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Chapter 1
Introducing Government in America
21
Civics
12th Grade
10/18/2012

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Term
Government
Definition
The institutions and processes through which public policies are made for a society.
Term
Public Goods
Definition
Goods, such as clean air and clean water, that everyone must share.
Term
Politics
Definition
The process by which we select our governmental leaders and what policies these leaders pursue. Politics produces authoritative decisions about public issues.
Term
Political Participation
Definition
All the activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue. The most common, but not the only, means of political participation in a democracy is voting. Other means include protest and civil disobedience.
Term
Single-Issue Groups
Definition
Groups that have a narrow interest, tend to dislike compromise, and often draw membership from people new to politics. These features distinguish them from traditional interest groups.
Term
Policymaking System
Definition
The process by which policy comes into being and evolves over time. People's interests, problems, and concerns create political issues for government policymakers. These issues shape policy, which in turn impacts people, generating more interests, problems, and concerns.
Term
Linkage Institutions
Definition
The political channels through which people's concerns become political issues on the policy agenda. In the United States, linkage institutions include elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media.
Term
Policy Agenda
Definition
The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actually involved in politics at any given point in time
Term
Political Issue
Definition
An issue that arises when people disagree about a problem and how to fix it.
Term
Policymaking Institutions
Definition
The branches of government charged with taking action on political issues. The US Constitution established three policymaking institutions - the Congress, the presidency, and the courts. Today, the power of the bureaucracy is so great that most political scientists consider it a policymaking institution.
Term
Public Policy
Definition
A choice that government makes in response to a political issue. A policy is a course of action taken with regard to some problem.
Term
Democracy
Definition
A system of selecting policymakers and of organizing government so that policy represents and responds to the public preferences.
Term
Majority Rule
Definition
A fundamental principle of traditional democratic theory. In a democracy, choosing among alternatives requires that the majority's desire be respected.
Term
Minority Rights
Definition
A principle of traditional democratic theory that guarantees rights to those who do not belong to majorities and allows that they might join majorities thourgh persuasion and reasoned argument.
Term
Representation
Definition
A basic principle of traditional democratic theory that describes the relationship between the few leaders and the many followers.
Term
Pluralist Theory
Definition
A theory of government and politics emphasizing that politics is mainly a competition among groups, each one pressing for its own preferred policies.
Term
Elite and Class Theory
Definition
A theory of government and politics contending that societies are divided along class lines and that an upper-class elite will rule, regardless of the formal niceties of governmental organization.
Term
Hyperpluralism
Definition
A theory of government and politics contending that groups are so strong that government is weakened. Hyperpluralism is an extreme, exaggerated, or perverted form of pluralism.
Term
Policy Gridlock
Definition
A condition that occurs when no coalition is strong enough to form a majority and establish policy. The result is that nothing may get done.
Term
Gross Domestic Product
Definition
The sum total of the value of all the goods and services produced in a nation.
Term
Individualism
Definition
The belief that individuals should be left on their own by the government. One of the primary reasons for the comparatively small scope of American government is the prominence of this belief in American political thought and practice.
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