SOC Chpater 11: Politics And The Economy Flashcards
Politics
The exercise of power, leadership, influence, and authority
Power
The ability to carry out your will, even over the resistance of others
Authority
Power that people consider legitimate, as rightly exercised over them; also called legitimate power
Coercion
Power that people do not accept as rightly exercised over them; also illegitimate power
State
A political entity that claims monopoly on the use of violence in some particular territory, commonly known as a county
Traditional authority
Authority based on custom
Rational-legal authority
Authority based on law or written rules and regulations, also called bureaucracy authority
Charismatic authority
Authority based on an individual’s outstanding traits, which attract followers
Routinization of charisma
The transfer of authority from a charismatic figure to either a traditional or a rational-legal form of authority
City-state
An independent city whose power radiates outward, bringing the adjacent area under its rule
Monarchy
A form of government headed by a king or queen
Democracy
A government whose authority comes from the people; the term, based on two Greek words, translates literally as “power to the people”
Direct democracy
A form of democracy in which the eligible voters meet together to discuss issues and make their decisions
Representative democracy
A form of democracy in which voters elect representatives to meet together to discuss issues and make decisions on their behalf
Citizenship
The concept that birth ( and residence or naturalization) in country imparts basic rights
Universal citizenship
The idea that everyone has the same basic rights by virtue of being born in a country (or by immigrating and becoming a naturalized citizen)
Dictatorship
A form of government in which an individual has seized power
Oligarchy
A form of government in which A small group of individuals holds power; the rule of the many by the few
Totalitarianism
A form of government that exerts almost total control over people
Voter apathy
Indifference and inaction on the part of individuals or groups with respect to the political process
Special interest group
A group of people who support a particular issue and who can be mobilized for political action
Lobbyists
People who influence legislation on behalf of their clients
Political action committee (PAC)
An organization formed by one or more special interest groups to solicit and spend funds for the purpose of influencing legislation
Anarchy
A condition of lawlessness or political disorder caused by the absence or collapse of governmental authority
Pluralism
The diffusion of power among many interest groups that prevents any single group from gaining control of the government
Checks and balances
The separation of powers among the three branches of US government-legislative, executive, and judicial- so that each is able to nullify the actions of the other two thus preventing any single branch from dominating the government
Power elite
C Wright Mills term for the top people in US corporations, military and politics who make the nation’s major decisions
Ruling class
Another term for the power elite
Terrorism
The use of violence or the threat of violence to produce fear in order to attain political objectives
Economy
A system of producing and distributing goods and services
Subsistence economy
A type of economy in which human groups live off the land and have little or no surplus
Conspicuous consumption
Thorstein Veblen’s term for a change from the thrift, savings and investment of the Protestant ethic to show off wealth through spending and the display of positions
Capitalism
An economic system built around to private ownership of the means of production, the pursuit of profit and market competition
Laissez-faire capitalism
“Hands off” capitalism, meaning that the government doesn’t interfere in the market
Socialism
An economic system built around the public ownership of the means of production, central planning and the distribution of goods without a profit motive
Market forces
The law of supply and demand
Democratic Socialism
A hybrid economic system in which the individual ownership of business is mixed with the state ownership of industries that essential to the public welfare, such as the Postal Service, natural resources, the medical delivery system and mass transportation
Convergence theory
The view that a capitalist and socialist economic systems each adopt features of the other, a hybrid (or mixed) economic system will emerge
Global superclass
The top members of the capitalist class, who, through their worldwide interconnections make the major decisions that affect the world
