Capitalism and the Economy Flashcards
Economic system in which property and goods are primarily privately owned; investments are determined by private decisions; and prices, production, and the distribution of goods are determined primarily by competition in an unfettered marketplace
Capitalism
Precapitialist economic system characterized by the presence of lords, vassals, serfs, and fiefs
Feudalism
Period around the 1700 marked by the introduction of new farming technologies that increased food output in farm production
Agricultural revolution
Legal entity unto itself that has a legal personhood distinct from that of its members–namely, its owners and shareholders
Corporation
Condition in which people are dominated by forces of their own creation that then confront them as alien powers; according to Marx, the basic state of being in a capitialist society
Alienation
Economic system in which most or all of the needs of the population are met through non market methods of distribution
Socialism
Political ideology of a classless society in which the means of production are shared through state ownership and in which rewards are tied not to productivity but to need
Communism
Wage paid to male workers sufficient to support a dependent wife and children
Family wage
Section of the economy that involves providing intangible services
Service sector
Form of business that occurs when one seller of a good or service dominates the market to the exclusion of others potentially leading to zero competition
Monopoly
Economic condition that exists when a handful of firms effectively control a particular market
Oligopoly
Business decision to move all or part of a company’s operations abroad to minimize costs
Offshoring
Organization of workers designed to facilitate collective bargaining with an employer
Union
Company’s assault on its workers’ union with the hope of dissolving it
Union busting
