Ch 1 American Political Landscape Flashcards
Politics
the distribution of scarce resources
-who gets what when and how
Cultural Literacy
Expectations to have a basic overview of history/politics
Political spectrum from left to right
Radical Liberal Moderate Conservative Reactionary
where do the huge majority of people reside?
center
tolerance
freedom to act as one wants
left or right?
sympathetic to gov stepping in to create equality
left
democrats
left, equality
liberal progressives what side?
opposite?
left
conservative retro-gressives
Libertarians what side?
opposite?
right
ACLU
Facists
what side? opposite?
right
communists
Anarachists/paramils
what side? opposite?
right
left guerrillas
what does the political matrix look like in each direction?
left: more gov involvement in ECONOMIC life
top: more gov involvement in PERSONAL BEHAVIOR
right: less gov involvement in ECONOMIC life
bottom: less gov involvement in PERSONAL BEHAVIOR
what does each line mean in the political matrix?
linear horizontal line- wallet line (economic issues)
vertical line- bedroom (social issues)
Republicans capital R means?
FREEDOM
referring to political party as a group
Conservatives
Retro-gressives
(FREEDOM)
(root word conserve) try to keep things the way they are
expand upon them/push them forward
BOTH- preserving and not progressing, extreme of this=facists
Facists (extreme)
FREEDOM
belief system (facism) where there’s an embrace of the past, have romanticized idea of traditional order (unlike communists traditionalist views) where superiority is higher up vertical separation of ppl looking backward
Libertarians
FREEDOM
also want freedom but believe it is earned and gained on an INDIVIDUAL level unlike ACLU
Democrats capital D means?
EQUALITY
political party of spectrum
Liberals/Progressives
EQUALITY
look at traditionalism and find it stuck in time, need to move on & progress, something before & now we are moving -> future
Communists (extreme)
(EQUALITY)
ex?
very little vertical separation of ppl, no strong/superior attacking weak, ppl all on same plain
ex: women & race-> communists saw natural progression moving from men being dominant (traditionalism view)
everyone looking eye to eye EQUALITY goal of extreme nation
ACLU
EQUALITY
American Civil Liberties Union, legal organization to make sure everyone is realizing their social freedoms
Leftists Guerrillas
EQUALITY
want to overthrow gov and start over
Centrists, Elites, & Masses
elites vs masses?
political center, largest # of votes not extreme forms of either R or L elites- movers/shakers of society masses- rest of us (elites & masses- equal # on both sides of political spectrum)
Nobody has a ____ on the groups/ attitudes/ values dealing with the political spectrum
monopoly
Alexis deToqueville
wrote what? why? ex?
wrote about Cowboy Irony (come to America and be anything)
irony bc very things that make america great make it in conflict
-freedom to be an individual is tied to us coming together and have such a good military/strength)
as america becomes the hero, it undermines its essence/national ethos
