POLS 1101 Exam 1

The legislature of federal government

Congress

Lower chamber of Congress

House of Representatives

Upper chamber of Congress

Senate

Legislature in Georgia

Georgia General Assembly

The upper chamber of the Georgia General Assembly

The Georgia State Senate

The lower chamber of the Georgia General Assembly

The Georgia House of Representatives

The head of the Federal Executive Branch

The President

The head of the executive branch of the state of Georgia

The Governor

The highest court in the judicial branch of the Federal government

The United States Supreme Court.

The highest court in the judicial branch of the state of Georgia

Supreme Court of Georgia.

Which branch of government are bureaucratic agencies a part of?

Judicial

Power of the Sword

The government's ability to influence behavior by using, or threatening to use, physical force through the police or military.

What branch is associated with the "power of the sword'?

The Executive Branch

Power of the Purse

The power that Congress has to raise or spend money; Regarding negative (raised taxes) or positive (tax breaks) monetary incentives.

What branch of government is associated with the "power of the purse"?

The Legislative Branch

Territorial sovereignty

Exclusive right of a state or government to exercise its powers within the boundaries of its territory.

Relational Power

The capacity of one person, group, or entity to influence the actions, decisions, or outcomes of another person, etc.

Propaganda

Ideas or information spread to influence public opinion for or against a cause; often misleading depending on the context.

Private goods

Goods that are both excludable and rival in consumption.

Public Goods

Goods that are neither excludable nor rival in consumption.

Free Riding

Benefiting from a public good while avoiding the costs of contributing to it.

Collective Action Problem

A situation in which the members of a group would benefit by working together to produce some outcome, but each individual is better off refusing to cooperate and reaping benefits from those who do the work.

Government-provided public goods

Liberal Democracy

A system of government that combines democracy with the rule of law, constitutional protections for human rights, the separation of powers, checks and balances, and other institutional devices aimed at promoting limited government.

Democracy

A political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them.

Rule of Law

The principle that no one is above the law.

Human Rights

The basic rights to which all people are entitled as human beings.

Separation of Powers

Constitutional division of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

Checks and Balances

A system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other branches in order to prevent abuse of power.

Limited Government

A principle of a constitutional government; a government whose powers are defined and limited by a constitution.

Representative Democracy

A form of democracy in which citizens elect officials to govern on their behalf.

Direct Democracy

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

United States Government

Representative democracy; Democratic Republic

Authoritarian (Autocratic) Government

A government in which one leader or group of people holds absolute power.

interest group

An organization of people sharing a common interest or goal that seeks to influence the making of public policy.

Political Party

a group of persons who seek to control government through the winning of elections and the holding of public office.

Constitutional Government

A system of rule in which formal and effective limits are placed on the powers of the government.

Sham Constitution

Documents with fundamental "laws" that the governments routinely violate.

Federalism

A system in which power is divided between the national and state governments.

Politics

The effort to control or influence the conduct and policies of government.

Healthy Democratic Politics:

In this mode of political conflict, disagreements and debates among various political actors, parties, and citizens are considered normal and even beneficial for a democracy.

Putting Democracy at Risk of Dying:

This mode of political conflict is characterized by actions and behaviors that undermine the core principles and institutions of democracy. It includes activities such as undermining the rule of law, suppressing opposition voices, spreading disinformation, using violence or coercion to achieve political goals, and eroding democratic norms and institutions.

Ideology

A system of ideas and ideals, especially one that forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy.

Ideological Spectrum

a diagram on which ideologies can be organized according to a particular set of criteria, such as the extent to which they emphasize collectivism or individualism, which appear on opposite ends of the spectrum; Left to Right

Left-wing

Those who support varying degrees of social or political or economic change designed to promote the public welfare.

Right-Wing

Those who support political or social or economic conservatism

What color is associated with Left-Wing ideology?

Blue

What color is associated with Right-Wing ideology?

Red

Which political party is associated with Left-Wing ideology?

Democratic

Which party is associated with Right-Wing ideology?

Republican

Capitalism

An economic system based on private ownership of the means of production and in which the private owners purchase labor hours from workers in exchange for wages.

Communism

Extreme left political economic system that aims to enjoy the economic benefits of industrial capitalism while avoiding its downsides by having the state own the means of production and centrally command the economy to assure an equal distribution of resources

Social democracy

Type of mixed economic system favored by the ideological left that involves democratic governments playing a significant role in their economies in an effort to retain the advantages of capitalism (economic efficiency, productivity, and innovation) while achieving the left's aspirations for less economic inequality and non-oppressive relations in the economic sphere.

Welfare State

A set of federal government programs that seek to promote the economic security, health and well-being of citizens, especially those in financial or social need, which began to develop in the United States in the 1930s.

Republican view of government intervention in economics:

Tend to favor fewer regulations and lower taxes, emphasizing market-driven solutions; conservative.

Democratic view of government intervention in economics:

Often advocate for a more active role for government in areas such as healthcare, environmental regulation, and social safety nets; liberal

Which party (Democrats or Republicans) is most in line with a social democratic form of capitalism and acceptance of the welfare state?

Democratic

Which party (Democrats or Republicans) is most in line with economic libertarianism and a rejection of the welfare state?

Republican

Globalization

The increasing interdependence of countries' economies and cultures due to international trade in goods and services and the free flow across borders of investments, people, and information.

