OBJECTIVES FOR UNIT ONE

FUNDAMENTALS OF DEMOCRACY

1.         Define the following:

a.         power

b.         authority

c.         politics

d.         access points

e.         collective goods

2.         Identify and explain the three fundamental purposes of government.  Explain the differing views concerning each of these purposes.

3.         Explain the original and modern dilemmas of government.

4.         Sketch a continuum of ideological stances on the scope of govern­ment.

5.         Outline and explain the topology of government based on rule by one, few, or many.

6.         Define democracy and list and explain the four assumptions of democracy.  Be able to list and explain the three most popular models of democracy.

7.         List the four principles of procedural democracy.

8.         Outline the central principles of the substantive view of democ­racy.  Explain why the concepts of procedural and substantive democracy conflict.

9.         Compare and contrast the majoritarian, pluralist, and elite models in terms of their assumptions and mechanisms.  Compare and contrast the three competing elite theories, and be able to discuss the validity of each.

10.       Provide a set of criteria for deciding whether nations are democratic or not.