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Plsc001 -Chapter 1
Question | Answer |
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capitalism | An economic system in which the means of producing wealth are privately owned and operated to produce profits. |
authoritarianism | A system of government in which the government holds strong powers but is checked by some forces. |
citizens | Those members of the polity who, through birth or naturalization, enjoy the rights, privileges, and responsibilities attached to membership in a given nation. |
civic engagement | Individual and collective actions designed to identify and address issues of public concern. |
consent of the governed | The idea that, in a democracy, the government's power derives from the consent of the people. |
conservatism | An ideology that emphasizes preserving tradition and relying on community and family as mechanisms of continuity in society. |
constitutionalism | Government that is structured by law, and in which the power of government is limited |
democracy | Government in which the supreme power of governance lies in the hands of its citizens. |
direct democracy | A system of government that allows citizens to vote directly to approve or reject proposed public policies or to force an elected official from office before the completion of his or her term |
divine right of kings | The assertion that monarchies, as a manifestation of God's will, could rule absolutely without regard to the will or well-being of their subjects. |
efficacy | Citizens' belief that they have the ability to achieve something desirable and that the government listens to people like them. |
government | The institution that creates and implements policy and laws that guide the conduct of the nation and its citizens. |
indirect democracy | Sometimes called a representative democracy; a system in which citizens elect representatives who decide policies on behalf of their constituents. |
legitimacy | A quality conferred on government by citizens who believe that its exercise of power is right and proper. |
liberalism | An ideology that advocates change in the social, political, and economic realms to better protect the well-being of individuals and to produce equality within society. |
libertarianism | An ideology whose advocates believe that government should take a "hands off" approach in most matters. |
liberty | The most essential quality of American democracy; it is both the freedom from governmental interference in citizens' lives and the freedom to pursue happiness. |
limited government | Government that is restricted in what it can do so that the rights of the people are protected. |
majority rule | The idea that in a democracy, only policies with 50 percent plus one vote are enacted, and only candidates that win 50 percent plus one vote are elected. |
monarchy | A government in which a member of a royal family, usually a king or queen, has absolute authority over a territory and its government. |
natural law | The assertion that standards that govern human behavior are derived from the nature of humans themselves and can be universally applied. |
naturalization | Becoming a citizen by means other than birth, as in the case of immigrants. |
neoconservatives | An ideology that advocates military over diplomatic solutions in foreign policy and is less concerned with restraining government activity in domestic politics than traditional conservatives |
oligarchy | A government in which an elite few hold power. |
political culture | The people's collective beliefs and attitudes about government and political processes. |
political engagement | Citizen actions that are intended to solve public problems through political means |
political ideology | An integrated system of ideas or beliefs about political values in general and the role of government in particular. |
politics | The process of deciding who gets benefits in society and who is excluded from benefiting. |
popular sovereignty | The theory that government is created by the people and depends on the people for the authority to rule. |
property | Anything that can be owned. |
public goods | Services governments provide that are available to everyone, like clean air, clean water, airport security, and highways. |
social contract | An agreement between the people and their leaders in which the people agree to give up some liberties so that their other liberties are protected. |
social contract theory | The idea that individuals possess free will, and every individual is equally endowed with the God-given right of self-determination and the ability to consent to be governed. |
socialism | An ideology that advocates economic equality, theoretically achieved by having the government or workers own the means of production (businesses and industry). |
totalitarianism | A system of government in which the government essentially controls every aspect of people's lives. |