Free Public Finance MCQs with Answers

• A. Italy
• B. the United States
• C. England
• D. all nations take the same time to campaign

Explanation: The United States is known for an unusually long campaign period, with candidates campaigning and fundraising well before the formal…

• A. the need to have religious representation in government
• B. proportional representation
• C. extremist ideologies
• D. broad agreement on basic principles

Explanation: The US two-party system is sustained by broad agreement on fundamental constitutional and economic principles, even though the parties…

• A. eliminate the opposition
• B. gain power
• C. eliminate power
• D. control the media

Explanation: Political parties organise candidates, policies, and voters primarily to win elections and obtain governing authority.

• A. physical force
• B. manipulation of the masses
• C. explaining the truth to the people
• D. none of the above

Explanation: Elitist theory holds that a small ruling group preserves its position mainly by shaping or manipulating mass opinion and political…

• A. the elite is not always against the masses
• B. the elite always works against the public interest
• C. the elite displays a monolithic power structure
• D. the masses should rebel against the elite

Explanation: Elitist theory does not necessarily claim that every elite decision is against the masses or the public interest.

• A. the masses
• B. a power elite
• C. representatives of the people
• D. the participants in the political process

Explanation: C. Wright Mills argued that major national decisions in the United States are shaped by a relatively small power elite drawn from…

• A. the dignity of the individual
• B. representation of the majority
• C. protection of minority rights
• D. all of the above

Explanation: American democracy combines respect for individual dignity, majority-based representation and constitutional protection of minority…

• A. the elite may be influenced by the masses but it is more likely that it influences the masses
• B. the elite constitutes a monolithic ruling class
• C. elite groups have maximum control over decisions that affect the majority of people
• D. the elite works against the public good

Explanation: Dye and Zeigler describe influence as running mainly from elites to the masses, although public opinion can sometimes affect elite…

• A. C.Wright Mills
• B. Karl Marx
• C. Paul Samuelson
• D. BOTH Mills and Marx

Explanation: C. Wright Mills is directly associated with modern elite theory, while Marx explained political power through the dominance of a ruling…

• A. control of Congress
• B. Ways and Means
• C. oversight
• D. supervision

Explanation: Oversight is the legislature's process of monitoring agencies and investigating how they implement laws.

• A. govern every state in the Union
• B. ensure a system of representation
• C. ensure that neither of the chambers has the upper hand
• D. pass laws consistent with moral values

Explanation: Besides making laws, a legislature provides a system through which citizens and territorial units are represented in government.

• A. to enact legislation
• B. ensure that legislation is carried out
• C. get around the administration
• D. none of the above

Explanation: The legislature's primary constitutional role is to debate and enact laws.

• A. Corporate growth
• B. The Social Security system
• C. Public education
• D. Public housing

Explanation: Public education is heavily dependent on state and local government funding, including revenue raised through taxes and grants.

• A. powers not claimed by individual states are reserved by the national government
• B. there is no national government whatsoever
• C. power is centralized in a national government
• D. all political power ultimately belongs to the states

Explanation: A confederacy is a loose union in which the member states retain ultimate political sovereignty, while the common government has limited…

• A. aristocracy
• B. oligarchy
• C. republicanism
• D. democracy

Explanation: Aristocracy is rule by a privileged upper class, such as hereditary nobles, landed gentry, or an educated elite.

• A. traditional authority
• B. legal rational authority
• C. charismatic authority
• D. all of the above

Explanation: Appealing to the intentions and established traditions of the Constitution's framers invokes traditional authority.

• A. unitary system
• B. confederate system
• C. catholic system
• D. BOTH unitary and confederate systems

Explanation: A federal system divides authority between a national government and constituent states, so it is distinct from both a unitary system…

• A. Foreign Affairs Committee
• B. Farm Affairs Committee
• C. Rules Committee
• D. Forest Preservation Committee

Explanation: The House Rules Committee is powerful because it determines how and when many bills will be debated, including limits on debate and…

• A. are absolutely separated from one another
• B. undergo checks and balances among one another
• C. are integrated into a cohesive unit
• D. make for speedy decision making

Explanation: The branches are separate but not completely isolated: checks and balances allow each branch to restrain parts of the others.

• A. vote funds for conducting foreign affairs
• B. conduct foreign affairs
• C. unanimously approve treaties
• D. decide the constitutionality of specific laws

Explanation: Congress controls public expenditure by appropriating funds, including money for foreign-affairs activities.