Foundations Of Government

Front 1

Essential Features of a Nation

Back 1

1) population

2) territory

3) sovereignty

4) government

Front 2

Purposes of Government

Back 2

1) provide for and control the economic system

2) provide national security

3) provide public services

4) maintain social order

Front 3

Forms of Government

Back 3

1) Democracy

2) Oligarchy

3) Autocracy

Front 4

Levels of Government

Back 4

1) Local

2) State

3) National

Front 5

Economic Systems

Back 5

1) Capitalism

2) Socialism

3) Communism

Front 6

Sovereignty

Back 6

Absolute authority within its territory; no state should interfere with the internal affairs of another state

Front 7

Democracy

Back 7

Rule by many persons

Front 8

Oligarchy

Back 8

Rule by a few persons

Front 9

Autocracy

Back 9

Rule by one person

Front 10

Capitalism

Back 10

Money is invested in business with the hope of making a profit

Front 11

Socialism

Back 11

Government ownership of property and means of production; operates for the welfare of all

Front 12

Communism

Back 12

Karl Marx

Front 13

Forms of Autocracy

Back 13

1) monarchy

2) dictatorship

Front 14

Forms of Democracy

Back 14

1) direct democracy

2) representative democracy

Front 15

Who was the "father of capitalism"?

Back 15

Adam Smith

Front 16

Invisible Hand

Back 16

Competition among business guides production

Front 17

Laissez-Faire

Back 17

"Hands off"

Front 18

State

Back 18

Political community that occupies a definite territory and has an organized government with power to make and enforce laws without approval from a higher authority

Front 19

Nation

Back 19

Any sizable group of people who are united by common bonds of race, language, customs, traditions, and sometimes religion

Front 20

Consensus

Back 20

General agreement

Front 21

Government

Back 21

The means we use to keep order and solve problems for large numbers of people who live in a nation or geographical area

Front 22

Unitary System

Back 22

The national government has most or all of the power

Front 23

Federal System

Back 23

The national and state governments share power

Front 24

Constitution

Back 24

A body of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is acknowledged to be governed

Front 25

Constitutional Government

Back 25

Government with the existence of a constitution that effectively controls the exercise of political power

Front 26

Economics

Back 26

The study of how we produce and distribute our wealth

Front 27

Direct Democracy

Back 27

All people meet together at 1 place to vote on things and make laws

Front 28

Representative Democracy

Back 28

People elect representatives to carry out the work

Front 29

Constitutional Democracy

Back 29

A government that enforces recognized limits on those who govern and allows the voice of the people to be heard through free, fair, and relatively frequent elections (Bill of Rights)

Front 30

Statism

Back 30

The idea that the rights of the nation are supreme over the rights of the individuals who make up the nation (Patriot Act)

Front 31

Theocracy

Back 31

Government by religious leaders, who claim divine guidance

Front 32

Popular Consent

Back 32

The idea that a just government must derive its powers from the consent of the people it governs

Front 33

Majority

Back 33

Over 50%

Front 34

Majority Rule

Back 34

Governance according to the expressed preferences of the majority

Front 35

Plurality

Back 35

Candidate or party with the most votes cast in an election, not necessarily more than half

Front 36

Natural Law

Back 36

God's or nature's law that defines right from wrong and is higher than human law

Front 37

Political Culture

Back 37

The widely shared beliefs, values, and norms about how citizens relate to government and to one another

Front 38

Natural Rights

Back 38

The rights of all people to dignity and worth; also called human rights

Front 39

Democratic Consensus

Back 39

Widespread agreement on fundamental principles of democratic governance and the values that undergird them

Front 40

Ethnocentrism

Back 40

Belief in the superiority of one's nation or ethnic group

Front 41

Race

Back 41

A grouping of human beings with distinctive characteristics determined by genetic inheritance

Front 42

Ethnicity

Back 42

A social division based on national origin, religion, language, and often race

Front 43

Sedition

Back 43

Attempting to overthrow the government by force or use of violence to interrupt its activities

Front 44

Elitists

Back 44

Persons who possess a disproportionate share of some valued resource, like money or power

Front 45

Marxis View

Back 45

View that the government is dominated by capitalists

Front 46

Power Elite View

Back 46

View that the government is dominated by a few top leaders, most of whom are outside of government

Front 47

Bureaucratic View

Back 47

Do you that the government is dominated by appointed officials

Front 48

Pluralist View

Back 48

Belief that competition, among all affected interests, shapes public policy