POSC150: Exam 1 Glossary Terms

Politics

Who gets what and how; a process of determining how power and resources are distributed in a society without recourse to violence

Power

The ability to get other people to do what you want

Media

The channels-including television, radio, newspaper, and the internet - through which information is sent and received

Political narratives

A persuasive story about the nature of power, who should have it, and how it should be used

Social order

The way we organize and live our collective lives

Government

A system or organization for exercising authority over a body of people

Authority

Power that is recognized as legitimate, or right

Legitimate

Accepted as "right" or proper

Rules

Directives that specify how resources will be distributed or what procedures govern collective activity

Norms

Informal, unwritten expectations that guide behavior and support formal rule systems; often most noticeable when broken

Institutions

Organizations in which government power is exercised

Gatekeepers

Journalists and the media elite who determine which news stories are covered and which are not.

Disinformation

The purposeful dissemination of falsehoods about public people or events.

Economics

Production and distribution of a society's material resources and services

Socialist economy

An economic system in which the state determines production, distribution, and price decisions, and property is government owned

Substantive guarantees

Government assurance of particular outcomes or results

Procedural guarantees

Government assurance that the rules will work smoothly and treat everyone fairly, with no promise of particular outcomes

Capitalist economy

An economic system in which the market determines production, distribution, and price decisions, and property is privately owned

Laissez-faire capitalism

An economic system in which the market makes all decisions, and the government plays no role

Mixed economies

Economic systems based on modified forms of capitalism tempered by substantive values

Democratic socialism

A mixed economy that combines socialist ideals with a commitment to democracy and market capitalism, keeping socialism as its goal

Social democracy

A mixed economy that uses the democratic process to bend capitalism toward socialist goals (like more equality)

Regulated capitalism

A market system in which the government intervenes to protect rights

Authoritarian governments

Systems in which the state holds all power over the social order

Totalitarian

A system in which absolute power is exercised over every aspect of life

Authoritarian capitalism

A system in which the state allows people economic freedom but maintains stringent social regulations to limit noneconomic behavior

Subjects

Individuals who are obliged to submit to a government authority against which they have no rights

Anarchy

The absence of government and law

Democracy

Government that vests power in the people

Popular sovereignty

The concept that the citizens are the ultimate source of political power

Advanced industrial democracy

A system in which a democratic government allows citizens a considerable amount of personal freedom and maintains a free market (though still usually regulated) economy

Communist democracy

A utopian system in which property is communally owned and all decisions are made democratically

Citizens

Members of a political community with both rights and responsibilities

Populism

Social movements based on the idea that power has been concentrated illegitimately among elites at the people's expense

Divine rights of kings

The principle that earthly rulers receive their authority from God

Classical liberalism

A political ideology dating from the seventeenth century emphasizing individual rights over the power of the state

Social contract

The notion that society is based on an agreement between government and the governed in which people agree to give up some rights in exchange for the protection of others

Republic

A government in which decisions are made through representatives of the people

Digital natives

Individuals born after the advent of digital technology who are proficient in and dependent on its use

Mediated citizens

Those for whom most personal and commercial relationships, access to information about the world and recreational or professional activities, and communication with others passes through third-party channels, which may or may not modify or censor that information

Public-interested citizenship

A view of citizenship focused on action to realize the common good

Self-interested citizenship

A view of citizenship focused on action to realize an individual citizen's interests

Hashtag activism

A form of political engagement that occurs by organizing individuals online around a particular issue

Information bubble

A closed cycle, sometimes self-created, in which all the information we get reinforces the information we already have, solidifying our beliefs without reference to outside reality checks

Identity politics

The assertion of power, or discrimination, by a group—or an appeal for support to a group—based on group members' common perception of who they are

Immigrants

Citizens or subjects of one country who move to another country to live or work

Naturalization

The legal process of acquiring citizenship for someone who has not acquired it by birth

Asylum

Protection or sanctuary, especially from political persecution

Refugees

Individuals who flee an area or a country because of persecution on the basis of race, nationality, religion, group membership, or political opinion

Nativism

The belief that the needs of citizens ought to be met before those of immigrants

Political culture

The broad pattern of ideas, beliefs, and values that a population holds about its citizens and government

Values

The central ideas, principles, or standards that most people agree are important

Normative

A term used to describe beliefs or values about how things should be or what people ought to do rather than what actually is

Culture wars

The political battles Americans engage in revolving around what kind of people we are and what kind of country we live in

Individualism

The belief that what is good for society is based on what is good for individuals

Ideologies

Sets of beliefs about politics and society that help people make sense of their world

Conservatives

People who generally favor limited government and are cautious about change

Liberals

People who generally favor government action and view change as progress

Economic conservatives

Those who favor a strictly procedural government role in the economy and the social order

Libertarians

Those who favor a minimal government role in any sphere

Economic liberals

Those who favor an expanded government role in the economy but a limited role in the social order

Social conservatives

Those who endorse limited government control of the economy but considerable government intervention to realize a traditional social order; based on religious values and hierarchy rather than equality

Political correctness

The idea that language shapes behavior and therefore should be regulated to control its social effects

Social liberals

Those who favor greater control of the economy and the social order to bring about greater equality and to regulate the effects of progress

Progressives

A contested concept that social liberals use to refer to a philosophy demanding radical structural change to create more equality

Authoritarian populism

A radical right-wing movement that appeals to popular discontent but whose underlying values are not democratic

Christian nationalism

An ideology that says the United States is a Christian nation, deliberately established on Christian principles by the American founders, and that its defenders must wage a righteous spiritual war against those who would remove God from affairs of state

Depression

A sharp reduction in a nation's GDP for more than a year, accompanied by high unemployment

Fiscal policy

Economic policy in which government regulates the economy through its powers to tax and spend

Keynesianism

An economic theory that government could stimulate a lagging economy by putting more money into it or cool off an inflationary economy by taking money out

Balanced budget

A budget in which expenditures equal revenues

Budget deficits

Shortfalls in the budget due to the government's spending more in a year than it takes in

Budget surpluses

The extra funds available because government revenues are greater than its expenditures

Monetary policy

Economic policy through which government regulates the economy by manipulating interest rates and controlling the money supply

Interest rates

The cost of borrowing money, calculated as a percentage of the money borrowed

Money supply

The sum of all currency in circulation, plus money held in checking accounts

Federal Reserve System

The independent commission that controls the money supply through a system of twelve federal banks

Supply-side economics

An economic plan frequently associated with President Ronald Reagan by which tax cuts would ultimately generate more, not less, government revenues by allowing for increased investments and productivity

National debt

The total of the nation's unpaid deficits, or simply the sum total of what the national government owes

Excise taxes

Consumer taxes levied on specific merchandise, such as cigarettes or alcohol

Progressive taxes

Taxes whose rates increase with income

Regressive taxes

Taxes that require poor people to pay a higher proportion of their income than do the well-off

Capital gains tax

A tax levied on the returns that people earn from capital investments, like the profits from the sale of stocks or a home

Flat tax

A tax system in which all people pay the same percentage of their income

Consumption tax

A tax on what people spend rather than on what they earn

Value-added tax (VAT)

A consumption tax levied at each stage of production, based on the value added to the product at that stage

Deregulation

The elimination of regulations in order to improve economic efficiency

Monopoly

A situation in which a single producer dominates a market and there is no competition

Antitrust policies

Government regulations that try to keep monopolies from emerging

Collective bargaining

The ability of unions to determine wages, hours, and working conditions in conjunction with the employer

Protectionism

The imposition of trade barriers, especially tariffs, to make trading conditions favorable to domestic producers

Free trade policies

Policies that encourage open borders between trading partners by eliminating protectionist policies

Trade deficit

The difference between the value of the goods a country imports and what it exports

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

The trade agreement that removed most of the barriers to trade and investment that existed among the United States, Mexico, and Canada

Constitution

The rules that establish a government

Articles of Confederation

The first constitution of the United States (1777) creating an association of states with weak central government

Confederation

A government in which independent states unite for common purpose but retain their own sovereignty

Popular tyranny

The unrestrained power of the people

Shay's rebellion

A grassroots uprising (1787) by armed Massachusetts farmers protesting foreclosures

Constitutional Convention

The assembly of fifty-five delegates in the summer of 1787 to recast the Articles of Confederation; the result was the U.S. Constitution