20 CHAPTER 1|UNDERSTANDING AMERICAN POLITICS
S PRACTICE ONLINE
“What Do Political Scientists Do?” video exercise:
William Bianco and David Canon discuss how political
scientists develop and apply research methods.SOURCES OF CONFLICT IN AMERICAN POLITICS
E Identify major sources of confl ict in American politics. Pages 14–18
SUMMARY
Although Americans generally agree on a free market
system, there is considerable confl ict over how much the
government should support tax policies that redistribute
wealth. Confl ict also arises on cultural grounds, pitting
religious “red-state” Americans against the more secular
“blue-state” Americans. There is also disagreement on the
extent to which racial, ethnic, and gender diversity should
be celebrated or minimized. Last, although Americans are
not as polarized as one would think, liberals and conserva-
tives come into confl ict on ideological grounds.
KEY TERMS
free market (p. 15)
economic individualism (p. 15)
redistributive tax policies (p. 15)
culture wars (p. 15)
directly infl uencing most aspects of your life, politics is all
around us.
KEY TERM
politics (p. 9)
CRITICAL THINKING AND DISCUSSION
What are some examples from your life that illustrate that
“politics is everywhere”? How do government policies aff ect
the things you do every day? Can you think of past deci-
sions or experiences that you may not have seen as political,
but that illustrate this idea as well?
PRACTICE QUIZ QUESTIONS
- What is the main reason politicians have a hard time
resolving the issue of abortion?
a) Politicians don’t listen to the people.
b) The parties are divided on what abortion policy
should look like.
c) Politicians don’t know what their constituents’
views are.
d) The country is divided on what abortion policy
should look like.
e) Abortion is a relatively new issue.
ideology (p. 16)
conservative (p. 16)
liberal (p. 16)CRITICAL THINKING AND DISCUSSION
What are your views on the role of confl ict in politics? What
types of issues are most likely to be resolved through politi-
cal confl ict and compromise, and which issues are more
resistant to compromise?PRACTICE QUIZ QUESTIONS- Democrats tend to favor __ tax policies
and are __ inclined to regulate industry.
a) redistributive; more
b) conservative; more
c) redistributive; less
d) conservative; less
e) regressive; less - Which concept describes the idea that actions by the
government touch most aspects of your life?
a) Politics is understandable.
b) Politics is confl ictual.
c) Political process matters.
d) Politics is everywhere.
e) People have diff erent interests. - Rules such as those regulating debate in the Senate
serve as evidence that _____.
a) politics is understandable
b) politics is confl ictual
c) political process matters
d) politics is everywhere
e) people have diff erent interests