V2 general Vocabulary Flashcards
Elite democracy
a model of democracy in which a small number of people, usually those who are wealthy and well-educated, influence political decision making
pluralistic democracy
a model of democracy in which no one group dominates politics an organized groups compete with each other to influence policy
participartory democracy
a model of democracy in which citizens have the power to make policy decisions. this model of democracy emphasizes the broad participation of people in politics. However, this is not a direct democracy, in which citizens are directly responsible for making policy decions
popular sovereignty
government by the people
republicanism
governing through elected representatives
individualism
the belief that individuals should be left on their own by the government
limited government
having rules or definied processes for government
rule of law
everyone must follow the law
natural rights/natural law
rights inherent in human beings, not dependent of governments, which include life, liberty, and propertyt
social contract
the authority to rule is granted to the government by the people who make a contract with the government
equality of opportunity
the idea that each person is gurananteed the same chance to succeed in life
judicial review
the power of the courts to review court decisions and actions of the government to see if their consitutional
judicial activism
the philosophy that the supreme court should play an active role in shaping national policies by addressing social and political issues
judicial restraint
philosophy proposing that judges should interpret the constitution to reflect what the framers intended and what its words literally say
stare decisis
the use of precedents to make rulings
selective incoporation
expanding the scope of a right in the bill of rights to include state laws
ex post facto law
a legislative act that makes a particular act illegal and punishes people who committed that crime before the law was passed
bill of attainder
a legislative act that singles out an individual or group for punishment without a trial
de jure segregation
segregation by law
de facto segregation
segregation by custom
exclusionary rule
prevents the government from using most evidence gathered in violation of the United States Consitution
monetary policy
government policy that attempts to manage the economy by controlling the money supply and thus interest rates
gerrymandering
a practice intended to establish a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating district boundaries
fiscal policy
government policy that attempts to manage the economy by controlling taxing and spending
Keynesian economics
the belief the government must manage the economy by spending more money when in a recession and cutting spending when there is inflation
supply-side economics
the belief that lower taxes and fewer regulations will stimulate the economy
mandatory spending
Government spending on certain programs that are mandated by law
discretionary spending
government spending authorized yearly through congressional appropriation
precedent
an earlier decision that influences later decisions
