Studied by 5 peoplePolitics
“who gets what, when, and how”
A way of determining, without recourse or violence, who gets what power and resources in society, and how they get them
Because we cannot always get our way, this system exists
Power
The ability to get other people to do what they want them to do
government jobs
public policies working in one’s advantage
tax revenues
laws that help get one’s way
Legitimacy, authority, and divine rights of kings
Media
A major political resource that helps people to gain and maintain power through controlling information about politics, affecting our views.
Social Order
The way we organize and live our collective lives
Government
by contrast to politics, it’s 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
American Government
The Constitution and the institutions set up by the Constitution for the exercise of authority by the American people, over the American people.
Rules
Directives that specify how resources will be distributed or what procedures govern collective activity
In short, they determine how we try to get the things we want with framework for us to solve without violence or problems.
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
Political Narrative
A persuasive story about the nature of power, who should have it, and how it should be used
Gatekeepers
Journalists and the media elite who determine which news stories are covered and which are not
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 eeconmony
An economic system in which the market determines production, distribution, and price decisions, and property is privately owned
Laissez-faire captialism
An economic system in which the market makes all decisions and the government plays no role
In French means “let people do what they wish”
Mixed Economics
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).
Capitalism
A procedural economic system based on the freedom working of the market--the process of supply and demand
Capitalism not regulated becomes very chaotic, making the rich, richer, and poor, poorer.
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
These leaders often use punishment to coerce uncooperative subjects into obedience.
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
Anarchy
The absence of government and law
People advocate this because they value the freedom to do whatever they want more than they value the order and security that government proves by forbidding regulating certain kinds of behavior.
Democracy
Government that vests power in the people
Comes from Greek word demos meaning “people”
Popular Sovereignty
The concept that the citizens are the ultimate source of political power
The central idea here is that no government is considered legitimate unless the governed consent to it, and people are not truly free unless they live under a law of their own making.
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
Populism
Social movements based on the ideas that power has even concentrated illegitimately among elites at the people’s expense
Subjects
Individuals who are obliged to submit to a government authority against which they have no rights
Citizens
Members of a political community with both rights and responsibilities
Divine Right 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 Native
An individual born after the advent of digitall technology who is 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
Declaration of Independence
Narrative of rights of America: telling a story about how the British violated those rights and was designed to combat the British narrative that America should remain part of its colonial empire
The political document that dissolved the colonial ties between the United States and Britain
Self-Interested Citizenship
A view of citizenship focused on action to realize an individual citizen’s interest
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 their 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
Protectin 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
Procedural guarantees
Government assurance that the rules will work smoothly and treat everyone fairly, with no promise of particular outcomes
Individualism
The belief that what is good for society is based on what is good for individuals
Ideologies
Set 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 roles 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 wo 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
Communitarians
Those who favor a strong, substantive government role in the economy and the social order so that their vision of a community of equals may be realized
Authoritarian populism
A radical right-wing movement that appeals to popular discontent but whose underlying values are not democractic
Slavery
The ownership, for forced labor, of one people by another
Racism
The belief that one race is superior to another
French and Indian War
A war fought between France and England, and allied Native Americans, from 1754 to 1763; resulted in France’s expulsion from the New World
Popular sovereignty
The concept that the citizens are the ultimate source of political power
Common Sense
The pamphlet written by Thomas Pain in 1776 that persuaded many Americans to support the revolutionary cause
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 te Articles of Confederation; the result was the U.S. Constitution
Federalism
A political system in which power is divided between he central and regional units
Federalists
Supporters of the Constitution who favored a strong central government
Anti-Federalists
Advocatees of states' right who opposed the Constitution
Virginia Plan
A proposal at the Constitutional Convention that congressional representation be based on population, thus favoring the large states
New Jersey Plan
A proposal at the Constitutional Convention that congressional representation be equal, thus favoring the small states
Great Compromise
The constitutional solution to congressional representation: equal votes win the Senate, votes by population in the House
Three-Fifths Compromise
The formula for counting five enslaved people as three people for purposes of representation, which reconciled northern and souther factions at the Constitutional Convention
Ratification
The process through which a proposal is formally approved and adopted by vote
The Federalist Papers
A series of essays written to build support for ratification of the Constitution
Factions
Groups of citizens united by some common passion of interest and opposed to the rights of other citizens or to the interests of the whole community
Bill of Rights
A summary of citizens rights guaranteed and protected by a government; added to the Constitution as its first ten amendments in order to achieve ratification
Legislature
The body of government that makes laws
Bicameral legislature
A legislature with two chambers
Republic
A government in which decisions are made through representatives of the people
Unicameral legislature
A legislature with one chamber
Executive
The branch of government responsible for putting laws into effect
Electoral College
An intermediary body that elects the president
Presidential system
Government in which the executive is chosen independently of the legislature and the two branches are separate
Parliamentary system
Government in which the executive is chosen by the legislature from among its members and the two branches are merged
Judicial power
The power to interpret laws and judge whether a law has been broken
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