Studies on decision making concerning public policy issues suggest that much of the elite's power comes from the ability of elites to
A) win seats in Congress.
B) become state legislators and executives.
C) finance candidates for president of the United States.
D) keep issues off the political agenda.
E) lobby effectively.
Suppose that top government jobs for both political parties are filled only from an inner circle of top corporate leaders. This would be evidence for
A) elite theory.
B) substantive democracy.
C) pluralist theory.
D) the interest group model.
E) aristocracy.
The idea that the most important government decisions are made by an identifiable and stable minority that shares certain characteristics -- particularly wealth and business connections -- is called
A) oligarchy.
B) elite theory.
C) pluralist theory.
D) the interest group model.
E) aristocracy.
A sign that pluralist democracy might NOT be working well in the United States is the
A) fact that the best represented sectors in Washington are business and professional groups.
B) declining number of interest groups in Washington.
C) decentralization of the American government.
D) increased representation for low income Americans.
E) generally low levels of political knowledge among Americans.
Cohesive political parties with well-defined programs contribute to the
A) pluralist model of democracy.
B) majoritarian model of democracy.
C) republican theory of democracy.
D) elite theory of democracy.
E) substantive theory of democracy.
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