Ch 11 Economy and Government Key Terms

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anarchy: a condition of lawlessness or political disorder caused by the absence or collapse of governmental authority (p.293)

authority: power that people consider as legitimate, as rightly exercised over them; also called legitimate power (p.284)

capitalism: an economic system characterized by the private ownership of the means of production, the pursuit of profit, and market competition (p.302)

charismatic authority: authority based on an individual's outstanding traits, which attract followers (p.285)

checks and balances: separation of powers among the three branches of U.S. government - legislative, executive, and judicial-so that each is able to nullify the actions of the others, thus preventing the domination of any single branch (p.293)

citizenship: the concept that birth (and residence) in a country impart basic rights (p.287)

city-state: an independent city whose power radiates outward, bringing the adjacent area under its rule (p.287)

coercion: power that people do not accept as rightly exercised over them; also called illegitimate power (p.284)

conspicuous consumption: Thorstein Veblen's term for a change from the Protestant ethic to an eagerness to show off wealth by the elaborate consumption of goods (p.298)

convergence theory: the view that as both capitalist and socialist economic systems adopt features of the other, a hybrid (or mixed) economic system will emerge (p.304)

corporate capitalism: the domination of the economic system by giant corporations (p.305)

corporation; the joint ownership of a business enterprise, whose liabilities and obligations are separate from those of its owners (p.305)

democracy: a system of government in which authority derives from the people; the term comes from two Greek words that translate literally as "power to the people" (p.287)

democratic socialism: a hybrid economic system in which capitalism is mixed with state ownership (p.303)

dictatorship: a form of government in which power is seized by an individual (p.289)

direct democracy: a form of democracy in which the eligible voters meet together to discuss issues and make their decisions (p.287)

economy: a system of distribution of goods and services (p.298)

interlocking directorates: individuals serving on the board of directors of several companies (p.305)

laissez-faire capitalism: unrestrained manufacture and trade (literally "hands off capitalism) (p.302)

lobbyists: people who try to influence legislation on behalf of their clients or interest groups (p.292)

market forces: the law of supply and demand (p.303)

market restraints: laws and regulations that limit the capacity to manufacture and sell products (p.302)

monarchy: a form of government headed by a king or a queen (p.287)

multinational corporations: companies that operate across many national boundaries, also called transnational corporations (p.305)

oligarchy: a form of government in which power is held by a small group of individuals; the rule of the many by the few (p.289)

pluralism: diffusion of power among many interest groups, preventing any single group from gaining control of the government (p.293)

political action committees: (PACs) an organization formed by one or more special-interest groups to solicit and spend funds for the purpose of influencing legislation (p.293)

power: the ability to get your will, even over the resistance of others (p.284)

power elite: C. Wright Mills' term for the top leaders of U.S. corporations, military, and politics who make the nation's major decisions (p.293)

rational-legal authority: authority based on law or written rules and regulations (also called bureaucratic authority) (p.285)

representative democracy: a form of democracy in which voters elect representatives to govern and make decisions on their behalf (p.287)

routinization of charisma: the transfer of authority from a charismatic leader to either a traditional or a rational-legal form of authority (p.287)

socialism; an economic system characterized by the public ownership of the means of production, central planning, and the distribution of goods without a profit motive (p.303)

special-interest group: a group of people who have a particular issue in common and who can be mobilized for political action (p.292)

state: a government; the political entity that claims a monopoly on the use of violence within a territory, commonly known as a country (p.284, 287)

stockholders' revolt: the refusal of a corporation's stockholders to rubber-stamp decisions made by its managers (p.305)

subsistence economy: a type of economy in which human groups live off the land with little or no surplus (p.298)

terrorism: the use of violence to produce fear in order to attain political objectives (p.296)

totalitarianism: a form of government that exerts almost total control over the people (p.289)

traditional authority: authority based on custom (p.285)

universal citizenship: the idea that everyone has the same basic rights by virtue of being born in a country (or by immigrating and becoming a naturalized citizen) (p.287)

voter apathy: indifference and inaction on the part of individuals or groups with respect to the political process (p.290)

war: armed conflict between nations or politically distinct groups (p.294)

welfare (or state) capitalism: an economic system in which individuals own the means of production but the state regulates many economic activities for the welfare of the population (p.302)