POL 100 - Quiz 1

Flashcards providing vocabulary terms and their definitions based on lectures covering political ideologies, environmentalism, feminism, populism, and political culture.

Political Ideologies

Political ideologies are sets of beliefs and values about how society should work and how power should be used.

Normative

Describes what the world should be like and how to achieve it, based on beliefs and biases.

Political Party Manifesto

A political party manifesto is a document that explains what a party plans to do if it wins an election.

European Enlightenment

The European Enlightenment was a time in the 17th and 18th centuries when people started to use reason, science, and logic instead of religion or tradition to understand the world.

French Revolution (Third Estate)

Refers to the common people who were a minority, taxpayers, and labor providers, initiating the revolution.

Left-Wing

A political stance against traditional views, monarchy, and Church power, advocating for social and economic equality, higher taxes on the rich, universal healthcare, and workers' rights.

Right-Wing

A political stance supporting monarchy, the Church, tradition, and stability, advocating for lower taxes, protecting traditional institutions, a free-market economy, and strong national security.

Political Spectrum

The political spectrum is a way to organize different political beliefs along a line from left to right.

Liberalism

is a political ideology that values freedom, equality, and individual rights.

Rule of Law

The rule of law means that everyone must follow the law, no matter who they are — including the government.

Classical Liberalism

Favors limited government intervention and a free market, emphasizing individual rights to life, liberty, and property, as per John Locke's Social Contract Theory.

John Locke (Social Contract Theory)

A philosopher who proposed that government exists with the people's consent, and humans are naturally equal and free.

Reform Liberalism

Reform liberalism is the belief that the government should step in to help create fairness and equal opportunities, not just protect individual freedoms.

Neo-liberalism

Neoliberalism is the belief that the economy works best with little government interference.

Conservatism

An ideology focused on maintaining order, stability, and tradition, believing in human imperfection, the need for institutions and authority, and valuing hierarchy.

New Right

Combines free-market economics and limited government with a focus on traditional and religious values, often supporting tough laws and law enforcement.

Socialism

Socialism is a political and economic ideology that believes resources and wealth should be shared more equally among people.

Collective Ownership

Collective ownership means that resources, businesses, or property are owned by a group of people instead of by individuals.

Marxism

A theory predicting that capitalism will be replaced by socialism after a revolution led by a disciplined political party, leading to a classless society with collective ownership.

Classless Society

A concept in Marxism where everyone owns everything collectively, eliminating social and economic hierarchies.

Democratic Socialism

Democratic socialism is a political system that combines socialist ideas (like sharing wealth and public services) with democracy (people vote and have political freedoms).

Anarchism

An ideology that views the state as the main source of oppression, advocating for voluntary cooperation, self-governed communities, and the complete elimination of the state and private property.

Fascism/Nationalism

An ideology promoting extreme nationalism, believing inequality is natural, rejecting liberal democracy and communism, demanding total loyalty to the nation, and asserting the state's dominance over individuals.

Neo-Fascist

A neo-fascist is someone who supports modern forms of fascism, often including strong nationalism, strict social control, and opposition to democracy or equality.

Natzism

A specific form of fascism characterized by extreme racial superiority beliefs, aiming to revive the 'Aryan race' and dominate 'inferior' races, particularly targeting Jews, leading to the Holocaust.

Holocaust

The systematic genocide of Jews, led by the Natzi regime, based on racial superiority beliefs.

Environmentalism

An ideology that seeks to change the human relationship with nature to protect it and sustain life, advocating for a shift from anthropocentrism to ecocentrism.

Populism

A political style that divides society into 'the people' vs. 'the elite,' often using simple solutions, appealing to emotions, and framing issues as a crisis; considered a 'thin ideology'.

Patriarchy

A social system in which males hold primary power and predominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege, and control of property.

Feminism

A movement and ideology focused on ending oppression based on gender, aiming to dismantle or change patriarchy and achieve equality.

Bell Hooks

A prominent feminist whose work focuses on the intersection of race, class, and gender in understanding oppression.

Sexual Division of Labour

The historical and social assignment of different tasks and roles to men and women, often seen as 'natural' but challenged by feminists.

Mary Wollstonecraft

An early feminist who, in 'A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792),' argued that women's subordinate position was due to lack of education and opportunity, not nature.

