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Chapter 1- Political Dictionary
Prepared by a Student
- Government- is the institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policy.
Significance- Government is made up of those people who exercise its powers, those who have authority and control over people.
- Public Policy- everything the government decides to do.
Significance-Public policies cover matters ranging from taxation, defense, education, crime and health care to transportation, the environment and working conditions.
- Legislative Power- an exercise of power to make law and to frame public policy.
Significance- Legislative power makes the laws which citizens abide by.
- Executive Power- the power to execute, enforce and administer law.
Significance- One of the key kinds of power that the government has and exercises.
- Judicial Power- the power to interpret laws, to determine their meaning, and to settle disputes that arise within society.
Significance- The judicial powers along with the executive and the legislative powers are often outlined in the constitution.
- Constitution- a body of fundamental laws setting out the principals, structures, and processes of government.
Significance- The constitution is essential for our democratic government.
- Dictatorship- the exercising of powers held by a single person or by a small group.
Significance- Those who rule cannot be responsible to the will of the people.
- Democracy- Government by the people exercised either directly or through elected representatives.
Significance-The United States is a Democracy.
- State- a body of people, living in defined territory, organized politically and with the power to make and enforce law without the consent of any higher authority.
Significance- There are more than 190 states in the world today.
- Sovereign- Supreme and absolute power within its own territory and can decide its own foreign and domestic politics.
Significance- The United States can determine its form of government because it�s a sovereign state.
- Autocracy- a government in which a single person holds unlimited political power.
Significance- Autocracy is a form of authoritarian government.
- Oligarchy- a government in which the power to rule is held by a small, usually self- appointed elite.
Significance- Oligarchy is also another form of authoritarian government in which those in power hold absolute and unchallengeable authority over the people.
- Unitary Government- A centralized government.
Significance- All powers held by the government belong to a single, central agency.
- Federal Government- a government in which the powers of government are divided between a central government and several local governments.
Significance- The United States has a important federal government.
- Division of Powers- An authority superior to both the central and local government.
Significance- Both levels of government act directly on the people through their own sets of laws, officials, and agencies.
- Confederation- alliance of independent states.
Significance- A central organization, the confederate government, only handles those matters that member states assign to it.
- Presidential Government- the executive and legislative branches of the government are separate, independent of one another, and coequal.
Significance- The chief executive is chosen independently of the legislature, holds office for a fixed tern, and has broad powers not subject to the direct control of the legislative branch.
- Compromise- an order to find the position most acceptable to the largest number.
Significance- Compromise is a process of blending and adjusting competing views and interests.
- Free Enterprise System- It is an economic system characterized by the private ownership of capital goods, investments made by private decision, not by government directive and success or failure determined by competition in the marketplace.
Significance- Free enterprise system is based on four fundamental factors: private ownership, individual initiative, profit and competition.
- Law of Supply and Demand- The law states when supplies of goods and services become plentiful, prices tend to drop. When supplies become scarcer, prices tend to rise.
Significance- The law of supply and demand keeps the economy stable.
- Mixed Economy- An economy in which private enterprise exists in combination with a considerable amount of government regulation and promotion.
Significance- Government�s participation in the economy serves a twofold purpose: to protect the public and to preserve private enterprise.