U.S. Government & Politics Unit 1: Principles of Government
maintaining order
A government that is preventing physical violence among members of society is fulfilling which purpose of government?
power elite
According to C. Wright Mills, what is composed of leaders from the economic, the military, and the government sectors of society?
bureaucrats
According to Max Weber, what term is applied to the people that have power in modern societies?
government
An institution created by a society to create and enforce public policies
force theory
Imagine that a group of people attack and defeat another group. Then the first group's leader becomes the ruler of the defeated group. This example best illustrates which theory?
national
Most power in the world today is held by what type of governments?
laws
The Code of Hammurabi is a collection of what type of items?
social contract theory of the origin of government
The Second Treatise of Government supports which theory?
elitist
The belief that only a small number of people hold power is derived from what kind of theories?
equality
The phrase "all men are created equal" expresses the basic idea of what tenet of democracy?
authority
What best describes power recognized as legitimate?
sovereignty
What describes the power of a state to determine its form of government and its economic and social systems?
government by no one
What does anarchy mean?
representative democracy
What is another term for indirect democracy?
certain ideas or tenets of democracy
What is the government of the United States based on?
Constitution
What is the written plan of government for the United States?
representative democracy
What term best relates to the government in the United States?
elites
What term is applied to people with a disproportionate share of power?
pluralist
What theories hold that many ordinary people have access to power?
federal
What type of government does the United States have?
in the preamble to the U.S. Constitution
Where can you find the phrase "to insure domestic tranquility"?
power
Which best describes control over the action of others?
protect the country
Which purpose of government do armed forces fulfill?
popular sovereignty
Which term means "consent of the governed"?
evolution theory
Which term relates to the theory that states that governments developed from family ties?
divine right theory
Which theory of government claims that the king connects the heavens and the earth?
Karl Marx
Who does the statement "the rich will do anything for the poor but get off their backs" belong to?
Aristotle
Who said, "We must know the varieties, and the number of varieties, of each form of government, if only with a view to making laws"?
Saddam Hussein
Who would most likely be called an autocrat? Aristotle Saddam Hussein a president of the United States Winston Churchill
federal governmetn
a central government with certain powers over the states
unitary government
a centralized system of government in which smaller, subordinate governing units can exercise only those powers granted them by the larger, central government
represetnative democracy
a form of government in which citizens vote for officials to represent them
limited governmetn
a form of government in which the people grant the government the right to rule; the government's powers are clearly limited, usually in a written document
democracy
a government controlled by the people, either directly or through elected representatives
republic
a government in which ultimate sovereignty belongs to the people, and the people elect officials to represent them in government decisions
nation-state
a group of people with territory, government, and sovereignty
pluralist theory
a hypothesis that a large number of people in a society hold power
elitist theory
a hypothesis that onl ya small number of people hold power
branch
a major component of a governmetn
parliament
a national representative body having supreme legislative powers within the state
elite
a person with a disproportionate share of power
autocrat
a ruler with absolute power
despot
a ruler with absolute power; also dictator, autocrat
dictator
a ruler with absolute power; an autocrat
ideaology
a set of beliefs on economic, social, and government issues
communism
a system in which the government owns the means of production and property is supposed to be shared by all
bureaucracy
a system of government administration based on bureaus or departments staffed with non-elected officials
direct democracy
a system of government in which the people, rather than elected representatives, directly make political decisions
totalitarian government
a system of government that is centralized and dictatorial and requires complete subservience to the state
presidential government
a type of government in which the legislative branch and the executive branch are separate and provide checks and balances on each other's powers
confederate governmetn
a type of government in which the power of government is divided evenly among an association of states
bureaucrat
a worker within a bureaucracy
anarchy
absence of any form of political authority
enlightened despot
an eighteenth-century autocratic ruler who used his power to benefit the people
power
control over the actions of others
indirect democracy
democracy in which people do not directly govern or directly vote for their representatives; for example, citizens vote for the electoral college, which elects the president
dictatorship
government led by a single leader with complete authority
proletariat
in Marxist thought, a worker who owns nothing but his or her own laber
bourgeoisie
in Marxist thought, rich property owners who exploit the working proletariat
division of powers
power split between a central government and smaller local or regional governmetns
authority
power that is recognized as legitimate
oligarchy
rule by a privileged few over the majority
autocracy
rule by one person with absolute authority
national government
the government of a nation-state
legitimacy
the idea that someone who holds power is recognized as having the right to rule
sovereignty
the power of a nation-state to determine its form of government and its economic and social systems
power elite
the upper echelon in American society
international relations
the way that national governments interact with each other
authoritarian government
when a government has substantial but not absolute power
