Chapter 2/3 Vocab

Question 1

Democracy

Answer 1

A system of government in which citizens exercise supreme power, acting either directly on their own or through elected representatives.

Question 2

Monarchy

Answer 2

A system of government in which a single rule exercises supreme power based on heredity or divine right. In a monarchy, the right to rule passes from one generation of the ruling family to the next.

Question 3

Dictatorship

Answer 3

A system of government in which a single person or group exercises supreme power by controlling the military and police.

Question 4

Market economy

Answer 4

An economic system that relies mainly on markets to determine what goods and services to produce and how to produce them.

Question 5

Traditional economy

Answer 5

An economic system in which decisions about what to produce and how are made on the basis of customs, beliefs, and tradition.

Question 6

Republic

Answer 6

A nation in high supreme power rests with the citizens and is exercised by their elected representatives.

Question 7

Parliament

Answer 7

A legislative assembly in which elected representatives debate and vote on proposed laws. The name comes from the French tee, Parler, meaning “to talk.”

Question 8

Command Economy

Answer 8

An economic system that relies mainly on the central government to determine what goods and services to produce and how to produce them.

Question 9

Representative government

Answer 9

A political system in which power is exercised by elected leaders who work in the interests of the people.

Question 10

Rule of law

Answer 10

The principle that government is based on clear and fairly enforced laws and that no one is above the law.

Question 11

Limited government

Answer 11

A political system in which the power exercised by the government are restricted, usually by a written constitution.

Question 12

Individual rights

Answer 12

The rights and liberties that can be claimed by individuals by virtue of being human. Such rights are also sometimes referred to as natural rights or human rights.

Question 13

Separation of powers

Answer 13

The idea that the powers of a government should be split between two or more strongly independent branches to prevent any one person or group from gaining too much power.

Question 14

Popular sovereignty

Answer 14

The principle that the people are the ultimate source if the authority and legitimacy of a government.

Question 15

Constitutionalism

Answer 15

The belief that governments should operate according to an agreed set of principles, which are usually spelled out in a written constitution.

Question 16

Majority rules

Answer 16

The idea that the decisions approved by more than half of the people in a group or society will be accepted and observed by all of the people.