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Question 1

Totalitarian regimes typically depend...

a) on the voluntary support of all of their citizens.

b) entirely on brute force.

c) entirely on brainwashing techniques.

d) on a mixture of power and authority, with more of the former than the latter.

Question 2

Most conservatives believe that...

a) political authority always reflects economic power.

b) only people with hereditary titles can exercise authority.

c) whatever its origin, authority is necessary because people need to be led and protected.

d) authority is damaging because it implies social deference.

Question 3

Many liberals believe that...

a) power is usually undesirable because it limits the freedom of the individual.

b) power always tends to corrupt those who hold it, at least to some degree.

c) in certain circumstances (e.g. the abolition of slavery) the exercising of power is legitimate.

d) all of the above.

Question 4

Michel Foucault argued that...

a) harsh punishments are necessary to make people obey the law.

b) if people were more conscious of their rights they could eradicate power inequalities forever.

c) power is a quality reserved for government institutions.

d) power is inherent in all social relations, and is, therefore, impossible to eradicate even though its abuses should always be attacked.

Question 5

On Max Weber's classification, modern governments are increasingly dependent on...

a) the Divine Right of rulers.

b) skilful manipulation of the ruled.

c) the recognized authority of certain offices of state.

d) the personal charisma of rulers.

Question 6

What is Stephen Lukes's classic definition of power?

a) A exercises power over B when A makes B do something she wouldn't otherwise have done.

b) A exercises power over B when she gives B a series of unambiguous orders.

c) A exercises power over B when A affects B in a manner contrary to B's interests.

d) A exercises power over B when A provides B with compelling reasons to act in accordance with majority opinion.

Question 7

According to Bachrach and Baratz, 'non-decision making' is...

a) the inability of politicians to make up their minds.

b) the tendency of members of the public to change their minds on key policy issues.

c) a refusal of politicians to compromise in the national interest.

d) the ability of powerful groups to prevent certain issues from being discussed.

Question 8

It is problematic to argue that people can be made to act against their real interests because...

a) 'real' interests are subjective and open to endless contestation.

b) ordinary people are too irrational to realize where their real interests lie.

c) ordinary people are always the best judges of their real interests.

d) politicians are too out of touch to recognize the 'real interests' of ordinary people.

Question 9

The Marxist critique of power in capitalist societies...

a) assumes that powerful economic interests enjoy dominance in decision-making.

b) argues that ordinary people are taught to think that the interests of powerful economic groups are identical to their own self-interest.

c) focuses on the outcomes of decisions rather than the way in which they are made.

d) all of the above.

Question 10

Typically, Marxist structuralists argue that...

a) individuals are capable of shaping their own destinies.

b) capitalists are inherently immoral.

c) even well-intentioned capitalists are forced by the logic of the system to exploit their workers.

d) all of the above are true.

Oxford University Press, Online Resource Centre, Chapter 2.

Chapter 2

Instructions