Chapter 1 Definitions Flashcards
Politics
The struggle over power or influence within organizations or informal groups that can grant benefits and privileges.
Institution
An ongoing organization that performs certain functions for society.
Government
The institution that has the ultimate authority for making decisions that resolve conflict and allocate benefits and privileges within a society.
Order
A state o peace and security. Maintaining order by protecting members of society from violence and criminal activity is one of the oldest purposes.
Liberty
The greatest freedom of the individual that is consistent with the freedom of other individuals in the society.
Authority
The right and power of a government or other entity to enforce its decisions.
Legitimacy
Popular acceptance of the right and power of a government or other entity to exercise authority.
Totalitarian Regime
A form of government that controls all aspects of the political, social, and economic life of a nation.
Authoritarianism
A type of regime in which the government itself is fully controlled by the ruler. Social and economic institutions exist that are not under the government’s control.
Aristocracy
A Greek political system that literally translates to “rule by the best”, meaning that wealthy families of Ancient Greece were the ones making the decisions.
Theocracy
A Greek political system that literally translates to “rule by the gods”, which meant that SELF-APPOINTED religious leaders were the ones making the decisions.
Oligarchy
A Greek political system that literally means “rule by a few”.
Anarchy
The Greek term for the absence of government.
Democracy
A system of government in which political authority is vested in the people. The term is derived from the Greek word “demos” (meaning “the people”) and “kratos” (meaning “authority”).
Direct Democracy
A system of government in which political decisions are made by the people directly, rather then by their elected representatives; probably attained most easily in small political communities.
Legislator
A government body primarily responsible for the making of laws.
Initiative
A procedure by which voters can petition to vote on a law or a constitutional amendment.
Referendum
An electoral device whereby legislative or constitutional measures are referred to by the legislator to the voters for approval or disapproval.
Recall
A procedure allowing the people to vote to dismiss an elected official from state office before his or her term has expired.
Republic
A form of government in which sovereign power rests with the people, rather than with a king or a monarch.
Popular Sovereignty
The concept that ultimate political authority is based on the will of the people.
Democratic Republic
A republic in which representatives elected by the people make and enforce laws and policies.
Representative Democracy
A form of government in which representatives elected by the people make and enforce laws and policies; may retain the monarchy in a ceremonial role.
Universal Suffrage
The right for all adults to vote for their government representatives.
Majority Rule
The basic principle of democracy asserting that the greatest number of citizens in any political unit should select officials and determine policies.
Limited Government
A government with powers that are limited either through a written document or through widely shared beliefs.
Majoritarianism
A political theory holding that, in a democracy, the government ought to do what a majority of the people want.
Elite Theory
A perspective holding that society is ruled by a small number of people who hold the ultimate power to further their self-interests.
Pluralism
A theory that views politics as a conflict among interest groups. Political decision making is characterized by compromise and accommodation.
Political Culture
A patterned set of ideas, values, and ways of thinking about government and politics that characterize a people.
Political Socialization
The process by which political beliefs and values are transmitted to new immigrants and to our children. The family and the educational system are the most important sources of the political socialization process.
Dominant Culture
The values, customs, and language established by the groups that traditionally have controlled politics and government in a society.
Civil Liberties
Those personal freedoms, including freedom of religion and freedom of speech, that are protected for all individuals. Civil liberties restrain the government from taking certain actions against individuals.
Bill of Rights
The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
Equality
As a political value, the idea that all people are of equal worth.
Egalitarian System
A system in which wealth and power are distributed more equally.
Property
Anything that is or may be subject to ownership. As conceived by John Locke, the right to property is a natural right superior to human law (laws made by government).
Capitalism
An economic system characterized by the private ownership of wealth-creating assets, free markets, and freedom of contract.
Ideology
A comprehensive set of beliefs about the nature of people and about the role of an institution or government.
Conservatism
A set of beliefs that includes a limited role for the national government in helping individuals support for traditional views and life choices, and a cautious response to change.
Conservative Movement
An American movement in the 1950s that provided a comprehensive ideological framework for conservative politics.
Liberalism
A set of beliefs that includes the advocacy of positive government action to improve the welfare of individuals, support for civil rights, and tolerance for political and social change.
Socialism
A political ideology based on strong support for economic and social equality. Socialists traditionally envisioned a society in which major businesses were taken over by the government or by employee cooperatives.
Libertarianism
A political ideology based on skepticism or opposition toward most government activities.
Progressive
A popular alternate to the term “liberal”.
Working Class
Traditionally , individuals or families in which the head of household was employed in manual or unskilled labor. Currently, often defined as those with no more than a high school diploma.
Total Fertility Rate
A statistic that measures the average number of children that women in a given group are expected to have over the course of a lifetime.
Hispanic
A term used by the federal government to describe someone can claim heritage from a Spanish speaking country.
Latino
An alternate word for Hispanic. The feminine is Latina.
