Social Studies 30-2 Diploma Review

John Locke

British liberal thinker who believed in natural rights

social contract

The idea that a contract exists between the government and the people they rule.

natural rights

The concept that, at birth, all humans should have the right to life, liberty, and property.

John Locke

British liberal thinker who promoted the concept of natural rights and a "social contract" between government and the governed

The Harm Principle

The idea that people should be free to do what they like as long as they don't hurt others.

Separation of Powers

Concept that government power should be divided between legislative, executive and judicial branches.

philosphes

Term for thinkers during the Enlightenment.

communism

Collectivist, extreme left-wing ideology

Hyperinflation

a rapid and severe decrease in the purchasing power of a currency

Lenin

First Soviet leader

Bloody Sunday

1905 massacre of protestors outside of the czar's palace.

Karl Marx

Father of communism

Mussolini

Italian dictator, founded fascism

collectivization

Government confiscation of individuals' private lands to form a commonly owned public enterprise

Bolsheviks

Early Russian communists

Hitler

Leader of the German Nazi party during the 1930s & 1940s

oligarchy

Authoritarian rule by a small group of people

dictatorship

Authoritarian rule by a single individual

totalitarianism

Authoritarian rule that imposes itself on most aspects of life

suffrage

the right to vote

scapegoating

Blaming another person or group for your problems

referendum

Term for a binding vote on an issue by all citizens eligble to vote

minority govenment

In the parliamentary system, a government that has the most, but less than half of, the seats in the legislature

First-Past-the-Post system

A voting system in which the person with the most votes wins, regardless of what share of the total vote they received; a simple plurality system

minister

In a parliamentary system, a member of the exective branch who is in charge of a government department

riding

a constituency; the electoral district represented by an elected individual

Governor-General

The monarch's representative in Canada; also Canada's head of state

responsible government

A government where the executive branch must have the support of the majority of the members of the legislative branch to be allowed to govern.

Congress

The term used to describe the US legislative branch (House of Representatives + the Senate)

check and balances

The set of controls that the various US branches of government have over one another.

Keynes

British economist whose theories regarding how to manage an economy became very popular during the 1930s.

deficit

If a government spends more money than it takes in in taxes, it is said to be running a deficit.

recession

This term describes a relatively short period of economic downturn in the business cycle.

fiscal policy

This term describes government policy that controls spending and taxation.

trickle-down economics

Ronald Reagan was a big fan of this kind of economics which he said would see tax breaks for the rich eventually end up benefitting everyone in the economy.

recovery

This term applies to the point in the business cycle where the economy is starting to improve.

executive branch

The branch of government that does the day to day running of government

senate

The upper house in a bicameral legislature.

Supreme Court

The term for highest court in Canada and in the United States (as well as many other countries)

House of Representatives

The lower house in the US's bicameral legislature.

bill

Term for a proposed law.

democracy

Term that means "the people rule"

constitution

The document or set of traditions that set down the the basic structure of government in a country and often, the rights and responsibilities of its citizens.

Berlin Airlift or Berlin Blockade

Term for an incident where East Germany cut off the West's access to Berlin

containment

This term refers to a policy of stopping the spread of communism

Truman Doctrine

President Harry Truman instituted this policy to help any country under threat of turning communist.

brinkmanship

This is the term is used to describe to pushing international crisis to the edge of war.

John F. Kennedy

US president during the Cuban Missile Crisis

detente

This French word is used to describe a reduction of international tensions.

deterrence

This term relates to the idea that having a lot of weapons will discourage a potential enemy from attacking you.

assimilation

This term refers to the concept of absorbing one culture into another so that the first one ceases to exist.

residential schools

Schools run in Canada to with the primary goal of assimilating aboriginals into Western culture.

Marshall Plan

This US program resulted in billions of US dollars flooding in the post-war Europe to ensure that Europeans would not fall under the sway of communism.

Warsaw Pact

This communist collective security alliance was named after the Polish capital.

propaganda

One-sided messages or advertisements produce by government to convince people to adopt a particular point of view.

fascism

An extreme right-wing ideology that promotes ultranationalism, dictatorship and imperialism.

