Chapter 1 Test Review

  • Government

    • institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policies

  • Public policies

    • all the things a government decides to do

    • Ex: taxation, healthcare, defense, education

  • Power

    • ability to command or prevent action, the ability to achieve a desired end

    • 3 basic kinds of power

      • Legislative —> power to make law and frame public policies

      • Executive —> power to execute, enforce, and administer law

      • Judicial —> power to interpret laws and settle disputes

  • Constitution

    • body of laws setting the principles, structures, and processes of a government

  • Democracy vs. Dictatorship

    • democracies’ supreme authority rests with the people, whereas dictatorships’ are not responsible to the people

  • The State

    • body of people, living in a defined territory, organized politically, with the power to make/enforce laws

    • main political unit of the world

    • 190 states today

    • 4 main characteristics of a state

      • Population

      • Territory

      • Sovereignty

        • the authority to rule/absolute power over decisions

      • Government

  • Force Theory

    • belief that the state was born of force by a person or small group.

    • group forced all within the area to submit to the rule

  • Evolutionary Theory

    • state developed naturally out of the early family.

    • Primitive family had a “head” that was the government

  • Divine Right

    • God gave those of “royal birth” divine right to rule

  • Social Contract

    • the state arose out of a voluntary act of free people and that the state only exists to serve the will of the people

    • people are the soul source of political power

  • Purpose of Government

    • Form a more perfect union —> link the states and American people closely together

    • Establish justice —> the law must be reasonable, fair, and impartial

    • Insure Domestic Tranquility —> keeping peace and order at home is essential to the well being of society

    • Provide for the Common Defense —> defending the nation against foreign enemies

    • Promote the General Welfare —> government performing tasks for the well being of its people

    • Secure the Blessings of Liberty —> American was founded by those who prized FREEDOM above all

  • Direct Democracy

    • will of people in turned into law by the people themselves

  • Indirect/Representative Democracy

    • representatives are elected by the people to express the popular will

  • Republic

    • power is in the hands of the voters and decisions are made by the representatives

  • Autocracy —> one person rule

  • Oligarchy —> small group rule

  • All dictatorships are authoritarian

    • most dictatorships today are militaristic

  • Unitary Government

    • single, central agency is where the power is

    • local government role

      • focus on small/local issues

  • Federal Government

    • powers are divided between a central government and several local governments

  • Confederate Government

    • alliance of independent states; the central government gets very limited powers from the states

    • Ex: Articles of Confederation, Confederate States of America, European Union

  • Presidential Government

    • executive and legislative branches are separate, independent of one another and coequal

  • Parliamentary Government

    • executive (prime minister) is a member of the legislature (parliament)

    • Leader of the majority party is the prime minister

  • Basic Concepts of Democracy

    • Worth of Individual

      • fundamental importance of the individual (each is a separate and distinct being)

    • Equality of all persons

      • Democracy doesn’t insist on equality of condition for all persons nor does it believe all people should have a share of worldly goods

      • 2 Concepts of equality democracy focuses on

        • equality of opportunity

        • equality before the law

    • Majority Rule, Minority Rights

      • majority of the people will be right more often than they will be wrong

      • the majority needs to listen to the minority's arguments and criticisms

    • Necessity of Compromise

      • each individual is equal to others

      • few public questions have only two sides

    • Individual Freedom

      • Anarchy —> the total absence of government

      • balancing individual rights with the good of society as a whole

  • Democracy and Free Enterprise

    • free enterprise —> private ownership of capital goods, free market, and private decisions

    • supply of goods increases = prices drops

    • supply of goods decrease = prices rise

    • Mixed economy —> regulation and promotion; private enterprise exists with government regulation

  • Democracy and Internet

    • role of internet in a democracy —> provide citizens with information

    • Major problem —> accuracy of information