Final Study Guide
49 Cards in this Set
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Government
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The legitimate use of force to control human behavior; also, the organization or agency authorized to exercise that force
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National Sovereignty
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A political entity's externally recognized right to exercise final authority over its affairs
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Order
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Established ways of social behavior. maintaining order is the oldest purpose of government
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Communism
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A complex theory that gives ownership of all land and productive facilities to the people-in effect, to the government
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Public goods
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Benefits and services that benefit all citizens but are not likely to be produced voluntarily by individuals
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Police power
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The authority of government to maintain order and safe guard citizens' safety, health, welfare, and morals.
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Political equality
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Equality in political decision making: one vote per person, with all votes counting equally
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Social equality
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Equality of wealth, education, and status
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Equality of opportunity
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The idea that each person is guaranteed the same chance to succeed in life
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Equality of outcome
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The concept that society must ensure that people are equal, and governments must design policies to redistribute wealth and status to achieve economic and social equality
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Rights
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The benefits of government to which every citizen is entitled
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Political ideology
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A consistant set of values and beliefs about the proper purpose and scope of government
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Totalitarianism
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A political philosophy that advocates unlimited power for the government to enable it to control all sectors of society
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Socialism
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A form of rule in which the central government plays a strong role in regulating existing private industry and regulating the economy, although it does allow some private ownership of productive capacity
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Democratic socialism
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A socialist form of government that guarantees civil liberities such as freedom of speech and religion. Citizens determine the extent of government activity through free elections and competitive political parties
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Captialism
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The system of government that favors free enterprise (privately owned businesses operating without government regulation).
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Libertarianism
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A political ideology that is opposed to all government action except as necessary to protect life and property
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Laissez faire
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An economic doctrine that opposes any form of government intervention in business
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Anarchism
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A political philosophy that opposes government in any form
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Liberals
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Those who are willing to use government to promote equality but not order
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Conservatives
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Those who are willing to use government to promote order but not equality
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Libertarians
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Those who are opposed to using government to promote either order or equality
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Communitarians
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Those who are willing to use government to promote both order and equality
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Democracy
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A system of government which, in theory, the people rule, either directly or indirectly
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Procedural democratic theory
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A view of democracy as being embodied in a decision-making process that involved universal participation, majority rule, political equality, and responsiveness
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Universal participation
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The concept that everyone in a democracy should participate in governmental decision making
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Majority rule
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The principle-basic to procedural democratic theory-that the decision of a group must reflect the preference of more than half of those participating; a simple majority
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Plurality rule
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The group should do what the largest group wants, even if fewer than half of those involved hold that view
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Participatory democracy
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A system of government where rank-and-file citizens rule themselves rather than electing representatives to govern on their behalf
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Representative democracy
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A system of government where citizens elect public officials to govern on their behalf
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Responsiveness
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A decision making principle, necessitated by representative government, that implies that elected representatives should do what the majority of people wants
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Four principles of procedural democracy
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Universal participation
Political equality
Majority rule
Government responsiveness to public opinion
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Substantive democratic theory
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Substantive democratic theory
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Minority rights
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The benefits of government that cannot be denied to any citizens by majority decisions
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Majoritarian model of democracy
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The classical theory of democracy in which government by the people is interpreted as government by the majority of the people
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Interest group
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An organized group of individuals that seeks to influence public policy
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Pluralist model of democracy
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An interpretation of democracy in which government by the people is taken to mean government by people operating through competing interest groups
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Elite theory
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The view that a small group of people actually makes most of the important government decisions
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Oligarchy
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A system of government in which power is concentrated in the hands of a few people
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Democratization
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A proces of transition as a country attempts to move from an authoritarian form of government to a democratic one
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Social contract theory
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The belief that the people agree to set up rules for certain purposes and thus have the right to resist or remove rulers to act against those purposes
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Republic
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A government without a monarch, a government rooted in the consent of the governed, whose power is exercised by elected representatives responsible to the governed.
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Confederation
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A loose association of independent states that agree to cooperate on specified matters
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Virginia Plan
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A set of proposals for a new government, submitted to the Constitutional Convention of 1787; including separation of powers, bicameral legislation, and proportional representation in the legislature
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New Jersey Plan
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Submitted by the head of the New Jersey delegation to the Constitutional Convention, a set of 9 resolutions that would have amended the Art. of Con. instead of replacing them
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Great Compromise
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Also the Connecticut Compromise, calls for bicameral legislation, HoR apportioned to population, Senate gets equal representation
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Republicanism
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A form of government in which power resides in the people and is exercised by their elected representatives
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Federalism
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The division of power between a central government and regional governments
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Enumerated powers
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The powers explicitly granted to Congress by the Constitution
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