Government_Ch12_Homework-1

=**Government Chapter 12 Homework #1**= Answer the following questions based on each reading passage.

1. The United States has a very strong democracy since there are fair elections, competing political parties, a constitutional government that guarantees individual rights, an independent judiciary, and some form of market economy. Other nations are transitioning into democray around the world. Democratic governments can take several forms. One of the most widespread is parliamentary government. In this form, executive and legislative functions both reside in the elected assembly, or parliament. In Great Britain, the national legislature, called Parliament, holds almost all the governmental authority. In the British Parliament, the House of Commons has the bulk of the power. This body is elected, and those elected are usually called MPs, or Members of Parliament. They typically serve for five years before needing re-elected. The House of Lords is by birth. Great Britain does not have separation of powers between executive and legislative branches. The leader of whichever party has the majority in the House of Commons becomes the Prime Minister, who then chooses the cabinet. In other words, the Parliament chooses the Prime Minister, who must be a Member of Parliament. Most ministers are of the majority party. Japan has a similar system with its legislature being called the National Diet. In parliamentary government, members of the cabinet preside over departments, or ministries. The U.S. has a presidential system, in which the president is chosen to head the executive branch and is chosen separate from the legislature. Democracies have begun to grow around the world in recent decades. After the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe at the end of the 1980s, former Communsit Bloc nations began to set up democratic style of governments. One of the first was in Poland where Lech Walesa led the solidarity movement. In South Africa, Nelson Mandela became famous as he fought Apartheid, or the strict segregation of races in South Africa enforced by the government. He was jailed in Robben Island and it was in jail where he grew in fame as a freedom fighter.
 * What would make the U.S. a parliamentary system? (A) change the term president to prime minister and congress to parliament (B) if Congress elected the President (C) if the president appointed the cabinet (D) if there was no separation of powers (E) all (F) none**


 * Who led the solidarity movement in Poland?**


 * Who led the ending of Apartheid in South Africa?**

2. China, today, is led by the Communist party. China has recently allowed more free enterprise in order to attract business to their nation. China is an authoritarian style of government, however. Authoritarian governments tolerate little to no criticism or open disagreement of their policies. An extreme example of China's intolerance took place in 1989 when the Chinese military forces massacred hundreds of unarmed, pro-democracy students who were demonstrating in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. Today, the Chinese government still oppresses minorities and the rights of the Chinese people. Authoritarian governments are committed to controlling ideas and information. The U.S. imports a lot from China today. China's economy was only able to grow after the leadership embraced more free enterprise and capitalism. They have given land grants for businesses to build in China along with tax breaks plus they have cheaper labor. However, the U.S. and China are often at odds over freedoms and human rights. Communism also exists in Cuba, which is oppressive to the people with a terrible economy as a result of communism. U.S. trade embargos continue to hinder Cuba. The U.S. puts embargos on Cuba in efforts to encourage them to become more democratic. The communist power structure in Cuba has no intention of allowing more freedom. North Korea is another brutal, oppressive, communist nation that denies freedoms to its people. North Korea continues to pursue nuclear energy and nuclear weaponry. They have aligned themselves with some of the other oppressive nations in the world. The North Koreans are almost totally cut off from outside sources of information. Propaganda glorifies the leadership in North Korea, which is necessary to hold power. Global terror threats come from the Middle East with Islamic theocracies in which Islamic clerics rule by Sharia law, which is an oppressive Islamic style of governance. Islam was spread by their prophet Muhammad. His teachings and vision were written in the Quran (Koran). A Muslim, or follower of Islam, is "one who submits" to Allah. The Islamic radical nations (important to state that not all Muslims are radical terrorists, but terrorism today is mostly from Islamic radicals) are waging Jihad, Islamic holy war, until the nation is rid of the "infidel" or those who don't submit to Allah. Muslims have respect for specially trained religious leaders called mullahs. Islamic radical leaders of Middle East nations allow terrorists to operate and train in their nations. Such nations are called state-sponsors of terrorism.
 * Due to Jihad in the name of Allah, some Middle east leaders are sympathetic to (A) Islamic terrorists (B) Americans (C) oil cartels (D) Saudi Arabia (E) all (F) none**


 * What is the basis of Middle East theocracies? (A) Islamic teachings (B) allegiance to al Qaeda (C) the God Muhammad (D) oil (E) all (F) none**


 * What is the reason for the recent growth of China's economy? (A) land grants for businesses (B) cheap labor (C) tax breaks (D) allowing more free enterprise (E) all (F) none**


