Govt Chapt 1 Vocabulary

Front 1

government

Back 1

complex of offices, personnel, and processes by which a state is ruled and by which its public policies are made and enforced.

Front 2

public policy

Back 2

things a government decides to do or not do. Examples: imposing an income and property taxes; minimum wages; maintaining an armed force. Public policy includes all of the decisions and non-decisions of government

Front 3

public goods

Back 3

things everyone can share, like clean air

Front 4

unitary government

Back 4

Power is held in a single, central agency. A centralized government. Local government is created by the central government for convenience and is answerable only to central government. Most governments are unitary. Great Britain is an example of unitary but democratic. Do not confuse with dictatorship.

Front 5

federal government

Back 5

Powers are divided between a central government and several local governments. Both act on their own sets of laws, officials, and agencies. In U.S., national government has power and so do states (also known as federalism).

Front 6

confederation

Back 6

An alliance of independent states. A confederate government possesses little authority to act on its own. The central government has limited power and can only handle matters that the member states have assigned to it.

Front 7

presidential government

Back 7

Features a separation of powers. In a presidential government, the executive and legislative branches are independent and coequal. The executive and legislative branches each can check the actions of the other branch. President chosen independently of the legislature, holds office for a fixed term, and has powers not subject to direct control of the legislature

Front 8

parliamentary government

Back 8

Members of the executive branch are also members of the legislative branch (the Parliament). Executive is made up of the prime minister or premier and that official's cabinet. Executive is leader of the majority party or of a coalition of parties and is chosen by Parliament.

Front 9

dictatorship

Back 9

Dictatorships exercise absolute, not limited authority over the people. Participation in government is limited to the individual or group who rules. Those who rule are not responsible to the will of the people. No accountability

Front 10

democracy

Back 10

sovereignty is located with the people who hold the power and give consent to the government to rule.

Front 11

direct democracy

Back 11

Will of people translated into public policy directly by people themselves, in mass meetings. Doesn't exist in any national level, anywhere in the world

Front 12

representative democracy

Back 12

Small group of people elected by the people to act on their behalf to express their popular will. They are held accountable to the people through elections

Front 13

politics

Back 13

Politics can best defined as "who gets what, when, and how."

Front 14

majority rule

Back 14

The majority rule is the popular rule. In a democracy, the majority will be right more often and wrong. The majority have a "right" to be wrong.

Front 15

minority rights

Back 15

The majority must recognize the right of the minority, by fair and lawful means, to become the majority. The majority must always be willing to listen to a minority's argument, to hear its objections, to bear its criticisms, and welcome its suggestions.

Front 16

compromise

Back 16

The process of reconciling competing views and interests in order to find the position most acceptable to the largest number.

Front 17

anarchy

Back 17

The total absence of government

Front 18

gross domestic product

Back 18

The value of all goods and services produced annually by the United States

Front 19

liberals

Back 19

Liberals generally favor more governmental regulation of the economy; more policies to help disadvantaged groups; and, more policies to redistribute income.

Front 20

conservatives

Back 20

Conservatives generally favor fewer governmental regulations and a greater reliance on the market; fewer governmental policies in the name of disadvantaged groups; and, fewer tax laws that discourage business growth