Unit 1 Key Terms Flashcards
State of being equal in status, rights and opportunity
Equality
Power to act, speak and think as one wants without restraint
Freedom
Legal designation of the ownership of property by nongovernment legal entities
Private property
Fair behavior/treatment
Justice
Legal right and power to give orders and enforce rules
Authority
Institutions and officials organized to establish and carry out public policy
Government
The ability to cause others to behave as they might not otherwise choose to do
Power
The quality of being accepted as an authority often applied to laws or those in power
Legitimacy
Product or service available for all people to consume whether they pay or not
Public goods
Independent state, especially one in which people share common culture
Nation-state
Right to exercise supreme authority over geographic region, group of people or oneself
Sovereignty
Process and method of making decisions for groups, generally applied to governments although also seen in human interactions
Politics
Established organization, especially one providing public service and rules that guide it
Institutions
System of government in which citizens express supreme power, acting either directly or through elected officials
Democracy
System of government in which a single ruler expresses supreme power based on heredity or divine right
Monarchy
System of government in which a single person or group excercises extreme power by controlling military and police
Dictatorship
System that relies on mainly markets to determine what goods and services to produce and how to do so
Market economy
System in which decisions about what to produce and how are made on the basis of customs, beliefs and traditions
Traditional economy
Nation in which supreme power rests with the citizens and is exercised by their elected representatives
Republic
Legislative assembly in which elected representatives debate and vote on proposed laws
Parliament