Study Questions

  1. Discuss what impact you think the Tea Party, Occupy Wall Street, and other social movements have on the “race to the center” we generally see in the Republican and Democratic parties?
     
  2. What impact do you think the Electoral College has on people’s participation in Presidential elections? What is the difference between living in a “swing state” compared to a state that historically always votes for the Democratic or Republican candidate?
     
  3. How would you define the difference between war and terrorism? Do you think your perspective of what is defined as war and what is defined as terrorism might change depending upon what country you live in?
     
  4. What distinguishes the concern sociologists would have in studying the Great Recession from the concerns economists would have?
     
  5. Given the amount of money in politics, do you think we are still a democratic country that is ruled by the people? Why or why not?
     
  6. Imagine you were a cobbler (shoe maker) during the beginning of the industrial revolution. How might the changes that are taking place in manufacturing affect your life and livelihood?
     
  7. Compare and contrast representative democracies versus direct democracies. What type do we have in America today? Is it possible to have a direct democracy in a country of over 320 million people? Why or why not?
     
  8. Compare group pluralism, elite pluralism, and power elite theory. How are they different?