Читать книгу American Democracy in Context - Joseph A. Pika - Страница 47

1 In the introductory comparison of Singapore and the United States, we saw that Singapore is cleaner, has less crime, and enjoys a slightly higher average income than the United States, but Singapore does not allow open competition between opposing values in its limited democracy. Which do you think would be the better country to live in? Why?

2 We introduced the concept of public goods on page 9 and along with defense spending, we used the space program and basic medical research as examples of public goods. Why do the space program and basic medical research, for example, qualify as public goods?

3 Germans are less willing than Americans to sacrifice (pay taxes, accept a lower income) to help prevent environmental pollution.24 And yet Germans are much more active in recycling than Americans; they divide their recycling into several different categories, and Germany has drastically reduced its production of garbage and trash. How might you explain this paradox?

4 Can you think of reasons why Americans might be unusually religious compared with people in other prosperous countries?