Chapter 1 Flashcards
Sovereignty
ultimate political power - having the final say
Human predicament
the cycle from tyranny (to revolution) to anarchy (to competing groups), to which sovereign power and its ill effects give rise
Despot
A ruler exercising absolute power
Revolution
A means of removing tyranny from power; part of the human predicament cycle
Tyranny
Absolute power centralized in one person (or small group); part of the human predicament cycle
Anarchy
No one person (or group) maintains absolute power. Characterized by mass disorder caused by failure to agree on a common course of action; part of the human predicament cycle
competing groups
groups that in a stat of anarchy, fight for supreme power and control; part of the human predicament cycle
good society
reasonably stable and prosperous society without an oppressive tyranny. Usually includes peace, respect, vibrant culture, and personal freedom to live the way one chooses.
Plato
427-347 BC greek philosopher and quthor of The Republic, which extolled civic virtue and the necessity of arete
Political legitimacy
ruling by a sanction higher than stark necessity; sanction may stem from divine right, wisdom or consent, etc
King James I
1655-1625 King James I of England claimed political legitimacy through a “divine right of kings”
Divine right of kings
political theory that royal lines are established by God and that kings rule by divine decree
theocracy
divinely inspired rule, or rule by relition
aristocracy
rule based on distinguished or wise ancestors and heritage
greek freedom
the privilege of taking part in the political process and observing society’s rules
human nature
the fundamental disposition of humans that determines their behavior
arete
greek term for human virtue, the backbone of republican morality. striving for excellence.
european enlightenment
18th century philosophical movement that proposed individual self-interest, rather than greek virtue or christian humility, as the motivating factor in human behavior
autocracy
one of the four alternative forms of government; sees people as children in need of a carefully controlled environment provided by government
classical republicanism
one of the four alternative forms of government; sees people (and govt.) as mostly good but corruptible and so government should have restricted power and try to encourage a good moral climate.
bill of rights
first ten amendments to the Constitution regarding basic protections of rights from the government, passed in response to the Anti-Federalist argument against the initial Constitution
Libertarianism
one of the four alternatives forms of government; sees the most important value as individual freedom and holds that government should only protect that freedom and nothing more
liberalism
one of the four alternatives forms of government; sees people in the most favorable light, but institutions or other influences can corrupt them, so government is necessary to protect them fro such corruption.
Thomas Jefferson
1743-1826
- Jefferson was the third president of the US, principal author of the declaration of independence, and an influential founding father of the US.
- A political philosopher who promoted classical liberalism, republicanism, and the separation fo church and state, he was the author of the Virginia Satute for Religiouis Freedom (1779,86), which was the basis of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the US Constitution
Structure
Rules and restrictions designed to better harness virtue.
polis
city or city-state, often self-governed by its citizens as the ancient greek city-status were.
social compact
the social concept of a group of autonomous individuals living in a state of nature, making a common agreement about the sore of political world they want to live in.
state of nature
hypothetical contision assumed to exist in the absence of government where human beings live in “complete” freedom and general equality
