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Understanding Power > Test 1 > Flashcards

Test 1 Flashcards

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1
Q

What was the goal of politics for Aristotle

A

to identify which system of governance best advanced the common good and cultivated the virtuous or ethical citizen

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2
Q

What was the goal of politics for Machiavelli

A

goal of political leaders was not to pursue ethical ideals but to do what was necessary to stay in power, including using deception, manipulation, violence

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3
Q

What is power

A

exercise of influence (to get someone to do something they would not otherwise do)

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4
Q

Explain “power to”

A

The capacity to achieve political ends through individual and collective action

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5
Q

Explain “power over”

A

Political power possessed by some and wielded over others. Power is unequally distributed; disparities embedded in structures and institutions

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6
Q

Give two examples of “power to”

A
  1. Voting
  2. Protests
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7
Q

Explain pluralism

A

a theory of democratic politics that asserts that political outcomes are the result of the organization of and competition among competing group interests

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8
Q

Pluralist theory is a form of…

A

power to

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9
Q

Explain elite theory

A

Power is derived through your position in having a monopoly over bureaucratic knowledge

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10
Q

What is the role of the state in elite theory

A

site of bureaucratic knowledge used primarily for elite perpetuation

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11
Q

What are some examples of elite perpetuation (6)

A
  • Inheritance
  • revolving door
  • education (ivy leagues and networking)
  • Interlocking corporations (staying loyal and donating to certain educations, companies and political parties)
  • military-industrial-prison complex
  • inter-marriage
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12
Q

What does non-partisan mean

A

politically neutral

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13
Q

What are the different types of political systems (10)

A

Monarchy
Autocracy or Dictatorship or Tyranny
Democracy
Oligarchy
Kleptocracy
Plutocracy
Authoritarian
Totalitarian
Populist regime
Illiberal

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14
Q

What is a monarchy

A

Political system ruled by a king or queen

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15
Q

What is an autocracy or tyranny or dictatorship

A

single person rule

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16
Q

What is a democracy

A

ruled by the people, a system of government in which political decisions are made by citizens (in ancient greece, only wealthy free white men who owned land - less then 5% of pop)

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17
Q

What is an oligarchy

A

ruled by the few, usually a rich political elite

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18
Q

What is a kleptocracy

A

political system where power is achieved by stealing

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19
Q

What is a plutocracy

A

political system ruled by the wealthy focus on money

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20
Q

What is an authoritarian regime

A

power is concentrated in the government with very few outside checks

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21
Q

What is a totalitarian regime

A

regime that has total power over everything (thought, religion, media, etc) ie; North Korea

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22
Q

What is a populist regime

A

used to be against the elites, now owned by them. come into power through rigged elections or coup d’état (ie; Trump)

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23
Q

Explain illiberal

A

use the rhetoric of democracies to come into power democratically, but act as authoritarians once they’re there (ie; changing the constitution)

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24
Q

What did Thomas Hobbes believe in

A

state power necessary to protect individuals from each other, but this power must be kept in check

