Chapter 12 AP gov vocab

Political Ideology - An individual’s coherent set of beliefs about government and politics

Right - Something guaranteed, that the government cannot take away

Privilege - Something a person can obtain or receive, but that the government can take away.

Party Ideology - Party’s philosophy about the proper role of government and its set of positions on major issues.

Party Identification - An individual's attachment to a political party

Conservatism - Ideology favoring more control of social behavior, fewer regulations on businesses, and less government interference in the economy(shift back to Laissez Faire)

Liberalism - Ideology favoring less government control over social behavior and more regulation of business/economy.

Libertarianism - Ideology favoring very little government regulation and intervention beyond protecting private property and individual liberty.

Laissez-Faire Economy - An economic system in which the government intrudes as little as possible in the economic transactions among citizens and businesses.

Command-and-Control Economy - Economic policy in which government dictates much of a nation’s economic activity, including the amount of production and price of goods

Mixed Economy - Economic policy in which many economic decisions are left to individuals and businesses, with the government regulating economic activity

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - Total value of goods/services produced by an economy

Economic Recession - Period of decline in economic activity, typically defined by 2 consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth

Unemployment Rate - % of people actively looking for work who cannot find jobs.

Inflation - Rise in good/service prices

Consumer Price Index - Cost of a fixed basket of goods and services over time, used to measure cost of living.

Fiscal Policy - Government use of taxes and spending to attempt to lower unemployment, support economic growth, and stabilize the economy

Federal Reserve System - Board of governors, Federal Reserve Banks, and member banks responsible for monetary policy

Monetary Policy - Set of economic policy tools designed to regulate the amount of money in the economy

Medicare - Federal program that provides health insurance to seniors and the disabled.

Medicaid - Federal program that provides healthcare for the poor.