AP U.S. Government & Politics
Mr. Oglesby
Chapter 1
Vocabulary Terms
Marxist View Power Elite Bureaucratic View Pluralist View Legitimacy
Democracy Authority Majoritairan politics Elitist Politics C. Wright Mills
Representative Democracy Direct Democracy Aristotelian republican Max Weber
Important Questions
1. Compare the institutions that have power over you with the institutions that have authority over you. What are the characteristics that distinguish one set of institutions from another?
2. What are examples of power, both in your own life and in government, in which one person forces another to do something and when a person takes no action (or when options are not presented)?
3. Distinguishing between power and authority is, fundamentally, reflective of one’s political beliefs. I what kinds of institutions do you have confidence? Why do you trust them? In contrast, what kinds of institutions raise your suspicions? Why?
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4. How do your assessments of institutions in your daily life relate to your attitudes toward governmental and political institutions? Are you more or less confident about the Congress, presidency, judicial system, political parties, and other structures? Why?