test two Flashcards
what are the political attitudes?
radicals, liberals, conservatives, reactionaries
what are radicals?
they believe in large institutional change
what are liberals?
they prefer change within institutions
what are conservatives?
they are skeptical of change and favor the status quo
what are reactionaries?
they seek to restore political, economic, and social institutions (real or imaginary)
what are the political ideologies?
liberalism, communism, social democracy, fascism, and anarchism
liberalism works towards
individual freedom
communism works towards
economic and social equality
social democracy works towards
balance of freedom and equality
fascism works towards
advancement of a superior group or race
anarchism works toward
elimination of state power
what is the market?
interactions between the forces of supply and demand, and the allocation of resources through these interactions
what are characteristics of private goods?
- possible to exclude others from consuming
- consumption reduces availability
- markets are effective at providing private goods
what are characteristics of public goods?
- impossible to exclude others from consuming
- consumption does not reduce availability
- markets are considered bad at providing public goods
how do states interfere in the economy?
- public expenditures
- taxation
- creating and regulating money
- regulating domestic markets
- regulating international trade
what are public expenditures?
the state’s provision of public benefits, such as education, health care, security and transportation. commonly called welfare.
what are the advantages of public expenditures?
- provides care to those who need it most
- insurance against economic downturns
what are the disadvantages of public expenditures?
- may discourage people from seeking work
- costly for governments to maintain
what is inflation?
increase in prices
how do states try to control inflation?
increased interest rates
how do states regulate international trade?
- tariffs
- quotas
- non-tariff regulatory barriers
- capital controls
what are tariffs?
a tax on a foreign good that is not applied to an otherwise similar domestic good
what is a quota?
a limit on the number of certain foreign goods that can be purchased
what is a non-tariff regulatory barrier?
health, packaging, or other restrictions that make it more difficult for foreign goods to sell in local markets
what is capital controls?
a limit on the amount of money that can be moved across national borders
how do states regulate domestic markets?
- health and safety rules
- employee protections
- bans on some commerce
- production techniques
what are the advantages of regulation in market?
- generate state revenue
- foster local industry
- protect local jobs
- keep wealth within the country
what are the advantages of free trade in market?
- promote competition
- keep costs of goods low
- stimulate domestic innovation in areas of comparative advantage
what is the political-economic system?
relationship between political and economic institutions in a particular country and the policy and outcomes they create
what are the four competing ideas of a political economic system?
liberalism, communism, social democracy, and mercantilism
what are the characteristics of liberalism?
- places emphasis of individual economic freedom rather than economic equality
- minimal state intervention to support free market
- protect private property
- enforce contracts
- breakup monopolies
- allocation of public goods only in critical areas
what are characteristics of social democracy?
- seeks to balance freedom and equality
- state plays an active role in shaping markets
- strong protections for private property
- free trade but state supported industries
- significant redistribution of wealth
- neocorporatist institutions
what are neocorporatist institutions?
possess close relations between business, trade unions, and state
what are characteristics of communism?
- a rare system
- eliminate private property for the means of production to achieve equality
- active state intervention
- nationalized industry under heavy bureaucratic control
- little or no private property
- massive redistribution of wealth
- trade is regulated
what are characteristics of merchantilism?
- maximize state wealth to increase state power
- active role for state
- foreign influence is limited
- critics label it as state corporatism and cronyism
- supporters refer to it as government-business collaboration or pro-business state
what is GDP?
the total value of goods and services produced in a country in a year
what is the gini index?
it measures inequality, income distribution over population. the lower the gini score, the more equal a society
what is purchasing power parity?
you calculate this to improve comparability of GDP
what is GDP per capita?
GDP divided by the countries population
what are some features of democracy?
participation, competition, liberty, democratic institutions
what is a direct democracy?
making decisions by voting in an assembly; referendum
what is an indirect democracy?
electing officials to represent public interests in the legislature
why do some countries become a democracy?
modernization, elites, civil society, international relations, political culture
what is modernization?
as societies modernize economically…
- a middle class emerges
- old traditions of authority and hierarchy weaken
- new values emerge
what is the evidence of modernization?
most democracies are wealthy countries
what are elites?
- main idea is that distributions of wealth and power matter
- when the state controls wealth, those in power are unlikely to give up control of the state
when will elites choose democracy?
- means they can keep their wealth
- wins them more international support
- protects their assets from seizure
what is a civil society?
- main idea is the public will be better able to push reform if there is a strong civil society
- public engagement in various forms of associations
- may include political and non political associations
what is international relations?
main idea is international actors can play a direct or indirect role in promoting democracy
what is the executive branch?
branch of government that carries out (implements) laws and policies of the state
what is the head of state?
symbolic figure that sometimes carries out International affairs
what is the head of government?
runs the state and leads the government, makes national policies, directs officers and ministers
what is the rule of law?
all individuals and groups, including those in government, are subject to the law irrespective of their power or authority
what is a legislature?
the branch of government that makes laws
what is unicameral legislature?
common in small, homogenous countries
what is bicameral legislature?
common in larger, more diverse countries
what is tricameral legislature?
existed throughout history but there are none today. often, each chamber would represent a different social class
what is a political party?
a political organization subscribing to a certain ideology or formed around very special issues with the purpose to gain political power
what are the functions of political parties?
- structure electoral choices
- organize and mobilize campaigns
- aggregate political interests
- channel communication
- select candidates
- organize government
