WHAP Unit 5 Vocab

Classical liberalism

Political ideology characterized by a desire to change society by promoting individual thinking, freedom, equality, and democracy

Conservatism

Political ideology characterized by a desire to maintain the status quo or support slow, gradual change

Laissez-faire

Promoted by Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations; Refers to the government maintaining a 'hands-off' approach to the economy and refraining from intervening in economic issues

Nationalism

Fierce patriotism or loyalty to one's nation

Zionism

Jewish nationalist movement that has had as its goal the creation and support of a Jewish national state in Palestine, the ancient homeland of the Jews

Deists / Deism

Enlightened thinkers who believe that God created a universe, but does not intervene in the daily lives of people; rather, people are governed by the natural laws, not God himself

Popular sovereignty

Idea that political power is derived from the people

Separation of powers

Refers to the idea of three separate branches of government, each with specialized tasks (ex. Legislative, executive, judicial branches)

Checks and balances

Refers to the ability to one govt branch to limit the powers of another branch in order to prevent abuse of power

Social contract

Theory proposed by Rousseau; Agreement between people of a society to abide by laws and accept punishment when laws are broken. People agree to sacrifice some liberty in order to gain more protection.

Industrialization

Growth of industry and factories with mass production that occurs in Europe during the 1700s and 1800s

Factory system

System where investors build complicated machinery for large-scale production in a central location, rather than in one's home

Power loom

New invention of the Industrial Revolution that used water to generate power, allowing thread to be woven into cloth/textiles by machine, rather than by hand

Interchangeable parts

Identical components that can be used in place of each other when manufacturing; makes production cheaper, faster, and easier

Steam engine

New invention improved by James Watt that generates power (allowing a machine to run) by heating water to create steam. The steam engine can be used to power ships, locomotives, and various other machines in factories

Bessemer process

Process of converting iron ore into strong steel, which further increases industrialization

Capitalism

Economic system with origins in early modern Europe in which private parties (regular people, companies) make their goods and services available on a free market (for anyone to purchase)

Socialism

Political and economic theory of social organization based on the collective ownership of the means of production, meaning the government owns some industries and provides free services to the people—different from communism because of a desire for slow change, rather than violent revolutionary change

Communism

Philosophy and movement that began in the mid 1800s by Marx; has the same goals as socialism, but includes the belief that violent revolution is needed to destroy the upper class factory owners and institute a new world run by and for the working class / in a communist state, the government owns everything and provides services to all people, in theory making everyone equal, and preventing people from accumulating wealth and land

Proletariat

Working class in a factory

Means of production

Things like factories, tools, equipment, that allow for the workers to create something and make money

Cult of domesticity

System of values for women which supports the idea that women should stay home and support a family, rather than pursuing individual goals

Consumerism

Excessive spending, especially on industrialized products

Transnational corporation

Refers to a major company with shareholders that operates in multiple countries, such as obtaining raw materials from one region, making the raw material into a product in another region, and selling the product in other regions (ex: HSBC and Unilever)

Social Darwinism

Theory used by Herbert Spencer to suggest that only the strongest, fittest, smartest individuals will rise in society to achieve something; implied that these strong, fit people are white Europeans, so Social Darwinism promotes racism and gender inequality

Labor unions

Groups of workers that join together to campaign for better rights and working conditions in a factory

Demographic Transition

Social trend that occurs in industrialized nations, where fertility and mortality rates shift downward, contributing to lower population growth and relative demographic stability

Abolitionism

Refers to the movement of the late 1700s and 1800s to eliminate slavery from society

State-sponsored

Term that refers to an activity that is driven by the government, rather than regular people or businesses