Gov/econ Vocabulary

Front 1

Government

Back 1

The institutions and processes through which public policies are made for a society.

Front 2

Public goods

Back 2

Goods such as clean air and clean water that everyone must share.

Front 3

Politics

Back 3

The process by which we select our governmental leaders and what policies these leaders pursue.

Front 4

Political participation

Back 4

All the activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue.

Front 5

Single issue groups

Back 5

Groups that have a narrow interest, tend to dislike compromise, and often draw membership from people new to politics.

Front 6

Policymaking system

Back 6

The process by which policy comes into being an evolved over time.

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Linkage institutions

Back 7

The political channels through which people's concerns become political issues on the policy agenda.

Front 8

Policy agenda

Back 8

The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actually involved in politics at any given point in time.

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Political issue

Back 9

An issue that arises when people disagree about a problem and how to fix it.

Front 10

Policymaking institutions

Back 10

The branches of government charged with taking action on political issues.

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Public policy

Back 11

A choice that government makes in response to a political issue.

Front 12

Democracy

Back 12

A system of selecting policymakers and organizing government so that policy represents in response to the public's preferences.

Front 13

Majority rule

Back 13

A fundamental principle of traditional democratic theory. In democracy, choosing among alternatives requires that the majority's desire be respected.

Front 14

Minority rights

Back 14

A principle of traditional democratic theory that guarantees rights to those who do not belong to the majority's and allows that they might join majorities through persuasion and reasoned argument.

Front 15

Representation

Back 15

A basic principle of traditional democratic theory that describes the relationship between the few leaders and the many followers.

Front 16

Elite and class theory

Back 16

In theory of government and politics contending that certain societies are divided along class lines and that an upper class elite will rule, regardless of the formal niceties of governmental organization.

Front 17

Hyperpluralism

Back 17

A theory of government and politics contending that groups are so strong that the government is weakened.

Front 18

Policy gridlock

Back 18

A condition that occurs when no coalition is strong enough to form a majority and establish policy.

Front 19

Political culture

Back 19

A overall set of values widely shared within a society.

Front 20

Gross domestic product

Back 20

The sum total of the value of all the goods and services produced in a nation.

Front 21

Pluralist theory

Back 21

Theory that centers on the idea of how power is distributed.