PSCI final exam

Public Goods

Goods provided primarily by the government for everyone that people can’t be excluded from and that don’t run out when used, like national defense or streetlights.

Public goods are goods or services that are non-excludable and non-rivalrous, meaning people cannot be prevented from using them and one person’s use does not reduce availability to others. Because markets underprovide them, they are usually supplied by the government.

EXAMPLE - national defense. Everyone in the country is protected regardless of whether they pay directly for it. This is important to democracy because public goods ensure equal protection and shared benefits, supporting political stability and collective security necessary for democratic participation.

Pluralism because different interest groups (voters, advocacy groups, policymakers) compete and compromise over which public goods should be funded, such as education, infrastructure, or public health. Policy outcomes reflect bargaining among groups rather than control by a single elite, aligning with a pluralist model of democratic decision-making.

Externalities

Costs or benefits of economic activity that affect third parties who are not directly involved in the transaction (e.g., pollution as a negative externality, education as a positive externality).

Externalities are the unintended costs or benefits of an economic activity that affect people who are not directly involved in the transaction.

EXAMPLE = pollution from factories, which harms nearby communities through poor air or water quality. This matters to democracy because externalities require government action and public input to regulate businesses, protect citizens’ rights, and balance economic growth with public health.

Elitism when powerful corporations influence policymakers to avoid regulation, allowing them to shift costs (like pollution) onto the public. This shows how economic elites can shape policy outcomes in their favor, often at the expense of less powerful groups.

Economic Liberalism

The belief that the government should step in to regulate the economy and help people through programs like minimum wage laws, Social Security, and consumer protections.

Economic liberalism is the belief that the government should play an active role in regulating the economy to promote fairness, protect workers and consumers, and reduce economic inequality.

EXAMPLE = New Deal programs such as Social Security and labor protections. These policies expanded economic security and helped more citizens participate fully in democracy by reducing poverty and economic instability.

Pluralism because its policies often result from competition and compromise among interest groups, including labor unions, business groups, and social movements. Democratic policymaking emerges through bargaining among these groups rather than control by a single elite.

Social Democratic

A system that keeps capitalism but adds a strong safety net, where the government provides services and protections to reduce inequality and support workers.

Social democracy is a political and economic approach that combines capitalism with strong government involvement, including welfare programs, labor protections, and regulation to reduce inequality and promote social well-being.

EXAMPLE = Universal healthcare systems in social democratic countries such as Sweden or Germany. These systems are important to democracy because they ensure equal access to essential services, allowing citizens to participate politically without economic insecurity limiting their voice.

Pluralism because its policies emerge from negotiation and compromise among multiple groups, including labor unions, political parties, employers, and voters. Rather than being dominated by one elite, policymaking reflects a democratic process of balancing competing interests.

Market Failures

When the free market doesn’t work well and leads to bad outcomes, like pollution, monopolies, or not providing public goods.

Market failure occurs when the free market does not efficiently or fairly allocate resources, leading to outcomes such as pollution, monopolies, or the underproduction of public goods.

EXAMPLE = environmental pollution. Companies may pollute because it lowers their costs, even though it harms the public. This is important to democracy because market failures require government intervention shaped by public input to protect citizens’ health, rights, and equal access to resources.

Elitism when powerful corporations use their economic influence to block regulation, allowing harmful practices to continue. This highlights how elites can dominate policymaking and shift costs onto the public, weakening democratic accountability.

Revolving Door

When people move between jobs in government and the industries they regulate, which can lead to favoritism or conflicts of interest.

The revolving door refers to the movement of individuals between positions in government and jobs in the industries they regulate, creating potential conflicts of interest.

EXAMPLE = former regulators taking high-paying jobs in industries they once oversaw, such as defense or financial firms. This is important to democracy because it can undermine public trust, weaken regulation, and allow private interests to influence public policy.

Elitism because it shows how economic and political elites maintain power by circulating between government and industry. This concentration of influence allows elites to shape policies in their favor, often at the expense of ordinary citizens and democratic accountability.

