Glossary of Terms

Question 1

A person whose racial group has inhabited a particular geographic region since before recorded history.

Answer 1

Aboriginal/Indigenous

Question 2

A system designed to intercept and destroy incoming ballistic missiles before they can reach their targets.

Answer 2

antiballistic missile system

Question 3

A list of the rights and freedoms considered essential in a nation. Bills of rights often form part of a nation’s constitution.

Answer 3

bill of rights

Question 4

Alternating periods of economic prosperity (boom) and depression (bust); also known as the economic or business cycle.

Answer 4

boom-bust cycle

Question 5

A refusal to conduct business with a particular person, business, nation, or other such entity.

Answer 5

boycott

Question 6

A military or political ploy in which a nation deliberately moves to the brink of open warfare in order to intimidate an opponent.

Answer 6

brinkmanship

Question 7

An act of protest in which a person or group deliberately breaks a law in order to highlight an injustice. This is nonviolent, and protesters are generally careful to avoid escalation.

Answer 7

civil disobedience

Question 8

A liberty that protects citizens from unwarranted government interference. _______ are the core liberal freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of the press, etc.

Answer 8

civil liberty

Question 9

A broad ideology in which individual rights and freedoms are secondary to the good of the community as a whole.

Answer 9

collectivism

Question 10

An economy that is thoroughly controlled by the state.

Answer 10

command economy

Question 11

The ideal of the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

Answer 11

common good

Question 12

Any property held in common by a collective or commune.

Answer 12

communal property

Question 13

A radical form of socialism in which the means of production are controlled by small collective units, or communes.

Answer 13

communism

Question 14

A camp in which people of a common race, ethnicity, religion, or other such factor are grouped together. Since the Second World War, _______________ are frequently associated with death camps, in which the purpose is to murder those gathered in the camp.

Answer 14

concentration camp

Question 15

A nation’s foundational code of laws and principles of government.

Answer 15

constitution

Question 16

The common patterns of behaviour and modes of expression of a society.

Answer 16

culture

Question 17

An easing of tensions; in the context of the Cold War, the period lasting from the beginning of the Nixon administration (1969) to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1979).

Answer 17

détente

Question 18

An ideology that opposes the harm or abuse of natural ecosystems.

Answer 18

environmentalism

Question 19

The legal ability to vote.

Answer 19

franchise

Question 20

Canada’s formal head of state and representative of the British monarch; the __________________ assents to the recommendations of Parliament or the prime minister, except in rare cases.

Answer 20

Governor General

Question 21

In Canada, the lower house of Parliament. Its membership comprises elected members of Parliament and includes the prime minister and his or her cabinet.

Answer 21

House of Commons

Question 22

A situation in which people are unable to obtain or maintain the basic necessities of life.

Answer 22

humanitarian crisis

Question 23

A collection of ideas and beliefs, generally relating to politics, society, and economics.

Answer 23

ideology

Question 24

A broad ideology in which the rights and freedoms of individuals are of primary importance.

Answer 24

individualism

Question 25

The period in which a society moves toward machine-assisted agriculture, manufacturing, and transportation.

Answer 25

industrialism

Question 26

The imprisonment of a group of people who have not been convicted of a crime; these people are generally interned because they are deemed a threat.

Answer 26

internment

Question 27

Adam Smith’s term for the unintentional and beneficial consequences of self-interest.

Answer 27

invisible hand

Question 28

In the Soviet Union, a class of rich peasants created under Lenin’s New Economic Policy.

Answer 28

kulaks

Question 29

An economic stance that opposes any government interference in the economy.

Answer 29

laissez-faire