Vietnam War

Asian nation where the US's attempts at containing communism resulted in a military loss for the superpower.

satellite states

Eastern European states under the control of the Soviet Union during the Cold War

domino theory

the political theory that if one nation comes under Communist control then neighboring nations will also come under Communist control

Berlin Wall

a wall separating East and West Berlin built by East Germany in 1961 to keep citizens from escaping to the West

Iron Curtain

Winston Churchill's term for the Cold War division between the Soviet-dominated East and the U.S.-dominated West.

proxy war

The result of one of the two superpowers using other states as substitutes for fighting each other directly; common in the Cold War; conflict in Afghanistan is one example of such a war

monopoly

exclusive control of a commodity or service in a particular market, or a control that makes possible the manipulation of prices

welfare state

a government that undertakes responsibility for the welfare of its citizens through programs in public health and public housing and pensions and unemployment compensation etc.

social safety net

Series of programs that prevents people from living in poverty including things like old age pensions, welfare and medicare

progessive taxation

A tax system where the more money an individual makes, the greater the percentage of their income they pay in taxes.

mixed economy

an economic system where there is free enterprise with government control. A mixed economy combines aspects of market and command economies.

nationalization

Taking an private industry or assets into the public ownership and control of the national government

inflation

a rise in prices and/or a decrease in the value of money

crown corporation

a company owned by the Canadian government

free market

A market with few government restrictions on how a good or service can be produced or sold or on how a factor of production can be employed.

Eurocentric

The tendency to favor European or Western history, culture, and values over other cultures.

FLQ

Front de la Liberation de Quebec (FLQ) A radical separatist organization of the 1960s and early 1970s which was responsible for the October Crisis of 1970. TERRORIST ORGANIZATION.

collective security

agreement by a group of nations to defend the other in case of an attack on any member

detente

French word meaning an easing of tensions between the world's superpowers during the Cold War

domino effect

the fear that if one nation falls to communism, its neighbors will soon follow

isolationism

a policy of nonparticipation in international economic and political relations

sphere of influence

an area or country that is politically and economically dominated by, though not directly governed by, another country

superpower

a state powerful enough to influence events throughout the world

bourgeoisie

Karl Marx's term for capitalists, those who own the means of production

centrally planned economy

economic system in which the central government makes all decisions on the production and consumption of goods and services

democratic socialism

A hybrid economic system in which the individual ownership of businesses is mixed with the state ownership of industries thought essential to the public welfare such as the postal service and the delivery medicine and utilities

Hitler Youth

Organizations set up under Hitler to train an educate German young people in Nazi beliefs

privatization

selling state-owned industries to private investors

New Economic Policy

Policy proclaimed by Vladimir Lenin in 1924 to encourage the revival of the Soviet economy by allowing small private enterprises. Joseph Stalin ended the N.E.P. in 1928 and replaced it with a series of Five-Year Plans. (See also Lenin, Vladimir.) (p. 766)

coalition government

When two or more parties join together to form a majority in a national legislature. This form of government is quite common in the multiparty systems of Europe.

proportional representation

An election system in which each party running receives the proportion of legislative seats corresponding to its proportion of the vote.

direct democracy

A form of government in which citizens rule directly and not through representatives

invisible hand

term economists use to describe the self-regulating nature of the marketplace

Adam Smith

Scottish political economist and philosopher. His Wealth of Nations (1776) laid the foundations of classical free-market economic theory, government should not interfere with economics. Advocates Laissez Faire and founder of "invisible hand"

legislative branch

the branch of government that makes the laws.

judicial branch

The branch of government that interprets laws

plebiscite

a vote by the electorate determining public opinion on a question of national importance

representative democracy

A system of government in which citizens elect representatives, or leaders, to make decisions about the laws for all the people.

rule of law

principle that the law applies to everyone equally, regardless of their wealth, social position, or political power.

suffragette

a woman who advocates voting rights for women

pluralism

a society in which distinct groups function together but retain their identities

left wing

The part of the political spectrum containing ideologies that support varying degrees of social, political, or economic change designed to promote the public welfare

right wing

Term for the part of the political spectrum that, to varying degrees, is characterized by a focus on individualism, achievement is due to personal efforts, traditional social and moral structures, and small government.

classical liberalism

a term given to the philosophy of John Locke and other 17th and 18th century advocates of the protection of individual rights and liberties by limiting government power and government involvement ineconomic matters.