John Stuart Mill

A philosopher who, in 'The Subjection of Women (1869),' called for women's education, rational thought, and equal civil and political rights.

Sojourner Truth

An abolitionist and women's rights advocate whose 1851 speech 'Ain't I a Woman?' highlighted the exclusion and marginalization of Black women in early feminist movements.

First Wave Feminism

Early 20th-century feminist movement primarily focused on gaining basic legal rights for women, such as the right to vote, own property, enter the labor market, and access education, largely for white women.

Second Wave Feminism

Mid-20th-century feminist movement (1960s-1980s) focusing on reproductive rights (contraception, abortion), pay equality, and ending sexual violence.

Third Wave Feminism

Late 20th-century feminist movement (post-1980s) emphasizing intersectionality, sexual liberation, inclusion of trans people, and challenging cisnormative assumptions, recognizing gender as a spectrum.

Intersectionality

Intersectionality is the idea that different parts of a person’s identity — like gender, race, class, and sexuality — combine to shape their experiences of privilege or discrimination.

Liberal Feminism

A type of feminism that focuses on ending discrimination that limits women's opportunities, advocating for equality in education, work, legal/political rights, and challenging 'glass ceilings' through legal reforms.

Glass Ceiling

Invisible barriers to advancement that women (and minorities) face in careers, highlighted by liberal feminism.

Socialist Feminism

Socialist feminism is a branch of feminism that believes gender inequality is linked to economic inequality and that both need to be addressed together.

Radical Feminism

Radical feminism is a branch of feminism that believes society is fundamentally patriarchal, meaning men hold the main power, and that deep social change is needed to achieve equality.

Anthropocentrism

it’s the belief that humans are more important than nature, animals, or the environment.

Ecocentrism

A nature-centered perspective that values the Earth, plants, animals, and humans equally and calls for living in balance with ecosystems.

Sustainable Society

it’s a society that takes care of the environment, uses resources wisely, and treats people fairly so life can continue for a long time.

Reform Environmentalism

Reform environmentalism is the belief that we can protect the environment by improving laws, technology, and policies—not by completely changing society.

Free Market Environmentalism

Argues that private ownership manages resources more sustainably than governments, and that environmental costs should be included in the price of goods.

Deep Ecology

Promotes a sense of oneness with the world, arguing anthropocentrism is the root of environmental harm, and advocating for reduced human population and simpler lifestyles.

Social Ecology

Social ecology is the idea that environmental problems come from social problems, like inequality or domination among people.

Ecofeminism

Links environmentalism with feminism, seeing male dominance (patriarchy) as a root cause of both women's oppression and harm to nature, believing female empowerment can lead to sustainability.

Thin Ideology

A thin ideology is an ideology that has only a few main ideas and needs to be combined with other beliefs to fully explain politics or society.

Left-Wing Populism

Focuses on fighting the wealthy and large corporations, supporting the poor and working class, and advocating for economic equality.

Right-Wing Populism

Right-wing populism is a political approach that claims to represent “the common people” against elites, while often promoting nationalism, strict immigration policies, and traditional values.

Populist Leader

A strong figure who claims to speak for 'the people,' often taking bold actions, ignoring expert advice, and blaming outsiders or elites for problems.

Culture

The shared way of life of a group, including language, customs, and traditions.

Political Culture

the set of beliefs, values, and attitudes people have about politics and government.

Parochial Culture

Parochial culture is when people have little interest or awareness in politics or government and mostly focus on their local or everyday lives.

Subject Culture

A type of political culture where people expect the political system to work but are not very active politically.

Participant Culture

A type of political culture where people actively engage in politics and expect the system to respond to their involvement.

Civic Culture

a type of political culture where people are informed, active, and participate in politics, but also trust the government and cooperate peacefully.

Political Efficacy

The belief that one's political actions can influence government, which tends to be low when public distrust is high.

Political Socialization

The process by which individuals develop their political values and attitudes, influenced by family, peers, schools, media, and other social institutions.

Materialist Values

Materialist values focus on money, security, and physical comfort — things that meet basic needs.

Post-Materialist Values

Post-materialist values are beliefs that focus on quality of life, like freedom, equality, and protecting the environment, instead of just money or basic needs.