Chapter One Terms Flashcards
(32 cards)
Institution
An ongoing organization that performs certain functions for society.
Social Conflict
Disagreements among people in a society over what the society’s priorities should be.
Politics
The process of resolving conflicts over how society should use its scarce resources and who should receive various benefits, such as public health care and public higher education.
Government
The individuals and institutions that make society’s rules and possess the power and authority to enforce those rules.
Power
The ability to influence the behavior of others, usually through the use of force, persuasion. or rewards
Authority
The ability to legitimately exercise power, such as the power to make and enforce laws.
Public Services
Essential services that individuals cannot provide for themselves, such as building and maintaining roads, establishing welfare programs, operating public schools, and preserving national parks.
Autocracy
A form of government in which the power and authority of the government are in the hands of a single person
Monarchy
A form of autocracy in which a king, queen, or other aristocrat is the highest authority in the government. Monarchs usually obtain their power through inheritance.
Divine Right Theory
The theory that a monarch’s right to rule was derived directly from God rather than from the content of the people.
Dictatorship
A form of government in which absolute power is exercised by an individual or group whose power is not supported by tradition.
Democracy
A system of government in which the people have ultimate political authority. The word is derived from the Greek demos (“the people”) and kratia (“rule”).
Direct Democracy
A system of government in which political decisions are made by the people themselves rather than by elected representatives. This form of government was practiced in some parts of ancient Greece.
Representative Democracy
A form of democracy in which the will of the majority is expressed through groups of individuals elected by the people to act as their representatives.
Republic
Essentially, a representative system in which there is no king or queen and the people are sovereign.
Parliament
The national legislative body in countries governed by a parliamentary system, such as Britain and Canada.
Limited Government
A form of government based on the principle that the powers of government should be clearly limited either through a written document or through a wide public understanding.
Social Contract
A voluntary agreement among individuals to create a government and to give that government adequate power to secure the mutual protection and welfare of all individuals.
Natural Rights
Rights that are not bestowed by governments but are inherent within every man, woman, and child by virtue of the fact that he or she is a human being.
Political Culture
The set of ideas, values, and attitudes about government and the political process held by a community or a nation.
Liberty
The freedom of individuals to believe, act, and express themselves as they choose so long as doing so does not infringe on the rights of individuals in the society.
Equality
A concept that holds, at a minimum, that all people are entitled to equal protection under the law.
Capitalism
An economic system based on the private ownership of wealth-producing property, free markets, and freedom of contract. The privately-owned corporation is the preeminent capitalist institution.
Working Class
Today, persons with no more than a high school diploma. Formerly, families in which the head of household was employed in manual or unskilled labor.
