What is the importance of the distinction between private goods (individual goods) and collective goods (public goods) in assessing why some interests are more highly organized than others? What type of group particularly benefits from this situation?
What will be an ideal response?
Economic groups offer members private (or individual) incentives that benefit them directly, which is a powerful reason to join the group. An example of a private good is a benefit that a labor union member obtains through the union. Citizens' groups offer collective goods (public goods), which are goods that all people share, such as a clean environment. The fact that such goods are available to nonmembers as well as members is a disincentive for many to participate. This situation, called the free-rider problem, can plague citizens' groups. Economic groups are less affected by the free-rider problem. Economic groups also have ready access to financial resources in the form of profits or dues, while citizens' groups typically have more trouble obtaining financial resources-though recent advances in computer-aided direct mail and Internet-based fundraising have improved the financing capabilities of many citizens' groups.
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Max Weber identified which of the following as a characteristic of an ideal bureaucracy?
a. inefficiency b. transparency c. consensus-making d. task specialization
"The extent to which an individual pays attention to politics and understands what he or she has encountered" is the definition of political
a. impact. b. behavior. c. awareness. d. participation.
Between 40 and 60 percent of whites believe that the average African American is as well or better off than the average white American in schooling, job, income, and health care; at the same time, __________
a. most whites support government alleviation to equalize social and economic standings b. blacks lag behind whites on virtually every social and economic indicator c. the opinions of both whites and blacks are uninformed d. support of government alleviation has increased since the 1960s
What is notable about PACs that have organized to serve the interests of the poor and underprivileged in American society?
A. They have influence that is disproportionate to their numbers in society. B. They have far more success when playing the inside game than the outside game. C. The fact that they are nearly absent in American politics. D. The fact that they are much more successful in lobbying the executive branch than Congress.