Key Terms

Question 1

Written Constitution

Answer 1

A single authoritative document that defines the duties, powers and functions of government and so constitutes ‘higher’ law

Question 2

Bill of Rights

Answer 2

A constitutional document that specifies the rights and freedoms of the individual and so defines the relationship between the state and it’s citizens

Question 3

Rule of Law

Answer 3

The principle that all conduct and behaviour, of private citizens and govt official, should conform to a framework of law

Question 4

Separations of power

Answer 4

The principle that legislative, executive and judicial power should be separated through the construction of three independent branches of government

Question 5

Federalism

Answer 5

A territorial distribution of power based on the sharing of sovereignty between central (usually national) bodies and regional or provincial ones.

Question 6

Civil Liberty

Answer 6

The private sphere of existance, belonging to the citizen not to the state; freedom from govt

Question 7

Civil Society

Answer 7

A realm of autonomous associations and groups, formed by private citizens and enjoying independence from the government; civil society includes businesses, clubs families and so on

Question 8

Democracy

Answer 8

Rule by the people; democracy implies both popular participation and government in the public interest, and can take a wide variety of forms

Question 9

State of Nature

Answer 9

A pre-political society characterised by unrestrained freedom and the absence of established authority

Question 10

Social Contract

Answer 10

A (hypothetical) agreement amongst individuals through which they form a state in order to escape from the disorder and chaos of the ‘state of nature’

Question 11

State

Answer 11

An association that establishes sovereign power within a defined territorial area, usually possessing a monopoly of coercive power

Question 12

Goverment

Answer 12

The machinery through which collective decisions are made on behalf of the state, usually compromising a legislature, executive and judiciary

Question 13

Law

Answer 13

Established and public rules of social conduct, backed up by the machinery of the state the police, courts and prison

Question 14

Pluralism

Answer 14

A belief in diversity or choice, or the theory that political power is or should be widely and evenly dispersed

Question 15

Divine Right

Answer 15

The doctrine that earthly rulers are chosen by God and thus widely unchangeable authority; divine right is a defense for monarchical absolutism

Question 16

Classical Liberalism

Answer 16

A tradition within liberalism that seeks to maximise the realm of undos trained individual action, typically by establishing a minimal state and a reliance on market economics

Question 17

Modern Liberalism

Answer 17

A tradition within liberalism that provides (in contrast to classical liberalism) a qualified endorsement for social and economic intervention as a means of promoting personal development

Question 18

Liberal Democracy

Answer 18

A democracy based on the recognition of individual rights and freedoms, in which decisions from direct or representative processes prevail in many policy areas

Question 19

Positive Freedom

Answer 19

cl - ‘the positive sense of the word liberty derives from the wish on the part of the individual to be his own master’ Berlin
ml - green rejected the classical view of society, he saw a society as ‘organic’ and its citizens interdependent as well as independent. we can achieve personal satisfaction by doing good for others as well as ourselves

Question 20

Negative Freedom

Answer 20

‘Liberty in this negative sense is simply the area within which a man can act unobstructed by others’ - Isaiah Berlin

Question 21

Natural Rights

Answer 21

developed in the 17th and 18th century, it asserts that all individuals are born with rights that are granted by God or nature. ‘Life,Liberty and Happiness’ Hobbes (not a liberal) is viewed as the first major natural theorist of natural rights.Locke and Paine also contributed to these theories

Question 22

Rationalism

Answer 22

A new mode of thinking associated with the Enlightenment. It proposes that there are rational explanations for all phenomena

Question 23

Laissez-faire

Answer 23

A form of government that interferes to a minimum

Question 24

Pluralism

Answer 24

A society in which there is tolerance towards many different beliefs, movements and faiths.
A political system in which different political parties and pressure groups are free to operate and have access to decision-making

Question 25

Constitutionalism

Answer 25

Liberal-inspired principle asserts that modern states and governments must be controlled by a binding constitution that limits their powers and protects the rights of individuals and groups.

Question 26

Utility

Answer 26

Use-value; in economics, utility describes the satisfaction that is gained from the consumption of material services