unit 4 vocab: ap gov Flashcards
Conservative
a person favoring free enterprise, private ownership, and socially traditional ideas
Liberal
a supporter of a political and social philosophy that promotes individual rights, civil liberties, democracy, and free enterprise.
Moderate
a person who holds moderate views, especially in politics
Political ideology
a certain set of ethical ideals, principles
Baby Boomer
people born from 1946 to 1964, during the mid-20th century baby boom
Millennial
Anyone born between 1981 and 1996
Gen x
the generation of Americans born between 1965 and 1980
Silent generation
also known as the Veterans, the Silent Generation, and the Greatest Generation—is comprised of men and women born between 1922 and 1945.
Poll
record the opinion or vote of
Exit poll
a poll of people leaving a polling place, asking how they voted
Presidential approval rating
given to a politician based on responses to a poll in which a sample of people are asked whether they approve or disapprove of that particular political figure.
Political spectrum
a system to characterize and classify different political positions in relation to one another
Libertarian
seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state’s encroachment on and violations of individual liberties; emphasizing the rule of law
Majoritarian politics
a majority class ruling over a minority class, while not referring to the decision process called majority rule
interest group(pluralism) politics
Groups of individuals try to maximize their interests. Lines of conflict are multiple and shifting as power is a continuous bargaining process between competing groups.
Iron Triangle
idea that committees in the House and Senate, federal departments and agencies, and think tanks and interest groups all work together to develop and conserve their own power, and expand their political influence
Entitlement spending
Entitlements refer to those programs that make up the major component of mandatory spending in the federal budget. They include Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, defense spending, Net Interest, other tested programs
Mandatory spending
mandated by existing laws.
Discretionary spending
money formally approved by Congress and the President during the appropriations process each year
CONSERVATIVE
NO CHANGE
LIBERAL
CHANGE
Core Values
RICLE
- rule of law
- individualism
- capitalism
- limited government
- equality of opportunity
Liberal or Conservative?
Government should be used to connect the inequalities in society
Liberal (we’ll help)
Liberal or Conservative?
Personal responsibilities will create opportunity
Conservative (do it yourself)
Political Socialization
The process of obtaining political beliefs and experiences that make up your opinions
Family is the greatest…
influence on political socialization
Equality of opportunity party views
Conservatives: can’t be guaranteed but exists
Liberals: doesn’t exist and government needs to remove barriers to opportunity
Individualism party views
Conservatives: Independence protected FROM the government
Liberals:
Independence protected BY the government
Capitalism (free enterprise) party views
Conservatives: Laissez faire, (hands off) market regulates itself (invisible hand)
Liberals: Some regulation is necessary (min. wage, environment)
Rule of Law party views
Conservatives: law and order; do the crime, do the time
Liberals: tend to focus on Due Process of law
Limited government party views
Conservatives: law and order at the cost of some liberties
Liberals: Liberty and freedom at the cost of some order
Rule of Law
nobody is above law, including the government
Generational Effects
historical events experienced that shape one’s political views (ex: depression, 9/11, ww1 and ww2)
Life Cycle Effects
a person’s age and stage in life (recent college grad vs. recently retired)
Old people
- great depression
- supported New Deal
- fear of nuclear war
- vietnam war and controversial draft
- political trust broken
young people
- 9/11
- supported safety laws
- war in Iran and Afghanistan
- HUGE political polarization
Measuring Public Opinion
president approval ratings (affected by economy, crisis, war, etc)
“loaded language” can lead to …
bias
push polling
broadcasting negative information about an opponent, then a poll
Opinion saliency
caring and not caring is reflected
random sampling
all respondents must have the same chance of being selected
stratified sampling
ensures different demographics are represented
ideology
a set of comprehensive and shared belief system
valence issues
views SIMILARly
wedge issues
issues that DIVIDE us (ex: abortion, guns)
saliency
very important to ONE group
Fiscal Policy
SPEND or TAX
(done by Congress or President, power of the purse)
3 goals on government spending/taxing on the economy
1) limit inflation ($ = less value)
2) reduce unemployment
3) grow the economy
inflation
continued increase in price level –> everyone is buying
recession (opposite of inflation)
continued reduction in GDP –> no one is buying
Expansionary Policy
Needed in order to grow the economy during RECESSION
- reduce taxes, increase spending
- very political
Keynesian
government should SPEND in order to stimulate the economy
preferred by democrats
Trickle Down/ Supply Slide
federal government should not spend to end recession, instead reduce taxes so that more becomes available (reduce taxes for the rich who can create jobs for the poor)
preferred by republicans
Monetary Policy
Carried out by Federal Reserve Board
Control money by
- adjusting interest rates
- adjusting the reserve requirement
- open market operations (bonds)
Liberals support …
- social welfare programs
- bigger government
- taxing the rich
- protection of privacy
- free school
Conservatives support …
- skeptical of new spending on social welfare programs
- giving photo ID when voting
- small government: STATE approach
- any school, even if religious
Religion regarding parties…
Liberals support restrictions on religious activities
Conservatives appose restrictions on religious activities
partisanship
Strong allegiance to one’s own political party, often leading to unwillingness to compromise with members of the opposing party
margin of error
the range in which the results of the poll/survey can have accurate results.
benchmark poll
taken before or just after a candidate announces. (where they stand with voters, their strengths/weaknesses, what type of voter they are)
exit poll
polls conducted as voters leave selected polling places on Election Day; help media outlets predict outcomes of elections before results are finalized.
to reduce inflation…
decrease money supply (raising interest rates)
to reduce unemployment…
increase money supple (lowering interest rates)
