Exam Review Flashcards
What is conservatism?
Advocates limited government intervention and the preservation or restoration of traditions.
What is Liberalism?
A political and social ideology that advocates government activism, civil liberties and social reform.
What is Libertarianism?
Belief in total personal freedoms without the constraints of imposed rules.
What is Anarchism?
Belief that all forms of enforced control and authority are unnecessary and undesirable.
What is Authoritarianism?
Belief in the individuals duty to follow established rules - can land on both sides of spectrum right or left.
What is Totalitarianism?
A form of government in which the state assumes total control of all aspects of society and individual life.
What is Communism?
Economic equality in society by seizing power from the bourgeoisie and giving it to the proletariat; emphasis on control of the economy and the individual.
What is Socialism?
The means of production and distribution of goods are owned collectively and political power is exercised the whole community.
What is Capitalism?
Economic theory that supports free trade, private property, individual profit making, private ownership of capital, and minimum government intervention in the economic system.
What is Fascism?
Political ideology of the extreme right that blends authoritarianism, paternalism, and capitalism; it supports the hierical view of society, and builds its appeal on nationalism, opposition to communism, and the use of force.
What philosophy did Edmund Burke propose?
Modern conservatism.
What philosophy did Jeremy Bentham propose?
Utilitarianism.
What philosophy did Laozi propose?
Taoism.
What philosophy did Pierre-Joseph Proudhon propose?
Anarchism, first to identify and use the term anarchist.
What philosophy did Peter Kroptin propose?
Anarchism, he set theoretical framework for how a future society could implement and follow anarchism.
What philosophy did Ayn Rand propose?
Individualism, prioritize the rights of an individual over those of a collective.
What philosophy did Karl Marx propose?
Founding father of communism and believed in Marxism.
What philosophy did Thomas More propose?
Socialism, socialism goes as far back as 16th century England.
What philosophy did Adam Smith propose?
Proposed an open and free market and power of competition with his belief of capitalism.
What philosophy did Adolf Hitler propose?
Nazism or Fascism.
What philosophy did Vladimir Lenin propose?
Marxism-Leninism.
What philosophy did Francisco Franco follow?
Fascism.
What philosophy did Mao Zedong propose?
Maoism.
Where did democracy originate?
Athens, Greece in the 5th century BCE
Define Democracy
A government in which laws are made by elected representatives of the people.
Define Autocracy
Form of government where one person or a small group holds absolute power, people have no say.
Define Oligarchy
Power is used by a wealthy minority to exploit an impoverished majority.
What is a representative democracy? What are the two types?
Decisions affecting the community are made by elected representatives, allows a large amount of people to participate in the political process without having to be physically present, the two types are:
1) Constitutional monarchy
2) Republic
What are the characteristics of a Full democracy?
The constitution guarantees its citizens economic, political, and social rights and a judiciary acts independently from the government.
What is the most common form of non-democratic government?
A Dictatorship.
What tactics do dictators use to suppress political dissent?
Intimidation was used, Pol Pot oversaw the genocide of his own people
Why do some theorists suggest that all governments are oligarchic in nature?
Dictatorships and democracies serve the interests of the privileged few, only difference in democracies elites must compete with one another for public support
What is the role of the executive branch of democratic government?
-Implements and enforces laws
-Manages the administration of government policies and programs
What is the role of the legislative branch of democratic government?
-debates, proposes, Amends, and vote on bills
-represents the interests and concerns of their constituents
-holds government
-divided into two chambers
What is the role of the Judicial branch of democratic government?
-interprets and apply laws through court cases and decisions
-can strike down laws that are unconstitutional
Why is Beron de Montesquieu significant?
-French political thinker
-his ideas influenced the creation of the US constitution
What is the difference between the British parliamentary system compared to the American presidential system?
British parliament: -the executive and legislative branches of government are fused
-prime minister is a chief member of the House of Commons
American system: -executive and legislative branches of government are separate
-president is not involved with activities of congress
What is the difference between a written constitution and an unwritten one?
Written constitution: single formal document that clearly outlines the laws and principles by which a country is governed (e.g US constitution)
Unwritten constitution: not contained in a single, formal document. Instead, it is based on customs, traditions, judicial decisions, and various written laws (e.g British constitution)
Describe Canadas constitution
Written component is made up of two acts: -British North America act, describe the structure of Canadas government and the power of federal and provincial governments
-constitution act 1982, contains the constitution, the Canadian charter of rights and freedoms and an amending formula
Are Canadas and the US’ legislative branch unicameral or bicameral?
Both are bicameral as they both have two legislative chambers
How are MPs selected and how many are there?
MPs are selected based on representation by selection, each MP represents a geographic area with a certain number of voters, there are 338 members of parliament
What’s the purpose of the senate? How many senators are in both the US and Canadian senates?
The Senate is responsible for drafting, debating, and voting on bills, can propose and vote on amendments to bills. In the US system there is 100 senators and 105 senators in the Canadian senate.
What happens to MPs that break discipline? How often does this happen?
They are denied promotions, demoted, and can be ejected from the party, it is rare for MPs to break discipline
What is the Triple-E senate?
Stood for “Elected, Equal, and Effective” it is described as a system where senators are elected by the population not appointed. All provinces should have an equal member of senators finally it was believed that the senate should be stronger to be more effective.
difference between formal and political executive
Formal executive: responsibilities are mostly ceremonial, usually does whatever the elected government recommends
Political executive: Made up of Prime minister, cabinet and the bureaucracy, create by the party with the most seats in the legislature
What is the role of the Governor General?
-Head of state
-Appointed for 5 years
-performs ceremonial duties
-Signs bills passed by Parliament
-royal assent
What is the Electoral college? How does it work?
The Electoral college is the selection of electors, the meeting of electors (where they vote for President and VP), The counting of electoral votes by congress
What is the purpose of the cabinet? How many cabinet ministers do we have?
We have 30 Ministers. The purpose of the cabinet is to spread responsibility of the government through the party and to make the PMs job easier
What does it mean to shuffle the cabinet?
Process in which the Prime Minister reassigns or changes the positions of cabinet ministers
What are the purposes of standing committees?
-Permanent subgroups within a legislative body
-When a bill is introduced in the House or Senate it is usually referred to the relevant standing committee for review, amendment ,and debate
How many U.S. presidents have been impeached? How many have been convicted?
4 presidents have been impeached, none have been convicted
What is the highest court in Canada and the U.S.?
The Supreme Court is the highest in both countries
What is the difference between a unitary system and a federal system?
Unitary system is a democratic system in which one central authority makes decisions for all regions of the country while in a federal system constitutional power is shared amongst a national government, and or local or regional government
