Chapter 1 Flashcards
Social Conflict
Disagreements among people in a society over what the society’s priorities should be
Politics
The process of resolving conflicts over how society should use its scarce resources and who should receive various benefits, such as public health care and public higher education; “who gets what, when, and how” — Harold Lasswell
Government
an institution; the individuals and institutions that make society’s rules and also possess the power and authority to enforce those rules
Three Essential Purposes of Government
- It resolves conflicts
- It provides public services
- It defends the nation and its culture against attacks by other nations
Power
The ability to influence the behavior of others, usually through the use of force (coercion), persuasion, or rewards
Authority
The ability to legitimately exercise power, such as the power to make and enforce laws; when power is collectively recognized and accepted by society as legally or morally correct
Institution
An ongoing organization that performs certain functions for society;
Ex: government is humanity’s oldest and most universal institutions
Public Services
essential services that individuals cannot provide for themselves, such as building and maintaining roads, establishing welfare programs, operating public schools, and preserving national parks.
Autocracy
a form of government in which the power and authority of the government are in the hands of a single person; can gain power by traditional or nontraditional means
Monarchy
a form of autocracy in which a king, queen, emperor, empress, tsar, or tsarina is the highest authority in the government. Monarchs usually obtain their power through inheritance;
historically, many monarchies were “absolute monarchies,” in which the ruler held complete and unlimited power; however, most modern monarchies are “constitutional monarchies,” in which the monarch shares governmental power with elected lawmakers (Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom)
Divine Right Theory
the theory that a monarch’s right to rule was derived directly from God rather than from the consent of the people; widely accepted until the eighteenth century
Dictatorship
a form of government in which absolute power is exercised by an individual or a group whose power is not supported by tradition
Totalitarian
a dictatorship in which a leader or group of leaders seeks to control almost all aspects of social and economic life; the needs of the nation come before the needs of individuals, and all citizens must work for the common goals established by the government;
Ex: Hitler, Stalin, Castro, Kim Jong Il, Muammar Gadhafi
Democracy
a system of government in which the people have ultimate political authority; derived from the Greek “demos” (“the people”) and “kratia” (“rule”); idea: government exists only by the consent of the people and reflects the will of the majority
Direct Democracy
a system of government in which political decisions are made by the people themselves rather than by elected representatives; form of government practiced in some parts of ancient Greece
Representative Democracy
a form of democracy in which the will of the majority is expressed through groups of individuals elected by the people to act as their representatives;
Ex: U.S. (Republic); Britain (Constitutional Monarchy)
Republic
Essentially, a representative democracy in which there is no king or queen and the people are sovereign
Presidential Representative Democracy
a representative democracy in which the lawmaking and law-enforcing branches of government are separate but equal; Ex: in the United States, Congress is charged with the power to make laws, and the president is charged with the power to carry them out
Parliamentary Representative Democracy
a representative democracy in which the lawmaking and law-enforcing branches of government overlap; Ex: in Britain, the prime minister and the cabinet are members of the legislator, called Parliament, and are responsible to that body; Parliament both enacts the laws and carries them out
Aristocracy
Greek for “rule by the best”; a government run by members of old, noble families; rarely had complete power, usually shared with another force, such as a monarch
Plutocracy
“government by the wealthy”; refers to systems in which the rich have a disproportionate influence; (blue bloods)
Theocracy
derived from the Greek words meaning “rule by the deity” or “rule by God”; no separation of church and state; government rules according to religious precepts;
Ex: Islamic rule in Muslim countries
Limited Government
a form of government based on the principle that the powers of government should be clearly limited either through a written document or through wide public understanding; characterized by institutional checks to ensure that government serves public rather than private interests
Magna Carta (Great Charter)
a document which provided for a trial by a jury of one’s peers (equals), prohibited the taking of a free man’s life, liberty, or property except through due process of the law, and forced the king to obtain the noble’s approval of any taxes he imposed on them; forced upon King John in 1215 by nobles; first document to clearly establish the principle of limited government
