Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Understanding Power > Test 1 > Flashcards

Test 1 Flashcards

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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What is power

A

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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Explain “power to”

A

The capacity to achieve political ends through individual and collective action

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Give two examples of “power to”

A
  1. Voting
  2. Protests
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Pluralist theory is a form of…

A

power to

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Explain elite theory

A

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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What is the role of the state in elite theory

A

site of bureaucratic knowledge used primarily for elite perpetuation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
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
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What does non-partisan mean

A

politically neutral

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What is a monarchy

A

Political system ruled by a king or queen

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What is an autocracy or tyranny or dictatorship

A

single person rule

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
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)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What is an oligarchy

A

ruled by the few, usually a rich political elite

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What is a kleptocracy

A

political system where power is achieved by stealing

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What is a plutocracy

A

political system ruled by the wealthy focus on money

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What is an authoritarian regime

A

power is concentrated in the government with very few outside checks

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What is a totalitarian regime

A

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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
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)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
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)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

Where does Thomas Hobbes believe political authority is located

A

located in consent of the governed rather than divine revelation, nature, kinship, or coercion

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

How did John Locke view politics (3)

A

politics as necessary evil to protect individual freedoms; democracy was mechanism to protect market from government; state should not regulate market

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

How did Jean-Jacques Rousseau view politics (3)

A

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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

What is General Will

A

People would only consent to laws that they would pass through representatives

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

What did John Stuart Mill believe in (5)

A
  • 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
Q

What did Mary Wollstonecraft argue

A

that to obtain true social equality society must rid itself of the monarchy as well as the church and military hierarchies

31
Q

What did Mary Wollstonecraft say about rights

A

There are rights which men and women inherit at their birth given by God, the law can never undermine natural rights

32
Q

What did the rise of Capitalism challenge

A

Middle Ages ideas, from traditional feudal system to capitalist and liberal modernity

33
Q

When did the reformation occur

A

16th century

34
Q

When did the enlightenment occur

A

17th century

35
Q

Explain the core ideas of the Enlightenment Era

A

people equal based on ability to reason; people as legitimate source of power

36
Q

Explain the core ideas of Capitalism (3)

A

rise of private property, wage labour, production for profit

37
Q

What is biopolitical power

A

power that is exercised on populations rather than individuals, often to secure better health, education, or productivity of population as a whole

37
Q

What is the bourgeoisie

A

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
Q

What is a concept

A

an idea or abstraction which subsumes the singular and unique into a broader class of things

39
Q

Explain conceptualization

A

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
Q

What is disciplinary power (2)

A

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
Q

What is a divine right

A

authority originating in a deity

42
Q

Explain governance

A

the way we organize our common affairs; the organized exercise of power

43
Q

Explain government

A

political entity typically comprised of an executive, legislature and judiciary

44
Q

What is a nation

A

a political community with a shared identity rooted in a common history and territory, language, ethnicity, tradition

45
Q

Explain the revolving door concept

A

circulation of elites through private sector to government

46
Q

What is a state

A

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
Q

What is the proletariat

A

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
Q

Explain sovereignty

A

A state has a monopoly over the legitimate use of force over its territory and population without external interference

49
Q

What are the core liberal ideas

A

Focus on individual freedoms, negative rights, consent, authority, control of arbitrary power, private property

50
Q

What did early liberal theorists focus on

A

why people in a state of nature would agree to a sovereign that would limit their freedom

51
Q

According to liberals, why do we need government

A

to restrain baser human impulses in order to protect themselves and each other

52
Q

How do Liberals explain the public and private sphere

A

Public sphere (state) collectively controlled by the people; separated from private sphere (family, relationships, property) shielded from state interference

53
Q

How do pressure groups gain power

A

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
Q

What did Mosca and Pareto believe in

A

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
Q

Who are the main elite theorists

A

Plato, Mosca, Pareto and Michels

56
Q

What did Michels believe in

A

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
Q

What is the Iron Law of oligarchy

A

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
Q

Elite theory is a form of…

A

power over

59
Q

What did plato believe in

A

believes that there should be leaders but leaders that lead with wisdom and knowledge

60
Q

Explain “The ideas of ruling class are ruling ideas”

A

The ruling class use their power to determine the dominant ideas of a society

61
Q

Explain class analysis

A

power distributed between unequal classes (bourgeoisie/ proletariat); power derived from ownership of wealth-producing assets in society (means of production)

62
Q

Explain the role of the state according to Class Analysis (3)

A

The state is not neutral, they are there to benefit the elite though
- media
- education
- think tanks

63
Q

What are think tanks

A

interest groups (academics, professors, businessmen, institutions or foundations) that pursue research and analysis to advance a set of values or ideas,

64
Q

What are the types of “power over” (6)

A
  • 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
Q

What did foucault say about power

A

Power flows through discourse as it transmits knowledge (truth regime). It cannot be located

66
Q

Foucault’s theory aligns itself with…

A

“power knowledge”

67
Q

What is non-sovereign power

A

a state which has a head that is not chosen by others that controls discourse based on what is considered true

68
Q

Give examples of non-sovereign powers

A

Before, church (right of god)
Now, science

69
Q

What are natural rights

A

Liberty, Property, Life

Understanding Power (2 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions