Key Concepts in Social Studies and Political Ideologies

Aboriginal Healing Fund

An Aboriginal-managed, Ottawa-based, not-for-profit private corporation with the mission to help Aboriginal people build healing processes that address the legacy of abuses such as the residential school system.

Adherence to collective norms

Faithful observance of the norms or standards imposed on members of a group as a condition of membership in the group. These norms can relate to conduct, values, or appearance.

Age of Reason

An intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries when classical liberalism spread through Europe and changed some people's beliefs about religion, reason, nature, and human beings.

Alignment

An alliance or agreement. During the Cold War, some countries aligned themselves with the United States or the Soviet Union to gain political, economic, and security benefits.

American Bill of Rights

The first 10 amendments to the US Constitution. Ratified by the original 13 states by 1791, it is based primarily on John Locke's concept of 'natural rights' for all individuals, including life, liberty, and the protection of property.

Anti-Terrorism Act

A set of laws passed in December 2001, in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks. It gave the Canadian government special powers, such as surveillance and detention, for dealing with people carrying out activities thought to be associated with terrorism.

Anti-war movements

Organized campaigns against war. The Vietnam anti-war movement gained public support during the late 1940's and contributed to the US ending that war.

Apartheid

A strict, legislated system of racial segregation and discrimination against Black and other 'colored' South Africans set in place by the National Party of South Africa from 1948 to 1994.

Assimilation

The process by which a minority culture adopts a dominant culture and is absorbed into it. It often involves the loss of language.

Autarky

Self-sufficiency or independence from other countries. During the 1930's the German government worked to achieve autarky in the country's economy.

Authoritarianism

A form of government with authority vested in an elite group that may or may not rule in the interests of the people.

Autonomy

A state of individual freedom from outside authority.

Bank run(s)

A situation in which too many depositors try to withdraw their savings from a financial institution, causing it to go bankrupt.

Beliefs and Values

Important aspects of identity that influence behavior and choices, and that guide people in their interactions with others and how they view the world.

Boycott

A refusal to do business with or to associate with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest.

Brinkmanship

International behavior or foreign policy that takes a country to the brink of war; pushing one's demands to the point of threatening military action.

Burke, Edmund

An English political philosopher who is often seen as laying the foundations of modern conservatism.

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

A document entrenched in the Constitutional Act, 1982 that lists and describes the fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed to Canadians.

Capital

The money or other assets with which an entrepreneur starts in business; any tool or mechanism used in the creation of wealth.

Capitalism (laissez-faire capitalism)

An economic system based on free markets, fair competition, wise consumers, and profit-motivated producers; a minimum of government intervention is favoured.

Censorship

The act of restricting freedom of expression or freedom of access to ideas or works, usually by governments, and usually to protect the perceived common good; may be related to speech, writings, works of art, religious practices, or military matters.

Chartism

A working-class movement in Britain that focused on political and social reform from 1838 to 1848.

Christian Right

A term used to describe a coalition of conservative groups in the United States (and other liberal democracies) that focuses on applying specific Christian beliefs to public policy.

Citizen Advocacy

A movement to strengthen citizen action and motivation to participate in community and civic affairs; often focuses on bringing the marginalized back into the community.

Citizenship

Membership by birth or naturalization in a society, community, or country that entails definable rights of participation and protection, and certain responsibilities and duties to the society, community, or country.

Civil disobedience

The refusal to obey a law because it is considered to be unjust; a form of non-violent political protest.

Civility

Thoughtfulness about how our actions may affect others; based on the recognition that human beings live together.

Civil rights movements

Popular movements, notably in the US in the 1950's and 1960's, that work to extend rights to marginalized members of society.

Classical Conservatism

An ideology that says government should represent the legacy of the past as well as the well-being of the present, and that society should be structured in a hierarchical fashion.

Classical Liberalism

Involves no government interference (hands-off), proposes that the sole function of government is to protect individual's natural rights to life, liberty, and property.

Class System

The division of a society into different classes of people, usually based on income or wealth.

Climate Change

The change in global weather patterns.

Cold War

The political, economic, and social struggle between the Soviet Union and its allies, and the US and its allies, conducted using propaganda, economic measures, and espionage rather than military means.

Collective identity

The identity that you share with other people as a member of a larger social group, such as a linguistic, faith, cultural, or ethnic group.

Collective interest

The set of interests that members of a group have in common.

Collective responsibility

Holding a whole group or collective responsible for the actions of individuals (or individual groups) within the group or collective.

Collectivism

A current of thinking that values the goals of the group and the common good over the goals of any one individual.

Collectivization

A current of thinking that values the goals of the group and the common good over the goals of any one individual.

Command Economy

An economic system based on public (state) ownership of property in which government planners decide which goods to produce, how to produce them, and how they should be distributed.

Common good

The good of the community; something that benefits the public health, safety, and/or well-being of society as a whole.

Communism

A system of society with property vested in the community and each member working for the common benefit according to his or her capacity and receiving according to his or her needs.

Competition

The act or an instance of competing or contending with others (for example, for supremacy, a position, or a prize).

Comprehensive Land Claims

In the Canadian system, which are based on the Aboriginal rights recognized by section 25 of the Charter and section 35 of the Constitution Act of 1982, and involve territory issues which are not yet affected by any existing treaty of other legal agreement.

Conscientious objection

The refusal to perform military service on moral or religious grounds.

Consensus Decision Making

A process whereby a group of individuals share ideas, solutions, and concerns to find a resolution to a problem that all members of the group can accept.

Consumerism

Consumer spending; a preoccupation with consumer goods and their acquisition; a set of values focused on the acquisition and display of things in order to denote status.

Containment

The American Cold War foreign policy of containing the spread of communism by establishing strategic allies around the world through trade and military alliances.

Co-operation

Working together to the same end: a principle emphasized by collectivist ideologies.

Deficit

A deficiency; an excess of liabilities or expenditures over income or assets in a given period. Deficit spending by a government is spending that is financed by borrowing and may occur in order to 'kick-start' a stagnant economy.

Democracy

A form of government in which power is ultimately vested in the people.

Détente

A period of the Cold War during which the major powers tried to lessen the tensions between them through diplomacy, arms talks and reductions, and cultural exchanges.

Deterrence

The Cold War foreign policy of both major powers aiming to deter the strategic advances of the other through arms development and arms buildup.

Dictatorship of the proletariat

The theoretical organization of a communist society in the early stage of communism. The centralized government of the state, which would be elected by the workers, would control all aspects of life.

Direct Democracy

A form of government in which the people participate in deciding issues directly.

Dissent

The political act of disagreeing; the right to disagree.

Draft

Conscription or compulsory military service.

Draft Dodger

Someone who avoids conscription or compulsory military service, usually by fleeing to another country.

Drought

A severe lack of precipitation in a given area, which often affects crops.

Dust Bowl

The regions of the Canadian Prairies and the Great Plains of the US that were devastated by the drought and dust storms of the 1930's.

Economic equality

A principle common to collectivist ideologies which can have different meanings depending on the person or the ideology.

Economic freedom

The freedom to buy what you want and to sell your labour, idea, or product to whomever you wish.

Egalitarianism

A political principle that holds that all people should be treated as equals and allowed equal civil, social, political, and economic rights under the law.

Election Fraud

Changing the true results of an election by various means, including voter intimidation, multiple voting, destruction of ballots, tampering with ballots, or changing boundaries to change the composition of a riding.

Emancipation

Freeing from restraint, especially legal, social, or political.

Emergency and security legislation

Legislation that protects citizens in times of public emergency, natural catastrophe, disease, accident, pollution which results in danger to life or property, social disruption or a breakdown in the flow of essential goods, services or resources.

Enclosure

The act of enclosing; land that had been held in common becomes the private property of an individual.

Enemy Aliens

Non-citizens who come from an enemy country.

Enfranchisement

Granting people the rights of citizens, especially the right to vote.

