Chapter One Terms

Question 1

Institution

Answer 1

An ongoing organization that performs certain functions for society.

Question 2

Social Conflict

Answer 2

Disagreements among people in a society over what the society’s priorities should be.

Question 3

Politics

Answer 3

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.

Question 4

Government

Answer 4

The individuals and institutions that make society’s rules and possess the power and authority to enforce those rules.

Question 5

Power

Answer 5

The ability to influence the behavior of others, usually through the use of force, persuasion. or rewards

Question 6

Authority

Answer 6

The ability to legitimately exercise power, such as the power to make and enforce laws.

Question 7

Public Services

Answer 7

Essential services that individuals cannot provide for themselves, such as building and maintaining roads, establishing welfare programs, operating public schools, and preserving national parks.

Question 8

Autocracy

Answer 8

A form of government in which the power and authority of the government are in the hands of a single person

Question 9

Monarchy

Answer 9

A form of autocracy in which a king, queen, or other aristocrat is the highest authority in the government. Monarchs usually obtain their power through inheritance.

Question 10

Divine Right Theory

Answer 10

The theory that a monarch’s right to rule was derived directly from God rather than from the content of the people.

Question 11

Dictatorship

Answer 11

A form of government in which absolute power is exercised by an individual or group whose power is not supported by tradition.

Question 12

Democracy

Answer 12

A system of government in which the people have ultimate political authority. The word is derived from the Greek demos (“the people”) and kratia (“rule”).

Question 13

Direct Democracy

Answer 13

A system of government in which political decisions are made by the people themselves rather than by elected representatives. This form of government was practiced in some parts of ancient Greece.

Question 14

Representative Democracy

Answer 14

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.

Question 15

Republic

Answer 15

Essentially, a representative system in which there is no king or queen and the people are sovereign.

Question 16

Parliament

Answer 16

The national legislative body in countries governed by a parliamentary system, such as Britain and Canada.

Question 17

Limited Government

Answer 17

A form of government based on the principle that the powers of government should be clearly limited either through a written document or through a wide public understanding.

Question 18

Social Contract

Answer 18

A voluntary agreement among individuals to create a government and to give that government adequate power to secure the mutual protection and welfare of all individuals.

Question 19

Natural Rights

Answer 19

Rights that are not bestowed by governments but are inherent within every man, woman, and child by virtue of the fact that he or she is a human being.

Question 20

Political Culture

Answer 20

The set of ideas, values, and attitudes about government and the political process held by a community or a nation.

Question 21

Liberty

Answer 21

The freedom of individuals to believe, act, and express themselves as they choose so long as doing so does not infringe on the rights of individuals in the society.

Question 22

Equality

Answer 22

A concept that holds, at a minimum, that all people are entitled to equal protection under the law.

Question 23

Capitalism

Answer 23

An economic system based on the private ownership of wealth-producing property, free markets, and freedom of contract. The privately-owned corporation is the preeminent capitalist institution.

Question 24

Working Class

Answer 24

Today, persons with no more than a high school diploma. Formerly, families in which the head of household was employed in manual or unskilled labor.

Question 25

Ideology

Answer 25

Generally, a system of political ideas that are rooted in religious or philosophical beliefs concerning human nature, society, and government.

Question 26

Conservatism

Answer 26

A set of political beliefs that include a limited role for the national government in helping individuals in the economic affairs of the nation, as well as support for traditional values and lifestyles.

Question 27

Conservative Movement

Answer 27

An ideological movement that arose in the 1950s and 1960s and continues to shape conservative beliefs.

Question 28

Liberalism

Answer 28

A set of political beliefs that include the advocacy of active government. Including government intervention to improve the common welfare and to protect civil rights.

Question 29

Progressivism

Answer 29

Today, an alternative, more popular term for the set of political beliefs also known as liberalism.

Question 30

Moderates

Answer 30

Persons whose views fall in the middle of the political system.

Question 31

Socialism

Answer 31

A political ideology, often critical of capitalism, that lies to the left of liberalism on the traditional political spectrum. Socialists are scarce in the United States but common in many other countries.

Question 32

Libertarianism

Answer 32

The belief that government should do as little as possible, not only in the economic sphere but also in regulating morality and personal behavior.