 * What is state-sponsored terrorism?**

3. Nongovernmental organizations are made up of individuals and groups outside the scope of government. The Red Cross is a good example. Intergovernmental organizations are comprised of members of nations around the world. The United Nations is a good example. The European Union is also an example. The United Nations formed in 1945 after WWII to maintain world peace and to give member nations a forum to settle disputes peacefully. The U.N. also encourages nations to deal fairly with each other. Today, over 190 nations are part of the U.N. The main headquarters is located in New York City. The General Assembly is made of ambassadors from each member nation and is the body that discusses, debates, and recommends solutions for major international problems. This body controls the budget and U.N. agencies. The Security Council is kind of like the executive board of the U.N. There are five permanent nations - U.S., Britain, France, Russia, and China (victors of WWII) along with ten nations that rotate on two-year terms. Some of the agencies that are part of the U.N. include WHO (World Health Organization), UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund), the World Bank, and the IMF (International Monetary Fund). The U.N. also acts as a peace keeper among belligerent nations if the member nations give approval. The European Union consists of member nations in Europe. They agree on a common economic plan and had even developed the Euro, a common European currency.
 * Which part of the United Nations discusses, debates, and recommends solutions? (A) General Assembly (B) Security Council (C) WHO (D) IMF (E) all (F) none**


 * Where is the U.N. headquarters? (A) San Francisco (B) New York (C) Washington D.C. (D) London (E) all (F) none**


 * Which nations are the 5 permanent nations of the U.N. Security Council?**

4. There are various global issues that nations around the world must deal with. International terrorism is a major global issue. Terrorism uses violence to try to achieve a certain political goal. The overwhelming majority of terror acts in recent years have been committed by radical Muslims who are waging Jihad, an Islamic holy war against all non-Muslims. Their belief is that they attain perfect eternity if they die in Jihad. That is a major incentive to be a suicide bomber. Of course, as we all know, this isn't what gives eternal salvation, but the radicals believe this and use it as motivation to wage Jihad. In the 1970s, several Middle Eastern nations realized that they could fight the United States by providing terrorist groups with money, weapons, and training. When a government secretly supports terrorism, this is called state-sponsored terrorism. In 1979, the Soviet Union entered Afghanistan to try to keep communism there. A 22-year-old Saudi Muslim named Osama bin Laden went to fight against the Soviets. He was from a very wealthy Saudi family and used his wealth to support the Afghan resistance. In 1988, he founded a group called al-Qaeda, or "the Base." After Saudi Arabia allowed western nations to use their land to drive Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait in 1990, bin Laden began to feel that the west had contaminated Islam and so dedicated his life to Jihad. He led al Qaeda to launch several attacks in the U.S. or on U.S. interests (World Trade Center garage in 1993, U.S. embassies in Africa in 1995, and the U.S.S. Cole in 2000). After the attack on September 11, the U.S. went after the terrorists in the war on terror. This war still goes on today as the terrorists aim to make it a lengthy war in hope that Americans won't want to keep fighting the terrorists. Another major global issue is nuclear proliferation, or the spread of nuclear weapons. In 1968, nations with nuclear weapon capabilities signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty in which they agreed not to sure nuclear weapon information with other nations. The danger today is if evil nations (North Korea, Iran) get a nuclear weapon, they would use it for negative purposes or share such weapon with terror groups. A third global issue is human rights, or basic rights that should be protected for all humans. In 1948, the U.N. adopted the Declaration of Human Rights, which set forth 30 articles a comprehensive statement of "inalienable rights of all members of the human family." Oppressive nations/leaders such as the Taliban (radical Muslims who had controlled Afghanistan), North Korea, Cuba, and China are oppressive by not allowing rights and being ruthless to their own citizens who don't agree with their oppressive rule. A fourth global issue is protecting the environment. Most of the U.N. believes the "climate change" issue that environmentalists push.
 * What is nuclear proliferation? (A) building nuclear weapons (B) spreading nuclear weapons (C) giving nuclear bombs to terrorists (D) limiting nuclear weapons (E) all (F) none**


 * Basic freedoms everyone should have are called (A) Constitutional rights (B) law of the U.S. (C) Civic rights (D) Human rights (E) all (F) none**


 * How does the Taliban violate human rights?**

5. Economic systems around the world are formed in response to the basic challenge of scarcity. This is the condition that exists because society does not have all the resources to produce all the goods and services that everyone wants. Economic systems can be categorized. Traditional economies are those from habit and custom in terms of determining who gets what, how, and for whom goods and services are produced. Command economies have a central authority, usually the government, that makes most of the economic decisions. A market economy allows buyers and sellers acting in their individual interests to determine what, how, and for whom goods and services are produced. Economies must have factors of production in order to produce goods and services. Factors of production are land, capital, labor, and entrepreneurs, or the risk-takers who organize and direct the other factors of production to produce goods and services to make a profit. In capitalism, the factors of production are controlled by private businesses and supply and demand dictates economic activity, like in a market economy. The characteristics of capitalism are private ownership of business and property, individual initiative (hard work and education pays off), competition (helps the price go down, improves quality, and provides a variety of choices; monopolies are illegal), freedom of choice (of buyers and sellers), and the ability to earn a profit (a loss is a possibility). Capitalism offers the most opportunity to the most people. This doesn't mean that everyone is guaranteed a certain lifestyle, but opportunity exists. American capitalism, or free enterprise, is often called a mixed economy as well since there is private ownership of business and property, but the government does play a role.
 * Which would describe capitalism? (A) people elect leaders (B) freedom to criticize (C) cradle-to-grave entitlements (D) self-reliance (E) all (F) none**


