Intro To Sociology Chapter 12

Front 1

Social Institutions

Back 1

Major spheres of social life or societal subsystems organized to meet human needs.

Front 2

Economy

Back 2

The social institution that organizes a society's production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.

Front 3

Goods

Back 3

Commodities ranging from necessities (such as food, clothing, or shelter) to luxury items (such as cars, swimming, pools, and yachts).

Front 4

Services

Back 4

Activities that benefit people (including the work of priests, physicians, and teachers).

Front 5

Postindustrial Economy

Back 5

A productive system based on service work and computer technology.

Front 6

Primary Sector

Back 6

The part of the economy that draws raw materials from the natural environment.

Front 7

Secondary Sector

Back 7

The part of the economy that transforms raw materials into manufactured goods.

Front 8

Tertiary Sector

Back 8

The part of the economy that involves service rather than goods.

Front 9

Capitalism

Back 9

An economic system in which natural resources and the means of producing goods and services that are privately owned.

-Private ownership of property

-Pursuit of personal profit

-Competition and consumer choice

Front 10

Socialism

Back 10

An economic system in which natural resources and the means of producing goods and services are collectively owned.

-Collective ownership of property

-Pursuit of collective goals

-Government control of the economy

Front 11

Welfare Capitalism

Back 11

An economic and political system that combines a mostly market-based economy with extensive social welfare programs.

-Under welfare capitalism, a nation's government owns some of the largest industries and services, such as transportation, mass media, and health care.

Front 12

State Capitalism

Back 12

An economic political system in which companies are privately owned but cooperate closely with the government.

Front 13

Labor Unions

Back 13

Organizations that seek to improve wages and working conditions through various strategies, including negotiations and strikes.

Front 14

Profession

Back 14

A prestigious white-collar occupation that requires extensive formal education.

Front 15

Self-Employment

Back 15

Earning a living without being on the payroll of a large organization.

-80% of labor force was self-employed in 1800

-6.7% of labor force is self-employed today.

Front 16

Corporation

Back 16

An organization with a legal existence, including rights and liabilities, separate from that of its members.

Front 17

Conglomerate

Back 17

A giant corporation composed of many smaller corporations.

-Conglomerates form as corporations enter new markets, spin off new companies, or merge with other companies.

Ex: PepsiCo is a conglomerate that includes Pepsi-Cola, Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Tropicana, and Quaker.

Front 18

Monopoly

Back 18

The domination of a market by a single producer.

Front 19

Oligopoly

Back 19

The domination of a market by a few producers.

Front 20

Traditional Authority

Back 20

Power legitimized by respect for long-established cultural patterns.

Front 21

Rational-legal Authority

Back 21

Power legitimized by legally enacted rules and regulations (also known as bureaucratic authority)

Front 22

Charismatic Authority

Back 22

Power legitimized by extraordinary personal abilities that inspire devotion and obedience.

Front 23

Routinization of Charisma

Back 23

The transformation of charismatic authority into some combination of traditional and bureaucratic authority.

Front 24

Monarchy

Back 24

A political system in which a single family rules from generation to generation.

Front 25

Democracy

Back 25

A political system that gives power to the people as a whole.

Front 26

Authoritarian

Back 26

A political system that denies the people participation in government.

Front 27

Totalitarianism

Back 27

A highly centralized political system that extensively regulates people's lives.

Front 28

Welfare State

Back 28

A system of government agencies and programs that provides benefits to the population.

Front 29

Pluralist Theory

Back 29

An analysis of politics that sees power as spread among many competing interest groups.

-Claims that political power is spread widely in the United States

Front 30

Power-Elite Theory

Back 30

An analysis of politics that sees power as concentrated among the rich.

-Termed by C. Wright Mills, a social-conflict theorist who argued that the upper class holds most of society's wealth, prestige, and power.

Front 31

Marxist Political-Economy Theory

Back 31

An analysis that explains politics in terms of the operation of a society's economic system.

-Claims that our political agenda is determined by a capitalist economy, so true democracy is impossible.

Front 32

Political Revolution

Back 32

The overthrow of one political system in order to establish another.

Front 33

Terrorism

Back 33

Acts of violence used as a political strategy by an individual or a group.

Front 34

War

Back 34

Organized, armed conflict among the people of two or more nations, directed by their governments.

Front 35

Military-Industrial Complex

Back 35

The close association of the federal government, the military, and defense industries.