PLSC Test 3 Vocab

John Stuart Mills

1. Utilitarianism – An ethical theory that determines right from wrong by focusing on outcomes. Actions are right if they promote happiness and reduce suffering, it advocates for the greatest happiness principle.

2. Liberalism - A political philosophy that emphasizes individual rights, democracy, and the protection of civil liberties.

3. Suffrage: The right to vote in political elections.

4. Higher pleasures: Intellectual, moral, and artistic pursuits (e.g., education, philosophy, meaningful work).

5. Lower pleasures: Physical pleasures (e.g., food, entertainment, comfort).

6. The Harm Principle - “The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.”

7. Tyranny of the Majority – the pressure to conform to societal norms, which can be more stifling to individuality and dissent than any law. In a democratic state a majority of people can impose its will on a minority. Mill believes this behavior is "tyrannical" when it violates a claim that the minority has as a member of society.

8. On Liberty - is an essay published in 1859 by the English philosopher John Stuart Mill

9. Self-Regarding Action – this only harms yourself or, if it also harms others (rational adults), it does so with their free, voluntary, and undeceived consent and participation.

10. Other-Regarding Actions - are those that harm others who are not rational, free, undeceived, consenting adults.

11. Liberty – (encompasses both civil and social liberty) - "the nature and limits of the power of which can be legitimately exercised by society over the individual." Mill argues that society can only exert authority over behavior that harms other people, anything else is an abrogation of individual freedom.

12. Moral Policing - occurs when a majority seeks to prohibit individuals from practicing, doing, and expressing ideas that they believe to be incorrect—such as outlawing the consumption of alcohol or banning recreation on the Sabbath.

Karl Marx

1. Socialism – is an economic and political arrangement wherein the government owns the modes of production founded on the concept that the state ownership of the methods of production will eliminate exploitation and will lead to a just and equal society.

2. Proletariat - the class of wage workers who are engaged in industrial production and whose chief source of income is derived from the sale of their labor power.

3. Capitalism - an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by market forces.

4. Bourgeoisie – refers to the capitalist or ruling class. They own the means of production and monopolize wealth, standing in contrast to the working-class proletariat majority whose labor power is exploited by this group.

5. Alienation - a phenomenon intrinsic to societies where the worker is disconnected from the means of production and where “dead labour” (capital) exerts dominance over “living labour” (the worker).

6. Class struggle – shapes societies and drives historical change, as it reflects the ongoing conflict between those with wealth and power and those without. This is a necessary component to understand social dynamics and revolutions.

7. Materialistic Conception of History – all institutions of human society are the outgrowth of its economic activity. It focuses on the material conditions of life, such as the economy, production, and people’s relationships with work.

8. Communism – establishing an egalitarian, classless society based on communal sharing, where all individuals enjoy the fruits of their labor without the constraints of private property or a state

9. Revolution – a mechanism through which one mode of production is replaced by another, more advanced system.

10. Labor – is “the means of creating wealth in general”.

11. Class – a group with intrinsic tendencies and interests that differ with those of other groups within society.

12. Inequality - stems from the capitalist system, where the means of production are owned by a few (bourgeoisie), exploiting the labor of the many (proletariat), leading to class conflict.