Political Science Chapter 2

Absolutism

A government that assigns absolute, unchecked power to a single individual.

rational choice theory

A method for sharpening rational-material or institutional arguments that proceeds by imagining how perfectly rational people would act (and interact strategically)within material or institutional constraints.

realism

The theory that international relations is always dominated by an anarchical conflict between states.

Republic

A government that is not governed by a hereditary ruler like a king, but instead assigns power through broad public choice.

social contract

The notion that legitimate government is based on an agreement among the governed to accept central authority.

social facts 

Human-created conditions of action that exist only because people believe in them.

surplus value

Marx’s idea that since all value came from labor, anyone who profited from selling goods besides the workers who made them (i.e., businessowners) must be paying the workers less than their work was worth and taking the “surplus.”

tyranny of the majority

The possibility that a democratic majority could choose to harm minorities or political opponents.

unintended consequences

In institutional thinking, this notion refers to how institutions created for one purpose may channel later politics in unforeseen ways.

dependency theory

The Marxist-related theory that sees all of human history in terms of dominance of poor countries by rich countries.

inequality

In economic terms, the unequal distribution of wealth; in political terms, the assignment of rights to some people and not to others.

interest groups 

Associations in society that form around shared interests and advocate for them in politics.

invisible hand 

A free market notion that competition to make money will channel everyone toward their most productive individual strengths, sorting people and resources to their best use even without any government leadership.

Kautilya

An Indian philosopher who first suggested reversing the priority of analytic and normative thinking, arguing that virtuous leadership depended on understanding the roots of power and influence in the real world.

modernization theory

A rational-material theory in the liberal tradition that sees history as a march toward liberal democracy and capitalism.

philosopher-kings

Leaders in Plato’s Republic who deserved to lead because they pursued truth in the study of philosophy and kept on that path by having no private property or families.

Plato

An Athenian philosopher and author of The Republic who argued for a system of government led by philosopher-kings.

power

The ability to get someone to do something they would not otherwise have done.

Proletariat

Marx’s word for the working class—the people who make money by selling their labor rather than by owning or investing

bourgeois

The commercial class of people who make money by owning and investing in businesses

Aristotle

An Athenian philosopher who saw the study of politics as the “master science” that guides how society in general should proceed and argued for a government balanced between the masses and an educated elite.

authority

The legitimate right to exercise power.

capitalists

People who make money with money rather than with labor.

civil society

Arenas of action in a country outside direct government influence, such as associations, churches, business affairs, media, and artistic expression.

classical liberalism

A political philosophy and ideology that prioritizes individual political rights, private property, and limited government.

Cold War

A hostile stand-off in the late 1940s through the late1980s between the communist USSR and its allies versus the capitalist-democratic United States and its allies.

Confucius

A Chinese philosopher who offered rules for virtuous behavior by both subjects and emperors, but also suggested that the people could challenge tyrannical leadership.

constructivism

A version of ideational explanation that suggests that the international arena is shaped primarily by what people believe about international politics.