Untitled Flashcards Set

Politics: the ability of people or groups to gain access to government and use its power to influence society

Nation state: countries where people share a national language or culture

Democracy: political system in which people can directly vote for their representatives or even on specific rules or policies

Lobbying: contacting elected representatives to argue for a particular position

Activists: people who believe normal methods of exerting political influence are insufficient or illegitimate

Social movements: groups organized to push for social change through contentious means. Also called protest movements

Revolutionary movements: social movements that lead to the fall of governments

State: ultimate authority within some geographical territory, with a monopoly on the use of force within that area

Monopoly of force: having the only legitimate claim to use force

Taxation: using the force of government to collect funds that are used to pay for services

Welfare states: states where a large part of the budget is spent on social services

Policy: rules, laws, and services provided by a government

Axis of politics: how states are made, acquire power, and use power to further goals through policy

Democratic society: citizens or residents get to vote on who runs the state

City state: government controls a single city and the surrounding area

Direct democracy: people vote directly on policies through a referendum

Representative democracy: People influence the sate and its policies by voting for representatives

Competitive democracy: voters have genuine opinions and alternatives when voting

Aristocracy: government rules by royalty, i.e. kings and queens

Formal policies: those written into law

Informal policies: widespread methods of regulating behavior that are not written into law

Political parties: networks of people and organizations that represent particular interests or positions

Median voter model: predicts that governments offer policies that reflect the preferences of voters in the center

Salience: degree to which people care about an issue

Elite theory: predicts that governments offer policies preferred by elites

Pluralism theory: predicts that government policies will reflect the balance of power between various interest groups

Electoral college system: system in which presidential votes are tallied at the state level, rather than from a simple national count of all votes

Suffrage: the right to vote

Electorate: group of people allowed to vote

Poll tax: fee charged for voting

Literacy test: test of reading ability administered to determine who was allowed to vote

Grandfather clause: laws passed in souther states restricting voting to only those individuals whose grandfathers could vote

Black codes: laws that barred african americans from holding certain jobs

Voting rights act of 1965: federal law that barred states from discriminating against black voters

Liberal: political position that supports more taxation so governments can provide a wider array of services

Social conservatives: voters who emphasize religious values and oppose changing social roles

Ideologies: systems of ideas

Liberal state: governments that are fairly permissive in economic affairs

Corporatist states: governments in which various factions are part of state entities that determine social policy

Social democratic states: states with relatively high taxes that are used to pay for generous social services

Feminist movement: social movement aimed at improving the status of women and reducing gender based discrimination

Institutional politics: influencing politics in official and sanctioned ways

Contentious politics: efforts to influence politics outside of the official and accepted system

Grassroots: structure where control of a social movement is local, and members don’t answer to a central leadership

Social movement sector: individuals and organizations that organize protests and work to change public opinion on issues

Social movement outcomes: effects of social movement efforts

Authoritarianism: governing style that relies on strict obedience to leaders

Nationalism: belief that government should put national interests first by closing borders and waging trade wars

Gender discrimination: different treatment based on gender

Gender pay gap: systematic difference in average pay between men and women

Gendered segregation of work: concentration of men and women into different jobs

Gender-typed jobs: jobs perceived to be more appropriate for either men or women but not for both

Economic sociology: field dedicated to understanding how social factors are connected to what we buy, how we run businesses, and who works in which jobs

Economic institutions: rules and systems we use to organize economic life

Division of labor: system in which people specialize in particular jobs and rely on one another for other items they need

Economic inequality: differences in income and jobs

Poverty line: official US measure of the amount of money needed to provide a minimally sufficient level of food and shelter

Human capital theory: theory that income is based on a worker’s skills

Human capital: skills and knowledge that can be sold on the job market

College premium: extra money earned by those with a college degree

Discrimination theory: theory that income differences are due to discrimination against certain groups by employers

Taste-based discrimination: employers or customers treat members of one group better than others, regardless of their productivity

Statistical discrimination: employers pay less to all members of a certain group because on average that group is less productive

Social closure: efforts to exclude members of other groups from desirable jobs

Black codes: laws that banned newly freed slaves from entering desirable trades

Corporation: group of people organized together by business owners in order to generate a profit

Formal institutions: institutions governed by official laws and written policies about what they are allowed to do 

Informal institutions: institutions guided by unwritten rules about what is expected

Social norms: unwritten rules guiding behavior

Political activists: people who organize around a political issue

Stakeholders: people who have financial or political investments in a corporation

Bureaucracy: a structure providing clear lines of authority and discipline, written rules and expert employers

Open system: an organization with loose boundaries that allow people and ideas to enter or leave

Money: a method of recording value in a particular society

Fiat currency: coins or other items that a government declares is money

Commodity currency: money that is itself a commodity (for instance, a coin made of silver) or that represents a commodity

Inflation: a type of money’s loss of value

Bitcoin: digital form of currency that is not tied to any government or nation

Economic inequality: a situation in which economic resources are unevenly distributed among people

Income: all money earned in a year

Wealth: total value of all assets you own

Current population survey: yearly study of the US population conducted by the federal government

Median annual household income: amount at which half of households make less than than income and half make more

US census bureau: federal organization that conducts a census of all households every ten years and sets key definitions such as the poverty line

Poverty rate: percentage of people who are classified as poo

Poverty threshold: income level below which a family would not be able to afford basic needs such as food and shelter

Financialized economy: economy in which a large proportion of wealth is generated by financial transactions by banks and investment firms

Political economy: large scale analysis of markets and the social systems they exist within

Creative destruction: displacement of older businesses and forms of employment as innovative businesses enter the marketplace and improve goods and services