Populism

Anti-elite ideology that views ordinary people as virtuous and unerring and the economically and politically powerful as irredeemably evil and corrupt; Supports concerns for ordinary people.

Right-wing populism

Form of populism marked by hostility toward immigration and a racially and culturally exclusive understanding of who counts as "the people."

Left-wing populism

Typically, do not harbor resentment toward immigrants or religious or racial minorities.

Economic Nationalism

Approach to economic policy that places a higher priority on serving American national interests than on meeting the desires of American consumers for low cost imported goods or seeking to forge greater interdependence and cooperation with other countries.

Tariff

A tax on imported goods

Democratic Socialism

Label used by those on the left wing of the Democratic Party who, compared to center-left liberals, favor a more expansive welfare state and the government more aggressively seeking to reduce economic inequality, break-up large corporations, and restructure the market capitalist economy so it better serves the needs of middle- and working-class Americans.

Which kind of populism is most influential in the U.S. and around the world today: right-wing populism or left-wing populism?

Right-wing populism

Right-wing populism and economic nationalism are emerging ideological camps within which of the two major American political parties?

Republican Party

Democratic socialism is an emerging ideological wing within which of the two major American political parties?

Democratic Party

Ideological polarization

Increasing differences between the two major political parties based mostly on ideology.

Pernicious Polarization

Division of society in to two mutually antagonistic political camps that view each other as enemies that pose a threat to the country

Social Identity Theory

A theory from social psychology that seeks to explain why individuals define themselves in reference to groups (thinking in terms of "we" and "us" instead of "me" and "I") and how this kind of social identification influences how members of different groups perceive and act toward one another.

Ingroup

"Us" - people with whom one shares a common identity.

Outgroup

"Them" - those perceived as different or apart from our ingroup.

Ingroup favoritism

the tendency for people to evaluate favorably and privilege members of the ingroup more than members of the outgroup.

Outgroup derogation

The tendency to see outgroups negatively and treat members of them less well than members of ingroups.

Cross-Cutting Social Identities

A situation in which one's different social identities do not map easily onto a single party and so one is pulled toward both parties or toward neither.

Mega-Identity

Form of partisan identity that is reinforced and magnified by multiple social identities.

Which best describes partisanship today? What does this have to do with pernicious polarization?

Mega-Identity; Polarized trust in news sources perpetuates and deepens pernicious polarization.

What was "the great and radical vice" in the design of the Articles of Confederation according to Alexander Hamilton? Why did this "vice" contribute so greatly to the weakness of the Articles of Confederation?

The lack of a strong central government with sufficient powers and resources; This "vice" contributed greatly to the weakness of the Articles of Confederation because it resulted in a federal government that was too weak and ineffective to address the nation's problems adequately.

Requisitions

Orders to contribute money to the central government issued by Congress to the states governments during the Revolutionary War and under the Articles of Confederation. Although these requisitions were legally binding on the states, the states routinely ignored them—treating them as requests instead of requirements.

What was the primary obstacle to amending the Articles of Confederation?

The requirement of unanimous consent from all thirteen states for any changes or amendments to be made. This unanimity requirement made it extremely difficult to address the weaknesses of the Articles and make necessary reforms.

Popular Sovereignty

A belief that ultimate power resides in the people.

What were the two most heated points of contentions at the Constitutional Convention that made it difficult to create a constitution acceptable to the people of every state in the union?

The issue of representation in the legislative branch and the question of how to count enslaved individuals for the purposes of representation and taxation.

The Great Compromise

Compromise made by Constitutional Convention in which states would have equal representation in the Senate and representation based on population in the House of Representation; Established a bicameral legislature.

Three-Fifths Compromise

Agreement that each slave counted as three-fifths of a person in determining representation in the House for representation and taxation purposes (negated by the 13th amendment).

Virginia Plan

"Large state" proposal for the new constitution, calling for proportional representation in both houses of a bicameral Congress. The plan favored larger states and thus prompted smaller states to come back with their own plan for apportioning representation.

New Jersey Plan

The proposal at the Constitutional Convention that called for equal representation of each state in Congress regardless of the state's population.

Why did anti-slavery delegates want slaves to NOT be counted at all for purposes of calculating each state's number of representatives?

Anti-slavery delegates wanted slaves to NOT be counted at all for purposes of calculating each state's number of representatives because they believed that counting enslaved individuals would give slaveholding states an unfair advantage in terms of political power and influence in the federal government, potentially perpetuating and strengthening the institution of slavery.

Why did slave-state delegates want each slave to be counted as at least three-fifths of a person (if not as a whole person)?

Slave-state delegates wanted each slave to be counted as at least three-fifths of a person (the Three-Fifths Compromise) for the purpose of calculating each state's number of representatives because it would increase the population count of their states, thereby increasing their representation in the House of Representatives.

Electoral College

A body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president.

Fugitive Slave Clause

Slaves who escaped to other states must be returned to their owners.

Article I

Establishes the Legislative Branch

Article II

Establishes the Executive Branch

Article III

Establishes the Judicial Branch

Article IV

Interstate Relations

Article V

Establishes the process of amending the constitution (3/4)

Article VI

Supremacy Clause

Article VII

Ratification of the Constitution (9 of 13)

Supremacy Clause

Article VI of the Constitution, which makes the Constitution, national laws, and treaties supreme over state laws when the national government is acting within its constitutional limits.

How does the Constitution's Preamble reflect the principle of "popular sovereignty."

It emphasized that the authority and power of the government ultimately derive from the people.