27. Supporters of the capability approach believe a good society is one that:
a. provides the greatest good for the greatest number.
b. provides individuals with the freedom to develop their potential to live fuller and
richer lives.
c. provides the same health care for all citizens in a society.
d. provides equal distribution of income in society.
society.
Topic: Visions of the Good Society: Gross National Product and Gross National
Happiness
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
28. The capability approach assumes that states can contribute to individual freedom best by:
a. cutting taxes.
b. reducing the role of government in people’s lives.
c. making societies fairer.
d. increasing individuals’ opportunity to pursue goals important to their lives.
society.
Topic: Visions of the Good Society: Gross National Product and Gross National
Happiness
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
29. Which of the following is NOT one of the capabilities seen in the capabilities approach?
a. having physical well-being
b. being able to make well-informed decisions
c. being able to live in a sustainable environment
d. being safe from violence
Topic: Capabilities and the Quality of Life
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
18
30. We would use which of the following to operationally define physical well-being?
a. adequacy of housing and shelter
b. calories consumed per person
c. life expectancy
d. infant mortality rates
Topic: Capabilities and the Quality of Life
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
31. Political scientists use ___________ when operationally defining the ability to make
well-informed decisions.
a. math skills
b. literacy rates
c. average years of education per person
d. the percentage of population with a high-school education
Topic: Capabilities and the Quality of Life
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
32. In which of the following countries are residents of cities most vulnerable to being killed?
a. Canada
b. United States
c. Japan
d. France
Topic: Capabilities and the Quality of Life
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
19
33. We can operationally define safety by using:
a. the number of years of civil war in a country.
b. violent crimes per capita.
c. homicides per capita.
d. domestic violence cases per capita.
Topic: Capabilities and the Quality of Life
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
34. We can use the ______________ to operationally define the ability to participate
effectively in political choices that determine one’s life.
a. voter turnout statistics in elections
b. Economist Intelligence Unit’s Index of Democracy
c. constitutional guarantees of civil and political rights
d. U.S. government’s Millennium Challenge Account index of democracy
Topic: Capabilities and the Quality of Life
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
35. The main lesson from the in-depth box about Costa Rica is that the best way to lower
infant mortality rates for infants born to poor parents in less-developed countries is to:
a. improve per capita income through rapid economic growth.
b. increase the number of doctors and nurses in a country.
c. acquire improved medical technology.
d. provide safe drinking water, adequate nutrition, and basic health care for poor
mothers and their newborns.
Topic: Capabilities and the Quality of Life
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
20
36. Supporters of the capability approach believe that:
a. all four capabilities go together, and there is no need to make trade-offs among them
so that one improves while the others do not.
b. the best measure of a country’s success is a high average level of capabilities among
citizens.
c. the state does not have a responsibility to ensure that every citizen has a high level of
capability.
d. there is a specific set of economic, social, and political arrangements that are needed
to have a good society.
Topic: Responding to Criticisms of the Capabilities Approach
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
37. Supporters of the capability approach would rank which of the following countries as the
most successful?
a. the one with the highest per capita income
b. the one with the most equal income distribution
c. the one with the highest protection for property rights
d. the one in which citizens have the greatest freedom to choose the lives they have
reason to value
Topic: Responding to Criticisms of the Capabilities Approach
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
38. Supporters of the capability approach argue that it is not too idealistic because:
a. a number of countries have succeeded in raising their citizens’ capabilities in recent
decades.
b. many countries can do much better than they currently do.
c. capabilities differ dramatically among countries with very similar levels of income,
suggesting that income is not an overwhelming obstacle.
d. capabilities differ dramatically among countries in the same region of the world.
Topic: Responding to Criticisms of the Capabilities Approach
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
21
39. Some critics of the capability approach say it ignores human nature. Which of the
following is NOT used as a response by defenders of the capability approach?
a. People are capable of a wide range of behavior from greedy to altruistic.
b. It is difficult to explain the considerable differences in levels of capabilities among
countries if human nature is universally greedy and selfish.
c. The assumption that all humans are greedy and selfish cannot explain why there is
very little corruption in Denmark and rampant corruption in Nigeria.
d. People are naturally cooperative.
Topic: Responding to Criticisms of the Capabilities Approach
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
40. A cultural relativist would be most likely to criticize:
a. the practice of female circumcision in some parts of Africa.
b. the practice of having women worship separately from men in Saudi Arabia.
c. giving preference to education for male children in some countries.
d. American women going to an African country to condemn the practice of female
circumcision.
Topic: Responding to Criticisms of the Capabilities Approach
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
Short Answer Questions
41. Discuss three advantages that comparative political analysis has over comparative analysis in
everyday life.
usefulness of studying it.
analysis.
Topic: The Logic and Practice of Comparative Politics
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
22
43. Use the hypothesis that eating ice cream causes polio to explain why correlation is not the
same as causation.
analysis.
Topic: Visions of the Good Society: Gross National Product and Gross National Happiness
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
45. Provide three reasons each why the authors of The Good Society reject the criticisms that the
capabilities approach is too idealistic and contrary to human nature.
Topic: Capabilities and the Quality of Life
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
23
47. Many women’s rights activists have condemned Saudi Arabia for its treatment of women.
What would a cultural relativist say to such condemnations? How would supporters of the
capabilities approach respond to the cultural relativist? How would they respond to those in
Saudi Arabia who say that the capabilities approach is judging other countries using their
own, biased Western values?
Topic: Responding to Criticisms of the Capabilities Approach
Difficulty Level: Difficult
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
48. One measure of a nation’s success is the capability to provide safety for its citizens. Indeed,
providing safety and security is a pre-condition for the ability of a nation to provide for the
physical and educational needs of its citizenry. Explain how the ability or lack of ability of
the United States to provide safety and security for its citizens has impacted its ability to
meet physical needs, encourage informed decision-making, and sustain democracy.