Contradictions within a market economy: political instability created due to exploitation of workers

Socialist economy: economy in which workers collectively own economic organizations and there is little or no private industry

Revolutionary politics: politics aimed at overthrowing an existing government or economic system

Capitalist economy: economy in which people privately own businesses and seek to make profits

Deviance: behaviors that violate social norms

Norms: expectations for behavior

Folkways: normas about customs, traditions, and etiquette

Mores: more seriously protected norms that reflect the morals and values of a social group

Laws: most seriously protected norms; codified and require specific enforcement

Social control: ways societies try to influence members’ behavior to maintain social order

Moral panics: overheated, short lived periods of intense social concern about an issue

Moral entrepreneurs: people who try to influence societies toward increased awareness of and concern over the violation of social norms

Stigma: a phenomenon in which a person is discredited and/or rejected by society because of an attribute they have

Labeling theory: theory that deviance is created through reactions to an act

Functionalist theories of deviance: theories that focus on potential social purposes that deviance serves

Social cohesion: degree to which we identify with and maintain rules and connections

Normative: accepted and expected behavior

Anomie: asocial lack of morals and expectations for behavior that can lead to deviance

Strain: stress that results from anomie

Strain theory: functionalist theory that describes five adaptations to strain: conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, and rebellion

Opportunity theory of deviance: functionalist theory that says delinquency is a function of opportunity and access to delinquent behavior

Conflict theories of deviance: theories that ask how rules and norms are shaped by power relations in society

Worldview: set of shared values, beliefs, and understanding about how the world should be

Hegemony: type of domination in which the powerful obtain the consent or support of the subordinated

Differential association: theory that deviance is learned through intimate persona contacts

Control theory: theory that claims deviance arises from a weakening of social connections

Criminology: study of crime and criminal behavior

Crime: act that violates the penal code

Penal code: written laws that govern behavior in a particular jurisdiction

Violent crime: crimes like homicide, robbery, assault, and sexual assault, which involve the use of physical force

Property crime: theft that doesn’t involve the use of direct physical force

Street crime: violent crimes and poverty crimes that are more common in public spaces and often involve the police

White collar crime: crimes like fraud, embezzlement, and other unethical acts or business practices that are typically not carried out on the street or in public spaces and don’t use physical force

Criminal: person who violates the penal code

Social network: group of people linked together in a specific way

Social bonds: connections and attachments to people and institutions in mainstream society

Crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED): strategy to reduce crime through the design of buildings and physical space

Broken windows theory: theory of policing that argues that small signs of disorder lead to outbreaks of more serious crimes

Homicide rate: number of homicides per 100k residents

Culture of violence: idea that the US has a unique heritage in which settlers had to resort to violence to protect their property and themselves, creating a longstanding norm of violent behavior

Relative deprivation: a feeling of falling behind while other people do better and better. Merton argued that this feeling creates strain and leads to crime

Biodiversity: the variety of species in an ecosystem

Human exceptionalist perspective: view that humans are different from other living beings and do not face environmental limits on our economic growth

Rural sociology: subfield that focuses on people in rural areas and their connections to the environment and natural resources

Human ecology: subfield that focuses on the social organization of urban communities and similar to other organisms

National environmental policy act (NEPA): 1970 law requiring federal agencies to consider the environmental effects of policies and legislation

Environmental protection agency: federal organization created to oversee implementation of NEPA

New environmental paradigm: perspective that considers potential limits to economic growth and encouraged developing a stable economy balanced with nature

Conjoint constitution: society affects the natural environment and environmental change affect the quality and scope of society

Civil society: people working individually or collectively through community groups and social movements 

Treadmill of production theory: suggest that societies driven by economic expansion are in conflict with nature

Old growth forest: one with mature trees that have been relatively undisturbed by human activity

Metabolic rift perspective: theory focused on the interchange of matter and energy between human societies and the larger environment as economies grow

Growth imperative: need for constant economic growth

Social metabolism: exchange of resources and material between society and the environment

Ecologically unequal exchange theory: focuses on unequal resource exchanges and ecological interdependencies within the global economy

Environmental state: governments include environmental protection as a basic responsibility

Nongovernmental organizations: non profit groups that work independently of governments

Ecological modernization theory: view that the dynamic nature of capitalism allows economic growth and related technologies to be directed toward environmental reforms

World society theory: perspective that global institutional structures bring about environmental protections

Reflexive modernization: view that through development, environmental protection becomes more common

Risk society: risk is spread broadly throughout a society

Anthro-shift: sees the society environment relationships as dynamic, determined by how governments, the market, and civil society interact and how much they prioritize environmental issues

Risk: actual and perceived exposure to environmental dangers and natural disasters

Climate change: warming of the earth and increases in extreme weather events

Total emissions: how much carbon we add to the atmosphere

Per capita emissions: carbon emissions per person

Commons: resource available to everyone

Emissions per unit of GDP: eco efficiency, or carbon emitted to create economic value

Paris agreement: global agreement to take steps to address climate change

1.5 degrees celsius: scientific consensus of amount of global warming societies can adapt to

Desertification: land turns into desert

Climate denial: intentionally promoting scientific misinformation about climate change

Tragedy of the commons: since everyone has access to the common resource, individual people may act selfishly and use too much of it 

Disproportionality: inequalities in the production of environmental harms

Hyperpolluters: those disproportionately responsible for environmental harms

Earth day: annual event to protest environmental pollution and celebrate the planet

Environmental justice movement: focuses on the unequal distribution of environmental hams and environmental goods create by race and class

Frontline communities: those that experience environmental pollution and harm first and most severely

Fridays for future: group coordinating tactic of skipping school on fridays to protest inaction on climate change