Political Economy

The study of how politics and economics influence each other, especially how government policies affect markets and how economic power affects politics.

Political economy is the study of how political institutions, laws, and power structures shape economic outcomes, and how economic interests influence political decision-making.

EXAMPLE = is campaign finance in U.S. elections, where economic actors donate money to influence policy outcomes. This is important to democracy because it shows how economic power can affect who has greater access and influence in the political process.

Elitism = highlighting how wealthy individuals and corporations often have disproportionate influence over policymaking. This can result in policies that favor elites over the broader public, challenging democratic equality.

Command Economy

An economic system where the government makes all major economic decisions, including what to produce, how much to produce, and prices.

A command economy is an economic system in which the government controls major economic decisions, including what goods are produced, how they are produced, and how resources are distributed.

EXAMPLE = former Soviet Union, where the state controlled industry, agriculture, and prices. This is important to democracy because command economies often limit political freedom and individual choice, showing how economic control by the state can weaken democratic participation and accountability.

Elitism because economic and political power is concentrated in a small group of government leaders. These elites make decisions for the entire society, reducing citizen influence and limiting democratic checks on power.

Iron Triangles

A close relationship between Congress, government agencies, and interest groups that work together to shape policy for their own benefit.

Iron triangles are stable, mutually beneficial relationships between congressional committees, bureaucratic agencies, and interest groups that work together to influence public policy.

EXAMPLE = the relationship between defense contractors, the Department of Defense, and congressional defense committees. This matters to democracy because iron triangles can limit transparency and public input, allowing a small set of actors to shape policy outcomes.

Elitism because they show how powerful political and economic actors dominate policymaking. These groups reinforce each other’s influence, often excluding ordinary citizens and weakening democratic accountability.

Cultural Capital

Skills, knowledge, and behaviors (like language, education, or manners) that help people succeed in school and society.

Cultural capital is the skills and knowledge you pick up from your family and background that help you do well in school and society.

EXAMPLE = kids whose parents went to college often know how school works—how to talk to teachers, write essays, or apply to college. This matters to democracy because not everyone starts with the same advantages, which affects who gets ahead and who has a voice.

Elitism because people with more of it stay on top. Elites pass these advantages to their kids, making it harder for everyone else to catch up.

Social Reproduction

The process by which social class and inequality are passed down from one generation to the next.

Social reproduction is when social class and inequality get passed from parents to their kids.

EXAMPLE = wealthy parents can give their kids better schools, connections, and resources, while poorer families can’t. This matters to democracy because it means not everyone has the same chances to succeed or be heard.

Elitism because elites keep their power over generations. The same groups stay on top, limiting real equality in a democracy.

Deaths of Despair

Deaths caused by suicide, drug overdoses, and alcohol abuse, often linked to economic hardship and social isolation.

Deaths of despair are deaths caused by suicide, drug overdoses, and alcohol abuse, often linked to economic and social hardship.

EXAMPLE = the ongoing opioid crisis in many working-class communities. This matters to democracy because when people feel hopeless and left behind, they are less able to participate in civic and political life.

Elitism because economic elites often benefit from policies that ignore struggling communities, allowing inequality and neglect to continue.

Political Asylum

Protection given by a country to people who flee their home country because of persecution based on politics, religion, race, or similar reasons.

Political asylum is when a country protects someone who is fleeing persecution in their home country.

EXAMPLE = refugees fleeing political violence and seeking asylum in the United States. This is important to democracy because asylum reflects democratic values of human rights and freedom.

Pluralism because different groups (immigrant advocates, voters, policymakers) debate and shape asylum policy through democratic processes.

Abolition (in place of prisons)

The idea that society should eliminate prisons and instead use alternatives like rehabilitation, mental health care, and community-based solutions.

Abolition is the idea that society should get rid of prisons and replace them with rehabilitation, mental health care, and community solutions.

EXAMPLE = calls to reduce incarceration and invest in social services after movements like Black Lives Matter. This matters to democracy because it challenges how power and punishment are used by the state.

