POL 106 Study Guide - Quiz Guide: Supremacy Clause, Ultimate Power, Exclusionary Rule
30 Jun 2018
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POL 106 – STUDY GUIDE (weeks 1-6; chapters 1-5)
*NOTE: Not everything on this study guide will be on the exam and not everything on the
exam is on this study guide. This study guide is exactly that, a guide.
1) Politics in the U.S. is out of favor. Why?
2) Why does politics matter?
3) What is politics?
Who gets what, when, and how
4) Describe the “game” of politics
● Who are the players?
Those who have a stake in the outcome, who compete, who may win or lose
● What are the stakes?
What may be gained or lost based on game’s outcome
● What are the rules?
Procedures and regulations that define the game
5) What is a zero-sum game?
If you’re not winning, you are losing
● Discuss the significance of a zero-sum game in a world of finite resources.
○ some demands can be met at the expense of others
● How would things be different in a world of infinite resources?
Demands made on government would all be equally met
6) Who are the contractualists?
Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau
i. Studied why political systems should exist
ii. Believed all humans had joined in and were bound to social contract
7) What is a social contract?
Theory that individuals join and stay in a civil society as if they had signed a
contract
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find more resources at oneclass.com
What are the terms of a social contract?
i. People agree to give up certain rights for protection
ii. People collectively decided that they desire a “civil society”
iii. Government recognizes that the consent of the people is the source of its
power
iv. Natural rights are inherent in the contract
iv.1. Government must respect them
8) What is the state of nature?
Human state of existence before civilizing
What is civil society?
i. Provides protection and safety
ii. Need to protect natural rights
9) Why do we need government?
Protect natural rights
What three problems in the state of nature highlight the need for government?
i. Not everyone recognizes natural law
ii. No one has the power to enforce laws in the “state of nature”
iii. There is no impartial judge and no consensus on how to enforce laws in
general
10) What are natural rights? ***
What are the three natural rights, as expressed by John Locke?
i. Life, liberty, property
11) What is an ideology?
Belief system that society can be improved by following certain doctrines
i. “ism”
12) The term government is derived from _______?
The greek term “to pilot a ship”
13) Define “government”
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find more resources at oneclass.com
Collection of individuals and institutions that form vehicles through which
policies are made and affairs of the state are conducted
14) What is public policy?
What government decides to do or not to do
15) Understand the different governmental functions
Rule-making
i. Rules are made via laws, execution orders regulations, constitutions
ii. Recipe for how society works
Rule-execution
i. Rules must be enforced and carried out
Rule-adjudication
i. Because laws are often ambiguous, there has to be a system of
interpretation
Other functions
i. Governments must communicate with citizens to make them aware of
laws, programs, changes in the society or nation’s stability
16) Define “democracy”
Political system in which all citizens can play a role shaping government action
and are afforded basic rights and liberties
17) Degrees of democracy are determined by several factors. What are they?
Understand each
i. Adherence to the principle of political equality
ii. Do people have the opportunity to express their opinions
iii. Decision making by majority rule
What is popular consultation?
i. When people have the opportunity to express their opinions
What is the Rule of Law?
i. We are ruled by laws, and not the individual wims of political leaders
ii. We are all held to the same laws
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Pol 106 study guide (weeks 1-6; chapters 1-5) *note: not everything on this study guide will be on the exam and not everything on the exam is on this study guide. This study guide is exactly that, a guide: politics in the u. s. is out of favor. Those who have a stake in the outcome, who compete, who may win or lose. What may be gained or lost based on game"s outcome. Discuss the significance of a zero-sum game in a world of finite resources. Some demands can be met at the expense of others. Theory that individuals join and stay in a civil society as if they had signed a contract. The greek term to pilot a ship : define government . What government decides to do or not to do: understand the different governmental functions. Rule-making: rules are made via laws, execution orders regulations, constitutions, recipe for how society works. Rule-execution: rules must be enforced and carried out.
