.

Having a lot of admirers within the media.

. The state is...

The ruling party at any given time.

The bureaucratic machine.

A range of institutions which includes among other things the bureaucracy, judges, the police and the security services.

An all-powerful network of individuals from similar social backgrounds, all of whom conspire to deprive ordinary people of their rights.

. Why is the term governance now often preferred over government?

People don't trust governments anymore.

To draw attention to the fact that the boundaries of the governmental process are much wider than traditional governmental institutions.

Governance sounds more academic.

To include states without governments.

. Rational choice theory is...

An example of the inductive approach to politics.

An approach to politics that suggests people should think very carefully before making political decisions.

An approach to politics which is based on the assumption that human beings are intrinsically rational.

All of the above.

. Politics could be a 'science' like Physics if only...

Politicians took more rational decisions.

The conduct of human beings was completely predictable.

Researchers were more painstaking in assembling their evidence.

Students of politics wore white coats and worked in laboratories.

Chapter 1 Self-test questions

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