Key Terms
- common goods
- goods that all people may use but that are of limited supply
- democracy
- a form of government where political power rests in the hands of the people
- direct democracy
- a form of government where people participate directly in making government decisions instead of choosing representatives to do this for them
- elite theory
- claims political power rests in the hands of a small, elite group of people
- government
- the means by which a society organizes itself and allocates authority in order to accomplish collective goals
- ideology
- the beliefs and ideals that help to shape political opinion and eventually policy
- intense preferences
- beliefs and preferences based on strong feelings regarding an issue that someone adheres to over time
- latent preferences
- beliefs and preferences people are not deeply committed to and that change over time
- majority rule
- a fundamental principle of democracy; the majority should have the power to make decisions binding upon the whole
- minority rights
- protections for those who are not part of the majority
- monarchy
- a form of government where one ruler, usually a hereditary one, holds political power
- oligarchy
- a form of government where a handful of elite society members hold political power
- partisanship
- strong support, or even blind allegiance, for a particular political party
- pluralist theory
- claims political power rests in the hands of groups of people
- political power
- influence over a government’s institutions, leadership, or policies
- politics
- the process by which we decide how resources will be allocated and which policies government will pursue
- private goods
- goods provided by private businesses that can be used only by those who pay for them
- public goods
- goods provided by government that anyone can use and that are available to all without charge
- representative democracy
- a form of government where voters elect representatives to make decisions and pass laws on behalf of all the people instead of allowing people to vote directly on laws
- social capital
- connections with others and the willingness to interact and aid them
- toll good
- a good that is available to many people but is used only by those who can pay the price to do so
- totalitarianism
- a form of government where government is all-powerful and citizens have no rights
