1. What are the good and bad aspects of all market systems?

good (name 3) = productivity, innovation, efficiency (trumpets!!! sarcasm)

bad (name 3) = instability, inequalities, negative externalities (privatizing of gain, socializing costs; see John Oliver on plastics for a great example -- https://youtu.be/Fiu9GSOmt8E)

[4 points possible]

2. How does age, ethnicity, education, and class impact voting (in terms of who votes and how they vote)? (remember who exercises POWER in terms of the vote)

who votes (in terms of these categories) = older, whiter, more educated, richer people are more likely to vote.

how do they vote (across these categories/groups) = older, whiter, richer people tend to be conservative/Republican; the effect of education is more complicated.

[4 points possible]

3. Why do we have a two-party system?

(don't say it's because of our history)

Single member district plurality voting (SMDP). The voting system causes the party system. SMDP gives rise to two-party dominant systems (see Duverger's law: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duverger%27s_law#:~:text=In%20political%20science%2C%20Duverger's%20law,favor%20a%20two%2Dparty%20system.&text=Duverger's%20law%20draws%20from%20a,system%20to%20a%20party%20system.)

[4 points possible]

4. How representative is the interest group system? (you might consider discussing pluralist and elite theory in your response)

Not very. Some interests are more powerful than others and exercise greater control over policy outcomes. Economic interest groups are the most powerful, and corporatist interests are dominant. They exercise power and influence through lobbying and campaign contributions.

[4 points possible]

5. What is the impact of a media system dominated by for-profit media corporations?

Huge. Media shapes what we see, how we see it, when we see it, if we see it, etc. Ownership matters. Media corporations are driven by the profit motive, not the public interest/public good/information, education, democracy motive. This shapes everything they do and don't do to hold public officials accountable. [The best single description of the inherent weaknesses is provided by FAIR: https://fair.org/about-fair/whats-wrong-with-the-news/]

[4 points possible]

Total = 20 points possible. Final grade = 20-X (X = points deducted) = (20-X)/20 x 100% = Final grade in %.