Ch 1 - The Citizen and the Government Flashcards
As the government seeks to protect its citiens, it faces the challenge of doing so in a way that is true to American value. Name these three values.
Liberty - personal freedom and a government whose powers are limited by law
Equality - the idea that all individuals have the right to participate in political life and society on equivalent terms
Democracy - placing considerable political power in the hands of ordinary people.
Define citizenship
informed and active membership in a political community
it is based on poltiical knowledge and participation
Define government
the formal institutitons and procedures through which a territory and its peoples are ruled
it is made up of the instituions and procedures by which people are ruled
Define Authoritarian Government
government recognizes no formal limit but may nevertheless be restrained by the power of other social institutions
Deine Totalitarian System
govenrment not exercises great power, but seeks to impose its will by suppressing any and all other groups and individuals in society that might pose a challenge
Define democracy
a political system in which popular wishes and preferences regularly and systematically shape who controls the government and what the government does
Define Constitutitonal Govermment
governmental power is both described in, and limited by, a governming constitution
What is the goal of politics?
to have a say in what happens
Define poltiics
the conflict over the leadership, structure and policies of the government
Define power
influence over a govenrnment’s leadership, organization or policies
define representative democracy and provide one alternative name for this
alternate - republic [little r]
a system of government that gives citizens a regular ooportunity to elect govenrment officials
Define direct democracy
a systme that permits citizens to vote directly on laws and policies
What three inalienable rights does the Declaration of Independence gie?
life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness
Define liberty
the freedom from government control and economic freedom
Define a limited government
powers are defined and limited by a constitution
Define the bill of rights (generally)
The first ten amendments to the constitution
Define laissez-faire capitalism
an economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately owned and operated for profit with minimal or no government to regulate trade or restrict the use of private property, even in the name of public protection
Define equality of opportunity
all people should have the freedom to use whatever talents and wealth they have to reach their fullest potential
Define political equality
the right to participate in politics equally, based on the principle of “one person, one vote’
Define popular sovereignty
Political authority rests ultimately in the hands of the people
Define majority rule with minority rights
the government follows the preferences of the majority of voters but protects the interest of the minority
Define government authority
government - a political system which exercises authority
authoity - recognized irght to control public policy
Define public policy
who get what, when and how
What did John Locke (1690) say about government?
Second treasie on government
Government is not “natural” as the way people/dogs/trees are
Government is created by humans; to understand the goals of man is to understand government
The goals of man: life, liberty and pursuit of happiness (sound familiar?)
What is life like without government?
anarchy, chaos, disorganized
disputes hard to settle with no set rules of right and wrogn
What did Hobbes say about life and government?
Life will be nasty, brutish and short in a state of nature
a state of nature is no government
the above maladies can be solved by having a dictator
Why do governments exist?
i.e. why can’t we live in a state of nature?
There is no known law in a state of nature
we need an indifferent judge to settle disputes
enforcement power to hold the gun
people voluntarily realize that life is crummy without government
social contract - people readily submit if government holds up their end of the deal
Name three types of national govenrment in the United States and what they do [briefly]
Law - Congress
Judging - Supreme Court
Enforcement Power - Executive Branch
define citizenship
informed and active membership in a political community
define authoritarian
a system of rule in which the government recognizes no formal limit but may nevertheless be restrained by the power of other social institutions
define constititional government
a system of rule in which governmental power is both described in, and limited by, a governing constitution
democracy
a system of rule where popular wishes and preferences regularly and systematically shape who controls the government and what the government does
direct democracy
a system of rule that permits citiens to vote directly on laws and policies
equality of opportunity
a widely shared American ideal that all people should have the freedom to use whatever talents and wealth they have to reach their fullest potential
government
institutions adn procedures through which a territory and its people are rules
laissez-faire capitalism
an economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately owned and operated for profit with minimal or no government interferene
liberty
freedom from government control
limited government
a goveernment whose powers are defined and limited by a constitution
majority rule / minority rights
the democratic principle that a government follows the preferences of the majority of voters but protects the interests of the minority
political equality
the right to participate in politics equally, based on the prinicple of “one person, one vote”
politics
conflict over leadership, structure and policies of govenrments
popular sovereignty
a principle of democracy in which political authority rests ultimately in the hands of the peopl
power
influence over a governments leadership, organization or policies
representative democracy/republic
a system of govenrment that gives citizens a regular opportunity to elect government officials
totalitarian government
a system of rule in which the government not only exercises great pwoer, but seeks to impose its will by supressing any and all other groups and inidviduals in society that might pose a challenge to its power
