Politics Discussion Question

Please watch the video clip “Chris Matthews: Anyone Who Doesn’t Vote Is an ‘Idiot'” and answer the question below – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHawfccSrOQ

1. Which principle of political science is most supportive of Chris Matthews’s argument that voters should not cast a ballot for a third-party candidate?

a) collective-action problem

b) ambition theory

c) Duverger’s Law

d) theory of coalitions

2. Which of the following explanations for why parties form is most applicable to the aspect of electoral politics described in this video?

a) to facilitate collective action in the electoral process

b) to resolve problems of collective choice in government

c) to deal with the problem of ambition

d) to produce selective benefits in the policy making process

3. Describe how Duverger’s Law does or does not apply to Chris Matthews’s argument that voters should not cast a ballot for a third-party candidate.

4. As noted briefly in this video, the American party system provides essentially two alternatives to American voters. Briefly describe the advantages and disadvantages, as you see them, of a two-party system like that of the United States compared to a multiparty system like that of many Western European democracies.

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