political science Flashcards
what is the state of nature
ID; created by Thomas Hobbes, The state of nature is the way of living without any sort of ruler or government. People live in constant fear, as everyone must fend for themselves and has the ability to kill.
Significance; This is what people want to avoid and can be seen as one of the reasons on why government or having a ruler was necessary
what is a sovereign
ID; a sovereign is the head ruler. just one person, meaning they can still be killed and the only way one becomes a sovereign Is if people agree to follow and obey them
Significance: Without the making of a sovereign or ruler, the population would still be in a state of nature and be living in pure anarchy
what is democracy
ID; Democracy is compromise between living in a state of nature versus having no opinion in the government. It lets the population being ruled have a sense of opinion in who rules their land.
Significance; in Canadian democracy we are allowed rot vote for who we want to rule but where that person wins is beyond our control, as there is more than one candidate
how is Canada not a democracy
one party can rule all
we have a queen limited representation
strategic voting
party picks candidates
what was Jean Jaque Rousseaus opinion on government
Jean jaque rousseau had a major influence on Enlightenment thought and the Age of Revolutions. He believed “Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains” We form societies to give up our freedom for our own advantage. He believed that there needs to be a government because there are some things we can not. do on our own, we have no guide or structure
what makes a government legitimate
divine providence; god picked you to be ruler
force; mighty makes right
Personal alienation; voluntary slavery
social peace; they keep peace
what is the social contract
ID; The act of giving up upper rights, submerging yourself to the will of the people, creating a unified group of people called the state.
Significance; It allows unification as a population
what is an assembly
Athens
1/6 of the population would show up to argue about big decisions that needed to be made. All citizens were allowed to go. Important decisions did not get decided there.
what is a council of 500 (Athens)
Important decisions were made, where it was easier to debate
what is the president of the council (Athens)
One who runs these debates
what is a jury (Athens)
the person that decides whether laws will be made
What is ostracism
ID: when you shun someone out of a certain place for a period of time. There did not have to be a reason such as crime or wrongdoing, it is simply a group decision
Significance: In Athen they would vote who they wanted to get ostracized and whoever got voted would have to leave Athens for 10 years
What is the difference between Political society and Civil society
Political society is public, what the public eye sees when forming governments. Civil society is the private aspect that people don’t see, such as the disadvantages and advantages candidates have over one another (e.g more money)
What is the last form of voting by lottery that a government still demonstrates
Jury duty
Why did Socrates get prosecuted and sent to death
• He was trying to convince the youth that there is no god, he was somewhat of an atheist. he is accused of teaching people to be disloyal to the city
Why was socrates wrongfully accused
he didn’t technically break the law
what is civil disobedience
ID; It is a public, non violent and conscientious breach of undertaken law, with the aim of bringing a change in laws and government policies
significance: Civil disobedience has been used as a way for the public to voice their opinions and make a change. It is often demonstrated in the form of walk outs, protests, etc`
what would socrates say about civil disobedience
Socrates, in the voice of law: If I have relied on the laws of Athens all my life, and now that they work against me I should break it?
Socrates says that he signed a social contract, he grew up in the protection of that law, if he were to ignore the law it would be as if he were saying “the laws are only okay when they work in my favour”
what happened in the US civil rights movement
Beginning in the 1870s, the Jim Crow movement began. After the civil war. Authorities rigged the system, segregation, disenfranchise and terrorism. If they couldn’t legally prevent black people from owning a house, going to school, etc, they started the segregation movement.
what does disenfranchise mean
preventing black people from voting and making everything harder for the black community
How does Martin Luther king justify civil disobediance
you can retaliate by going against the law that the government broke. If a law is unjust, sometimes breaking the law is a way of restoring the law
what is a positive law
a law that someone gives (manmade)
what is a natural law
a law that exists “naturally” and independently of society. Natural laws are given prior to positive laws.
what is moral relativism:
what is moral and not moral depends on the time and situation
what is moral absolutism
either right wrong
who are the three groups that run the Canadian government
legislator, the executive and the judiciary
what is a government
the set of instructions and practices that make and enforce collective public decisions for a society.
is canada a dual or single executive
dual, head of state and head of government where the formal and political executive are divided
who is the formal executive
the queen
who is the political executive
prime minister