POLS 015B Final: Final Review Sheet (1)
7 Jun 2018
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POLS 15B
Review sheet for the mid-term.
Discussion Questions
1. What does a world without government look like? What are the primary (less controversial)
functions of government? Can you give an example of secondary purposes? Why are these
secondary purposes more controversial?
2. What is public policy in the broadest sense? What types of actors engage in policy? Are there
non-governmental actors that promulgate public policy?
3. What are the differences between policy outputs and policy outcomes?
4. What is the purpose and function of the market? How does it accomplish this function? What
assumptions must be satisfied for the market to function properly? How does the government
factor into those assumptions?
5. On what basis might a government intervene to solve a problem? What types of interventions are
more controversial? Which are less controversial? Why are these differing interventions viewed
with more or less controversy?
6. What is the left/right ideological dichotomy? In what ways is this dichotomy confusing or
misleading? What is one possible way to ease this confusion?
7. What is the collectivist economic ideology? What is the individualist economic ideology? What is
the essential disagreement between these viewpoints? What do these perspectives suggest about
what government should do?
8. What is the authoritarian social ideology? What is the libertarian social ideology? What is the
essential disagreement between these viewpoints? What do these perspectives suggest about what
government should do?
9. What is a principle-agent problem? What are free riders? How does this concept explain the
failures of the Articles of Confederation?
10. Was the Declaration of Independence a philosophical and moral statement of purpose? Was it a
cynical mechanism for protecting existing wealth? Was it both?
11. What is centralization/de-centralization of government? What does the articles of Confederation
teach us about the limits of small government? Why did the founders fear a large, centralized
government?
12. John Locke was a strong influence on the language of the Declaration of Independence and the
Founders of the U.S. What do the terms “life, liberty and property” reflect in terms of a social
ideology? How does this ideology remain embedded in American life today?
13. What were some of the primary challenges of independence in the early days of the U.S.? What is
a principal-agent problem? What is a collective action problem? How did the Articles of
Confederation attempt to rectify these challenges? In what ways did the Articles of Confederation
fail?
14. What were some of the key omissions in the Declaration of Independence? How did those
omissions set the stage for political fights that continue until today?
15. What was Shay’s Rebellion? In what ways did this event shine a light on some of the main
failures of the U.S. government’s early design? How did this event spur the early changes to the
U.S. government?
16. In what ways did the early constitutions for the U.S. reflect the Founders belief in the people? In
what ways did it demonstrate their fear of and skepticism of universal democracy?
17. What is checks and balances? What is a “veto point?” Why did the Founders build so many veto
points into the Constitution? In what way is this design reflected in the function of our
government today?
18. What was the Virginia Plan? What was the New Jersey plan? How are the legacies of these plans
reflected in the politics of today? How does the election of Donald Trump reflect the ongoing
influence of this debate?
19. Why did the Framers acquiesce to the demands of the Southern states regarding slavery?
20. What is the ninth amendment? What is the tenth amendment? Why might some of the Framers
have been hesitant to specifically outline certain rights in the Constitution?
21. Despite the Framers’ efforts to keep robust state governments viable, was it inevitable that so
many policies once left to the states are now handled by the federal government?
22. What are block grants? What are categorical grants? What are unfunded mandates? How does the
federal government use these mechanisms in order to give or take away power from the states?
How do these mechanisms work?
23. What is the party-centered view of Congress? What is the candidate-centered view? Which is
more dominant today?
24. How might the way Congress is constructed lead to unfair representation? Is this a problem in the
House? Why? Is this a problem in the Senate? Why? Explain the differences between the issues
the House faces and the issues the Senate faces.
25. Why is inaction the norm for Congress? What is the process for passing a bill in Congress? What
is a veto point? What are the veto points in the Congressional legislative process? Why is our
system set up with such a large number of veto points?
26. How does the party in power set themselves up for greater levels of legislative success? How do
they suppress the opposition party? How might a party punish one of their own members for
failing to cooperate with the dictates of leadership?
27. What would be an example of a powerful Congressional committee? What would be an example
of a non-desirable committee appointment? Why is the power of the Congressional committee
waning, particularly under the current administration?
28. What happened historically to transform the president from the “chief clerk” of the government
(the president was not expected to initiate or guide national policy) in the eighteenth and the
nineteenth century to a formidable politician—the imperial presidency—whose preferences must
be taken into account?
29. Why has the presidency been described as a dangerous export of America? In what ways could
the presidency be associated with high levels of political instability? Describe some of the ways
recent presidential administration have elucidated the potential pitfalls of the presidency.
30. What are some of the ways Congress is meant to act as a check on the presidency? Are these
checks generally effective? Why or why not?
31. Under what circumstances do you think the Supreme Court should be active and strike down state
or federal legislation?
32. Might it be preferable to have an unelected body decide whether legislation is constitutional?
Who is guarding the guardian?
Document Summary
Why did the founders fear a large, centralized government: john locke was a strong influence on the language of the declaration of independence and the. How did this event spur the early changes to the. Are its protections limited to that group: many of the amendments surround the rights of the criminally accused. These rights are among the least politically popular and were among the slowest to be incorporated. Why then is party line voting so prevalent and why are partisans so polarized: what are the primary differences between the platforms of the modern republican and. In what ways could: most lobbyists are paid advocates of special interests. The centrality of slavery to early u. s. government design. Shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people . Brown v. board of education of topeka (1954) We have lost the south for a generation .
