QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
CHAPTER 1 SOCIETY, GOVERNMENT, AND POLITICS QUESTIONS
FOR DISCUSSION
1. Can you think of examples of political conflicts that you have encountered outside of government, for example, in school,
clubs, or athletic teams?
2. Can you think of real-world examples of Prisoner's Dilemma games, i.e., situations where
everyone involved would like something to happen but no one seems to be willing to contribute to getting it done?
3.
Compare the various definitions of politics quoted in this chapter. How different are they, really?
CHAPTER 2 POWER, LEGITIMACY, AND AUTHORITY QUESTIONS
FOR DISCUSSION
1. Some people talk about hunger, poverty, and disease as forms of violence directed against the poor. Would you agree or
disagree with extending the concept of violence to cover these things? Why or why not?
2. The traditional model of
authority presents government as a sort of extended family. Based on your experience, what similarities and differences do
you perceive between government and the family?
3. Politicians and rock stars can both be charismatic. What do they
have in common?
CHAPTER 3 SOVEREIGNTY, STATE, AND CITIZENSHIP QUESTIONS
FOR DISCUSSION
1. Economists often speak of "consumer sovereignty," by which they mean that, in a competitive market, producers will
only be able to sell those goods and services that consumers are willing to pay for. Compare this to the meaning of sovereignty
as used in the study of government and politics. Do you see any important differences?
2. Politicians in Quebec routinely
refer to their provincial government as "l'é tat du Quebec" ("the Quebec state"). How does this way of
speaking differ from the definition of state offered in this chapter?
3. Under current law, Canadians can hold dual
citizenship. Do you personally favour this? Regardless of your personal view, what advantages and disadvantages do you see
in allowing dual citizenship?
CHAPTER 4 THE NATION QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. How do you personally think of Canada-as one nation, two nations, or many nations? What is the most important factor in
the way you think about Canada?
2. Is Canada truly a political nationality, as G. E. Cartier maintained, or is the
national identity also dependent on aspects of language and culture?
3. Canada experienced massive immigration in
the period after World War II. How do you think this immigration has affected the Canadian national identity(ies)?
CHAPTER 5 POLITICAL CULTURE AND SOCIALIZATION QUESTIONS
FOR DISCUSSION
1. What differences, if any, do you perceive between Canadian and American culture?
2. Do you think you are more of
a materialist or a post-materialist?
3. What has been the most important influence on your political socialization?
CHAPTER 6 LAW QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Is natural law an empirical or a normative concept? Why?
2. Changing the law through judicial interpretation
is sometimes faster than waiting for legislation to be passed. If that is an advantage of judicial change, can you think of
any advantages of legislative change?
3. Can you identify three areas in which you think Canadian law has not kept up
with social change?
CHAPTER 7 CONSTITUTIONALISM QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Would Canada be better off if our political conventions were written into the constitution?
2. Can you give
an example from current public affairs where you think the rule of law is not being observed?
3. Approving constitutional
amendments by means of referendum has the obvious virtue of demonstrating popular consent. Can you think of any possible negative
aspects to using the referendum procedure?
CHAPTER 8 INTERNATIONAL ORDER QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Realists tend to stress the anarchic aspect of world politics, while Liberals tend to find significant elements of order.
In what senses might both be correct? What would this suggest about international relations?
2. Are states really
in decline as the dominant actors in international relations?
3. Would you prefer to see Canada build up its conventional
military forces or to put more emphasis on peacekeeping? Are these necessarily incompatible goals?
CHAPTER 9 IDEOLOGY QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Have you ever used one of these ideological labels to characterize your own political views? Based on what you have read
thus far, do you think you were using the right label?
2. Can you locate your own views in the two-dimensional
matrix shown in the sidebar? Do you support the political party located nearest to your own views? (Don't worry if there is
a discrepancy; there are many other valid reasons for supporting a particular party.)
3. Before reading this chapter,
did you ever use the word "ideology" in your own conversation? Can you remember whether you used it as a neutral or
a pejorative term?
CHAPTER 10 LIBERALISM QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Critics of reform liberalism often assert that welfare programs such as employment insurance and social assistance create
dependency and reduce incentives for self-help. Reform liberals argue, in contrast, that such programs, by giving help when
needed, assist people in looking after themselves. Based on your own experience and observations, which view do you think
is more accurate?
2. Critics of the progressive income tax often claim that high taxes are a major cause of the
so-called "brain drain," i.e., of the tendency of Canadians with high earnings potential to move to the United States.
Do you know any Canadians who have made such a move? Do you think tax avoidance was crucial to their decision, or were other
factors more important?
3. If you had a magic wand to wave, would you move Canada in a reform-liberal or in a
classical-liberal direction? Why? In your mind, is this a question of the values you hold or of your assessment of the best
way to attain values that most people hold?
CHAPTER 11 CONSERVATISM QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Older people are typically more conservative than younger people. Can you explain why this should be so in light of Edmund
Burke's theory of conservatism?
2. Many proverbs, such as "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,"
embody a Burkean view of human behaviour. Can you think of other such proverbs and explain the Burkean element in them?
3. Do you think Canada is better or worse off as a result of the neo-conservative economic policies adopted during
the 1980s and 1990s?
CHAPTER 12 SOCIALISM AND COMMUNISM QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Canada has a mainly market economy, but there are also some sectors, such as public education, that are set up along socialist
lines of public ownership and control. Can you think of three other such sectors?
2. Why do you think these semi-socialist
sectors were created? What benefits do they offer? Why were Canadians not content just to leave them to the market?
3.
What characteristic problems do these socialist sectors face? That is, are there recurrent patterns in the complaints that
people make about them?
CHAPTER 13 NATIONALISM QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Can you give some concrete examples of how debates about issues of public policy in Canada tend to become debates about
Canadian identity and American influence?