Tribal politics because it often creates strong, emotional divisions between groups with very different views on crime, punishment, and justice.

White Supremacy

A belief system and social structure that places white people above other racial groups, shaping laws, institutions, and power in society.

White supremacy is the belief and system that white people should have more power and advantages than other racial groups.

EXAMPLE = Jim Crow laws, which legally separated and disadvantaged Black Americans. This matters to democracy because white supremacy undermines equality and equal rights, which are core democratic values.

Elitism because it helps one racial group maintain power and control over political, economic, and social institutions.

Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

A 1882 U.S. law that banned Chinese laborers from immigrating and was the first major law to restrict immigration based on race or nationality.

The Chinese Exclusion Act was a U.S. law that banned Chinese laborers from immigrating to the United States.

The law itself is the example. It is important to democracy because it shows how the government used race-based laws to exclude a group, violating democratic ideals of equality.

Tribal politics because white Americans viewed Chinese immigrants as an outsider group, prioritizing racial identity over national unity.

Bracero Program

A U.S. program (1942–1964) that brought Mexican workers to the U.S. temporarily to work mainly in agriculture during labor shortages.

The Bracero Program was a U.S. program that brought Mexican workers to the U.S. temporarily for agricultural and labor jobs.

Mexican workers were often paid low wages and had few protections. This matters to democracy because it shows how some groups are included economically but excluded politically and socially.

Elitism because business and agricultural elites benefited from cheap labor while workers had little power or voice.

“Bad” Immigrants

A term used to describe immigrants who are labeled as criminal or dangerous to justify exclusion, detention, or deportation

“Bad” immigrants is a label used to portray certain immigrants as dangerous or criminal to justify strict immigration policies.

Example is rhetoric linking immigrants to crime or drugs. This matters to democracy because it shapes public opinion and can justify discriminatory laws.

Tribal politics because it creates an “us vs. them” mindset, where loyalty to one group outweighs shared democratic values..

Core Civic

The basic rights and duties of citizenship, including voting, obeying laws, and participating in civic life.

Core civic refers to the basic rights and responsibilities of citizens, like voting, following laws, and participating in civic life.

EXAMPLE = Voting in elections is a core civic duty. This matters to democracy because democracy depends on citizen participation to function.

Pluralism because many groups participate in civic life, and democracy works through shared participation and compromise.

Path Dependency

The idea that past decisions shape current policies, making change difficult even if better options exist.

Path dependency means that past decisions strongly shape current policies, making them hard to change.

EXAMPLE = The U.S. immigration system, which still reflects old laws and assumptions. This matters to democracy because outdated policies can limit reform, even when voters want change.

Elitism because past decisions made by elites continue to benefit powerful groups, even if they no longer serve the public.

Familismo

A cultural value that emphasizes strong family loyalty, responsibility, and support, common in many Latino communities.

Familismo is a cultural value that puts family loyalty and support above individual needs.

EXAMPLE = is families pooling money or caring for relatives instead of relying on the government. This matters to democracy because cultural values shape how groups interact with institutions.

Pluralism because it reflects different cultural values coexisting within a democratic society.

Prison Towns

Communities that depend economically on prisons for jobs and revenue, often supporting mass incarceration.

Prison towns are communities that depend on prisons for jobs and economic stability.

Rural towns that support prison expansion to keep jobs are an example. This matters to democracy because economic dependence can shape political choices about incarceration.

Elitism because state officials and private prison companies benefit from mass incarceration, while incarcerated people lack political power.

Angel Island

A U.S. immigration station (1910–1940) in San Francisco Bay where Asian immigrants were detained and questioned, often to restrict entry.

Angel Island was a U.S. immigration station where Asian immigrants were detained and questioned before being allowed to enter the country.

Many Chinese immigrants were held for long periods at Angel Island. This matters to democracy because it shows how the government restricted rights based on race.

Tribal politics because Asian immigrants were treated as outsiders, emphasizing group identity over equal democratic treatment.