American Government/Politics Vocab

Early American Government and Politics definitions and court cases.

118 cards   |   Total Attempts: 182
  

Cards In This Set

Front Back
GOVERNMENT
The institutions and procedures through which a land and its people are ruled.
AUTOCRACY
A form of government in which a single individual rules.
OLIGARCHY
A form of government in which a small group of landowners, military officers, or wealthy merchants controls most of the government decisions.
DEMOCRACY
A system of rule that permits citizens to play a significant part in the governmental process, usually through the selection of key public officials.
CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT
A system of rule in which formal and effective limits are placed on the powers of the government.
AUTHORITARIAN GOVERNMENT
A system of rule in which the government recognizes no formal limits but may nevertheless be restrained by the power of other social institutions.
TOTALITARIAN GOVERNMENT
A system of rule in which the government recognizes no formal limits on its power and seeks to absorb or eliminate other social institutions that might challenge it.
CONSCRIPTION
Compulsory military service, usually for a prescribed period or for the duration of a war; the draft.
FREE RIDING
Enjoying the benefits of some good or action while letting others bear the costs.
PUBLIC GOOD
A good that 1) may be enjoyed by anyone if it is provided and 2) may not be denied to anyone once it has been provided.
POLITICS
The conflicts and struggles over the leadership, structure, and policies of government.
INSTRUMENTAL
Done with purpose, sometimes with forethought, and even with calculation.
COLLECTIVE ACTION
The pooling of resources and the coordination of effort and activity by a group of people (often a large one) to achieve common goals.
BY-PRODUCT THEORY
The idea that groups provide members with private benefits to attract membership. The possibility of group collective action emerges as a consequence.
SELECTIVE BENEFITS
Benefits that do not go to everyone but, rather, are distributed selectively - only to those who contribute to the group enterprise.