Oxford University Press | Online Resource Centre

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Question 1

Who wrote that the state is an institution which claims 'a monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force in enforcing order within a given territorial area'?

a) Jean Bodin

b) Max Weber

c) William Blackstone

d) Max Factor

Question 2

According to political pluralists, the proper role of the state is to...

a) adjudicate between the claims of freely-competing groups.

b) allocate equal resources to as many groups as possible.

c) stand up against big groups and try to make them smaller.

d) provide jobs for as many bureaucrats as possible.

Question 3

A key figure in the development of pluralism is...

a) C. Wright Mills.

b) Roald Dahl.

c) James Burnham

d) Robert Dahl.

Question 4

The most potent criticism of classical pluralism is that...

a) the influence of any organized group on government decisions always ends in disaster.

b) the theory is naïve, because some groups are much more influential than others.

c) it fosters existing divisions within society.

d) it makes people think that all viewpoints are equally valid.

Question 5

Robert Michels claimed to have discovered...

a) an 'Iron Pyramid of Polyarchy'.

b) 'The Man in the Iron Mask'.

c) the danger of having 'too many irons in the fire'.

d) an 'Iron Law of Oligarchy'.

Question 6

C. Wright Mills and James Burnham argued that...

a) pluralism would be perfectly possible if ordinary people would put forward their views more forcefully.

b) elite rule in some form is very difficult to avoid.

c) the richest people ought to be in power at all times.

d) Marxists always offer unquestioning support to inefficient dictatorships.

Question 7

New Right theorizing on the state suggests that...

a) interference with the free market is counterproductive.

b) politicians have a tendency to bribe voters with generous tax-funded benefits.

c) bureaucrats are self-interested like everyone else.

d) all of the above are true.

Question 8

A classic method of investigating the role of the state is...

a) social networking theory.

b) social conscience theory.

c) social contract theory.

d) socialist contract theory.

Question 9

Differences between the social contract theories of Hobbes and Locke reflect the fact that...

a) Hobbes had a more pessimistic view of human nature and much more sceptical religious ideas.

b) Hobbes advocated heavy state intervention in the economy

c) Locke was tall and handsome, while Hobbes was nasty, brutish and short.

d) all of the above.

Question 10

The Utilitarian (or 'Greatest Happiness') philosophy is most intimately associated with...

a) John Locke

b) Jeremy Bentham

c) Jeremy Clarkson

d) Friedrich von Hayek

Oxford University Press, Online Resource Centre, Chapter 1.

Chapter 1

Instructions