POLI 201: American Government - Chapter 1

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms, political philosophies, economic systems, and theories of government discussed in Chapter 1 of the POLI 201 lecture notes.

Government

The means by which a society organizes itself and allocates authority to accomplish collective goals.

Politics

The process by which we decide how resources will be allocated and which policies government will pursue.

Political Power

Influence over a government’s institutions, leadership, or policies.

Democracy

A form of government where political power rests in the hands of the people, supporting individualism and freedom of choice.

John Locke

An English philosopher of the $17\text{th}$ century who believed all people have natural rights to life, liberty, and property, and should govern themselves through elected representatives.

Adam Smith

A Scottish philosopher who believed people should be free to obtain property, work as they please, and keep the earnings of their work through competition.

Socialism

An economic system where the means of generating wealth, such as factories and banks, are owned by the government and redistributed to citizens through social programs.

Oligarchy

A form of government where only members of a certain political party or ruling elite can participate, such as in China where the government is run by the Chinese Communist Party.

Monarchy

A form of government where one ruler, usually a hereditary one, holds political power.

Private goods

Goods provided by private businesses that can be used only by those who pay for them, such as food, clothing, and housing.

Public goods

Goods provided by the government that are available to all without charge and funded by taxes, such as national security and public education.

Toll good

A good available to many people but used only by those who can pay the price, serving as a middle ground between public and private goods, such as private schools.

Non-rivalrous

A condition where the consumption or use of a good by one person does not reduce its availability or utility to another person.

Excludable

A characteristic of goods where not everyone has access, often because only those who pay for the good or service may use it.

Non-excludable

A characteristic of goods where all people have access, no one is excluded, and the good is usually provided without charge.

Rivalrous

A characteristic of goods where only one person can use the good or service at any given time.

Common goods

Goods that all people may use free of charge but are of limited supply, such as clean drinking water or fish in the ocean.

Direct democracy

A type of government where people participate directly in making decisions, such as when all male citizens in ancient Greece met to debate and vote on laws.

Representative democracy

A form of government where voters elect representatives to make decisions and pass laws on behalf of all the people.

Majority rule

A fundamental principle of democracy stating that the majority should have the power to make decisions binding upon the whole.

Minority rights

Protections for those who are not part of the majority, ensuring certain rights cannot be deprived even if a large majority believes they should be.

Elite theory

The theory that a set of elite citizens is really in charge of the United States government and that others have no influence.

Pluralist theory

The theory that political power rests with competing interest groups, such as unions or environmentalists, who share influence in government.

Civic engagement

The participation that connects citizens to government.

Robert Putnam

A political scientist who argued that civic engagement is declining as people become more interested in working independently or joining large, impersonal groups.

Partisanship

The tendency to identify with and support, often blindly, a particular political party.