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25
Where does Thomas Hobbes believe political authority is located
located in consent of the governed rather than divine revelation, nature, kinship, or coercion
26
How did John Locke view politics (3)
politics as necessary evil to protect individual freedoms; democracy was mechanism to protect market from government; state should not regulate market
27
How did Jean-Jacques Rousseau view politics (3)
private property the root of all social ills, people should be bound only by laws they impose on themselves. Founder of the idea of General Will
28
What is General Will
People would only consent to laws that they would pass through representatives
29
What did John Stuart Mill believe in (5)
- utilitarian who did not believe in “natural rights” (maximizing public good was goal - advocate of free speech (“free thought”) - women’s equality (biggest obstacle to women’s emancipation was the “tyranny of public opinion”); full equality for women would maximize happiness of women, men, and society as a whole)…. - maximization of individual autonomy short of harm to others (harm principle) - human nature not fixed, but flexible (malleable)
30
What did Mary Wollstonecraft argue
that to obtain true social equality society must rid itself of the monarchy as well as the church and military hierarchies
31
What did Mary Wollstonecraft say about rights
There are rights which men and women inherit at their birth given by God, the law can never undermine natural rights
32
What did the rise of Capitalism challenge
Middle Ages ideas, from traditional feudal system to capitalist and liberal modernity
33
When did the reformation occur
16th century
34
When did the enlightenment occur
17th century
35
Explain the core ideas of the Enlightenment Era
people equal based on ability to reason; people as legitimate source of power
36
Explain the core ideas of Capitalism (3)
rise of private property, wage labour, production for profit
37
What is biopolitical power
power that is exercised on populations rather than individuals, often to secure better health, education, or productivity of population as a whole
37
What is the bourgeoisie
used in Marxist analysis to refer to the social class that owns the means of production; often also referred to as the capitalist class
38
What is a concept
an idea or abstraction which subsumes the singular and unique into a broader class of things
39
Explain conceptualization
an exercise in imagination through which we name and understand a thing as being part of, or representative of, a broader class of things or practices
40
What is disciplinary power (2)
A Foucauldian concept that lays out appropriate behaviours are produced through social definitions of what is normal and expected. - conveys the idea of self-policing and the realization of social interests and goals without resort to force
41
What is a divine right
authority originating in a deity
42
Explain governance
the way we organize our common affairs; the organized exercise of power
43
Explain government
political entity typically comprised of an executive, legislature and judiciary
44
What is a nation
a political community with a shared identity rooted in a common history and territory, language, ethnicity, tradition
45
Explain the revolving door concept
circulation of elites through private sector to government
46
What is a state
a legal political unit that claims supreme authority (sovereignty) and the legitimate use of force over a defined territory and population. The state-centric system we live in emerge after the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648.
47
What is the proletariat
a term used by Marx for the social class that does not own the means of production but is, instead, forced to sell its labour-power in exchange for wages
48
Explain sovereignty
A state has a monopoly over the legitimate use of force over its territory and population without external interference
49
What are the core liberal ideas
Focus on individual freedoms, negative rights, consent, authority, control of arbitrary power, private property
50
What did early liberal theorists focus on
why people in a state of nature would agree to a sovereign that would limit their freedom
51
According to liberals, why do we need government
to restrain baser human impulses in order to protect themselves and each other
52
How do Liberals explain the public and private sphere
Public sphere (state) collectively controlled by the people; separated from private sphere (family, relationships, property) shielded from state interference
53
How do pressure groups gain power
The more resources and money you have the stronger your group will be and the more your problems will be solved (allows for more ad and social media campaigns)
54
What did Mosca and Pareto believe in
Believed that elite in a society are inevitable but a good thing. They believe that some are destined to be born leaders, into money or power
55
Who are the main elite theorists
Plato, Mosca, Pareto and Michels
56
What did Michels believe in
rule be elites inevitable but undesirable as it emerges a complex society where the emergence of a bureaucratic elite rise to the top and keep power their own elite cast - Iron Law of oligarchy
57
What is the Iron Law of oligarchy
The state has control (power), by their knowledge, organisational skills and more, over bureaucratic organisations like the military and uses it as influence over a society
58
Elite theory is a form of...
power over
59
What did plato believe in
believes that there should be leaders but leaders that lead with wisdom and knowledge
60
Explain “The ideas of ruling class are ruling ideas”
The ruling class use their power to determine the dominant ideas of a society
61
Explain class analysis
power distributed between unequal classes (bourgeoisie/ proletariat); power derived from ownership of wealth-producing assets in society (means of production)
62
Explain the role of the state according to Class Analysis (3)
The state is not neutral, they are there to benefit the elite though - media - education - think tanks
63
What are think tanks
interest groups (academics, professors, businessmen, institutions or foundations) that pursue research and analysis to advance a set of values or ideas,
64
What are the types of "power over" (6)
- elite theory - class analysis - populism - systemic racism (Education politics, work and health care) - systemic sexism (Pay gap, abortion rights, universal childcare) - white settler colonialism
65
What did foucault say about power
Power flows through discourse as it transmits knowledge (truth regime). It cannot be located
66
Foucault's theory aligns itself with...
"power knowledge"
67
What is non-sovereign power
a state which has a head that is not chosen by others that controls discourse based on what is considered true
68
Give examples of non-sovereign powers
Before, church (right of god) Now, science
69
What are natural rights
Liberty, Property, Life

Understanding Power (3 decks)

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