Last Chapters Flashcards
Culture of the United States / Sanctity of the individual
The culture of the United States places substantial value on the sanctity of the individual and the importance of democratic decision making.
Politics
Politics refers to the agreements in society over who has the right to exercise control over others, who can establish laws to regulate social life, and how conflicting interests in society will be resolved.
Three main types of modern economic systems / Capitalism
The three main types of modern economic systems are: capitalism, socialism, and mixed economies. The proponents of capitalism argue that these features provide for consumer control over the quantity, quality, and price of goods.
Socialist Economy
Pure Socialist Economies reject the profit motive, recognizing that one person’s profit is another’s loss.
Mixed Economy
Found in England and much of Western Europe, is the mixed economy, in which there are strong elements of both capitalism and socialism
The Power Elite
In the 1950’s, Mills argued that there exists a small group of very powerful people who make just about all the important decisions in the United States.
Violence
Violence is behavior that is intended to bring pain or physical injury to another person or to harm or destroy property.
Collective Violence
Collective violence: organized violence by relatively large groups of people to promote or resist some social policies or practices.
Group Violence
At times, groups have resorted to violence as a means of changing the government or economy.
War
War: a state of armed conflict between different nations or states or different groups within a nation or state.
WMD’s
One of the horrendous legacies of the twentieth century technology has been the emergence of highly frightening and destructive weapons: nuclear, chemical, biological, and toxin weapons.
Terrorism
Terrorism refers to the attempt to achieve political goals by using fear and intimidation to disrupt the normal operations of a society.
