ch 1 Flashcards
Politics
The process through which we try to arrange our collective lives in some kind of social order so that we can live without crashing into each other at every turn, provide ourselves with goods and services we could not obtain alone, and maximize the values and behaviors we think are important
Politics and Government: Synonyms
Politics is the process of gaining/losing power and resources
Government is a system or organization for exercising authority over a group of people
In other words…the deal making and campaigning is politics; the Constitution and administration is government
AUTHORITY
Power that citizens view as legitimate (right)
Power to which we have implicitly consented
Gov. exercise authority bc people recognize them as legitimate even if they do things we don’t like
Rules
are the “how” of politics
They tell us how the game is to be played
Institutions
are the “where” of politics
Congress, the Presidency, the Courts, etc.
Capitalism
All means of production and distribution are privately controlled/based upon the free market
“Regulated capitalism”…what we have here
Socialism
Politicians control the distribution and allocation of goods and services
Unfair for some to have more than others
Social Democracy
Hybrid of the two…heavily controlled free market
Authoritarian
Examples: Monarchy (Saudi Arabia) Theocracy (Iran) Fascist Government (Nazi Germany) Oligarchy (Soviet Union)
Totalitarian
Authoritarian government and socialist economy (former Soviet Union)
Elite Democracy
It’s a system for common people to choose among competing leaders; elites in business, military, media and education make decisions; elections are symbolic
Pluralist Democracy
Individuals have limited power, participation in groups is most important
Participatory Democracy
Individuals have the right to control all circumstances and direct participation should exist in all arenas
The Social Contract
John Locke: Rights precede government, but people give up some of those rights in exchange for the protection of the rest of their rights
Are we a pure democracy?
no we have a republic