 * Free enterprise = (A) socialism (B) democracy (C) capitalism (D) rights (E) all (F) none**


 * How would the role of the government be in capitalism vs. socialism in terms of the economy?**


 * Who owns resources and property in capitalism vs. socialism?**


 * What are the factors of production?**


 * How are we a mixed economy?**

6. Nations around the world have economies at different levels. The United States is among the industrialized nations with an industrialized economy. Developing nations are nations with little or no industry and are mostly agricultural. Many refer to these nations as well as underdeveloped nations as third world countries. Such nations have a low literacy rate, which makes education difficult. Some developing and newly developed nations have chosen to rely on free markets, trade, and contacts with the West to develop their economies. Such nations are experience positive results in their industrialization and growth. Developing nations who have chosen more of a socialistic approach as experience poverty and more government control. Modern socialist governments also provide a wide array of cradle-to-grave entitlements such as free hospital, medical, and dental care along with tuition-free education through college, very generous retirement plans and low-rent public housing. Nations in Europe have embraced this in what has become known as Democratic Socialism (the people still vote in the leadership but once elected, the officials control the economic activity through very high taxes and redistribution of wealth. The results have been enormous debt in Europe (worse than in America). The term welfare state is used to describe the large range of benefits/entitlements paid by the government through the high taxes, which discourages people from working hard as there is less incentive to work hard and produce.
 * What is the style of government in which the people elect leaders but those leaders control all property and business? (A) Communism (B) National Socialism (C) Democratic Socialism (D) Liberal Democracy (E) all (F) none**


 * Nations with low income and industry have a low (A) voter turnout (B) number of jobs (C) literacy rate (D) will to be successful (E) all (F) none**


 * How can you recognize a developing nation?**


 * What are two negatives of socialism? Lack of i, high t and d---**


 * Type of nation which people are overly dependent on government with cradle-to-grave entitlements is a (A) welfare state (B) Communist nation (C) socialist nation (D) liberal nation (E) all (F) none**

7. Two of America's geo-political rivals (that is rivals for power and influence in the world) is Russia and China. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia has struggled to get itself back to be considered a superpower with the U.S. Russia has recently aligned itself with rogue nations such as Syria and Iran in the Middle East as they look to gain the major influence in that region in terms of oil. Russia is also looking to extend its influence in eastern Europe. China has started to allow much more free enterprise even though they are a communist nation, since they began to realize that capitalism is the way to grow an economy. As a major holder of American debt, China continues to grow in its influence as our dollar weakens from printing so much and having such a large debt problem.
 * How are Russia and China geo-political rivals of the U.S.?**


 * China's economy has rapidly grown due to its devotion to (A) redistribution of wealth (B) socialism (C) democracy (D) free enterprise (E) all (F) none**

8. Since the end of WWII, the U.S. has been a dominant player in international trade. Congress and the president are constantly under pressure to manage trade policy in ways that will promote the American economy. Nations engage in international trade for several reasons - obtain goods and services that they cannot produce themselves, create jobs (jobs that produce what is exported to other nations), and comparative advantage, or the economic principle that each country should produce those goods it can make more efficiently and purchase those that other nations produce more efficiently. When nations all produce only what they can produce more efficiently, world production increases and prices are more affordable since nations are producing quickly and efficiently. Unrestricted international trade promotes efficient production. At the same time, it can threaten domestic industries and the jobs of workers in those industries. As a result, policymakers in every nation are often under pressure to limit or control international trade. The U.S imports more than it exports, which means we have a trade deficit. One trade barrier is tariffs, or taxes on imports as an attempt to increase their price in the domestic market. Another barrier is quotas, or limits on the quantities of a foreign product that can be imported. Finally, countries can use embargoes to totally bar trade with a specific country. NAFTA is the North American Free Trade Agreement in which the U.S., Canada, and Mexico removed all trade barriers. This increased production and jobs for businesses that made goods that Canada and Mexico wanted. However, some American businesses relocated to Canada or Mexico, which cost jobs. Overall, more jobs in America were gained than lost.
 * When a nation bars trade, it is a(n) (A) quota (B) tariff (C) embargo (D) stoppage (E) all (F) none**


 * What is meant by a trade deficit?**


 * What treaty increased trade with Canada and Mexico? What is a negative of it?**

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