2. Belief in a world-Jewish conspiracy, as described in The Protocols
of the Elders of Zion, is a prime example of conspiracy thinking. Have you encountered any other examples of conspiratorial
thinking? What are the common characteristics of this mode of thought?
3. Some authors think that nationalism
is becoming less important because of increases in international communication, travel, investment, trade, and immigration.
Do you find this to be true of people your own age? Do you think they are less nationalistic than older people, or not?
CHAPTER 14 FEMINISM QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Think of a difference you have observed in the behaviour of men and women. Think of a possible explanation in terms of
inherited genetic differences, and another possible explanation in terms of culture and environment. What kind of evidence
would help you decide which explanation is correct?
2. What are some of the main differences between the liberal
feminist and radical feminist approaches to workplace issue? Relate these differences to the ideologies themselves.
3.
Why do you think women have had even more success at being elected to municipal councils and school boards than to provincial
legislatures and the federal Parliament?
CHAPTER 15 ENVIRONMENTALISM QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Can you think of an example of the "tragedy of the commons" from your own experience, i.e., the degradation of
a commonly owned resource by users pursuing their own self-interest?
2. There is much political conflict over
national parks in Canada, e.g., over the enlargement of ski resorts and town sites. Can you explain how these conflicts illustrate
differences among the various forms on environmentalism discussed in this chapter?
3. As a mental experiment,
ask yourself how many cents in additional tax you would be willing to pay on a litre of gasoline in order to reduce the consumption
of gasoline and therefore reduce the production of so-called greenhouse gases? How much do you think consumers in general
would be willing to pay?
CHAPTER 16 CLASSIFICATION OF POLITICAL SYSTEMS QUESTIONS
FOR DISCUSSION
1. What is the problem with "democracy" in the Platonic/Aristotelian typology?
2. What is the benefit
of a classification scheme?
3. Why is the scheme devised by Plato and Aristotle no longer fully adequate for classifying
the more than 190 nation-states today?
CHAPTER 17 LIBERAL DEMOCRACY QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. How does liberal democracy attempt to reconcile majority and minority rights?
2. Is liberal democracy merely
a cover for elite rule?
3. Which constitutional devices do you see as providing the most effective protection
for minority rights?
CHAPTER 18 TRANSITIONS TO DEMOCRACY QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. What is the role of civil society in stabilizing democratic government?
2. Is it inevitable that one day all
systems of government will be democratic? Why or why not?
3. Which writer discussed in the chapter do you feel
offers the most insight into the consolidation of transitional democracies?
CHAPTER 19 AUTOCRATIC SYSTEMS OF GOVERNMENT QUESTIONS
FOR DISCUSSION
1. Why do authoritarian systems sometimes have a certain popular appeal?
2. What is the fundamental difference
between authoritarian and totalitarian systems?
3. What is the most common way in which authoritarian systems
try to build political legitimacy?
CHAPTER 20 PARLIAMENTARY AND PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEMS QUESTIONS
FOR DISCUSSION
1. Would you rather live under a parliamentary or presidential system? Why?
2. If you were a political engineer
advising a transitional democracy in a non-industrial society, would you recommend the parliamentary or presidential system
of government?
3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a disciplined party system in a parliamentary democracy?
CHAPTER 21 UNITARY AND FEDERAL SYSTEMS QUESTIONS FOR
DISCUSSION
1. In your opinion, is federalism properly balanced in Canada today, or do you see the provinces or the federal government
as having too much power?
2. Why do you think there are many more unitary than federal states in the world?
3. Compare British devolution to Canadian federalism. Does federalism or devolution tend more to asymmetry?
CHAPTER 22 THE POLITICAL PROCESS QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. How would you conceptualize the process of politics?
2. What are some of the advantages of taking a systemic
or structural approach to politics?
3. What are some of the advantages of taking a policy or "problem"
approach to politics?
CHAPTER 23 INTEREST GROUPS AND POLITICAL PARTIES QUESTIONS
FOR DISCUSSION
1. Are interest groups a positive or negative force in the political process?
2. Describe three important roles
of political parties.
3. How would you explain the rise of the Bloc Qué bé cois in Quebec, and the Canadian
Alliance in Western Canada?
CHAPTER 24 COMMUNICATIONS MEDIA QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. What is the relationship between the communications media and liberal democracies?
2. Does ownership in the
communications industry really matter?
3. What do you like and dislike about the media in Canada today?
CHAPTER 25 ELECTIONS AND ELECTORAL SYSTEMS QUESTIONS
FOR DISCUSSION
1. What is the primary criticism of the SMP voting system?
2. Do you see any benefits in the MMP system adopted
in New Zealand for their 1996
election?
3. Do you think proportional representation would be good for Canada?
CHAPTER 26 REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLIES QUESTIONS FOR
DISCUSSION
1. What are two criticisms of Parliamentary Representative assemblies?
2. What are two criticisms of Presidential
representative assemblies?
3. Which form of representation, Trustee, Delegate, or Party Member, would you prefer
your member of parliament take in representing you? Why?
CHAPTER 27 THE POLITICAL EXECUTIVE QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. In the parliamentary system, what has caused power to move to the prime minister?
2. In the presidential system,
why was the executive separated from the legislature?
3. Would it be practical in the modern world for cabinet
ministers to be required to resign
over all mistakes made in their departments?
CHAPTER 28 THE ADMINISTRATION QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. How does the role of public administration differ from that of the political executive?
2. How would you define
a Crown corporation?
3. What was the objective of New Public Management (NPM)?
CHAPTER 29 THE JUDICIARY QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Do you think Canadian courts are too activist?
2. Why is judicial independence critical to democracy?
3.
What is judicial review and what is its significance in liberal democracies?
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