Enlightenment

An intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries when classical liberalism spread through Europe and changed some people's beliefs about religion, reason, nature, and human beings; also called the Age of Reason.

Environmental change

The changes in the natural world around us.

Environmentalism

A political and ethical ideology that focuses on protecting the natural environment and lessening the harmful effects that human activities have on the ecosystem.

Espionage

The practice of spying or of using spies, especially to obtain secret information.

Eugenics

The science of improving a human population by controlled breeding to increase the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics.

Expansionism

A country's foreign policy of acquiring additional territory through the violation of another country's sovereignty for reasons of defence, resources, markets, national pride, or perceived racial superiority.

Extremism

A term used by others to describe the beliefs and actions of those perceived to be outside of the accepted norms of political or social behavior. Extremism may be a response adopted by those for whom ordinary political means of redressing perceived wrongs are deemed ineffective.

Fascism

An extreme, right-wing, anti-democratic nationalist movement which led to totalitarian forms of governments in Germany and Italy from the 1920's to the 1940's.

Feminism

The belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes. The term also stands for the movements that advocates for these qualities.

Foreign Policy

The course of action taken by a country in its relations with other countries.

Free Market

A market that operates with limited government intervention. In a free-market economy, questions regarding production and marketing of goods and services are decided through the free interaction of producers and consumers.

Global citizenship

Being a citizen of the world; a feeling of responsibility, beyond a country's borders, toward humanity.

Global warming

An increase in the average temperature of the earth's atmosphere and a potential indicator of climate change.

Great Depression

An economic crisis that began in late 1929 with the stock market crash and continued through the 1930's. During this period, banks failed, factories closed, many people became unemployed, and international trade declined.

Greenhouse gas emissions

Gases, from both natural and (primarily) human-made sources, that are released into the earth's atmosphere and change the way the atmosphere absorbs and emits radiation, which in turn affects the temperature of the earth.

Hegemony

Leadership or dominance, especially by one state or social group over others.

Hot war

A traditional war which includes troops in direct conflict, as opposed to a cold war.

Humanist

Someone who believes in the supremacy of reason of individuals over faith and who has developed an interpretation of history and beliefs about human nature, the structure of society, and the purpose of life, based on reason rather than religion.

Humanitarianism

The imposition of liberalism for moral or ethical reasons, such as to improve living conditions or stop human rights violations.

Humanitarians

A person or group trying to improve the lives of others and to reduce their suffering through various means, including social reform and aid.

Human Rights

Also known as 'natural rights', the rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled. These rights are enshrined in Bills and Declarations of Rights in many countries including Canada and the US, and in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Ideology

A set of principles or ideas that explains your world and your place within it, which is based on certain assumptions about human nature and society and provides an interpretation of the past, an explanation of the present, and a vision for the future.

Illiberal

Ideologies opposed to the values, beliefs, and principles of liberalism; usually refers to undemocratic actions but may be found in democratic countries during times of crisis.

Income disparity

Difference in earnings between the rich and the poor.

Indian Act

An act of Parliament first passed in 1867, since amended many times, dealing with the governance of reserves and the rights and benefits of registered individuals.

Individualism

A current of thinking that values the freedom and worth of the individual, sometimes over the security and harmony of the group.

Individual rights and freedoms

A key principle of individualism and an important feature of liberal democracies; examples include freedom of religion, freedom of association, and the right to life, liberty, and the security of the person.

Individual rights, roles, and responsibilities

Legal citizenship in Canada is made up of several significant elements such as legal rights, equality rights, mobility rights, Aboriginal peoples' rights, freedom of thought, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to peaceful assembly.

Industrialization

The stage of economic development during which the application of technology results in mass production and mass consumption within a country.

Inflation

An increase in the general price level of products, the cost of labour, and interest rates.

Internment Camp

Detention facilities used to confine political prisoners and people of specific national or minority groups.

Iron Curtain

A phrase coined by Winston Churchill in 1947 that refers to the barrier in Europe between self-governing, pro-democratic, pro-capitalist countries of the West and countries in pro-Soviet Eastern Europe under communist Soviet control.