Ch.1-5 Outline

What is government?

• The Government provides stability to society. It also provides critical services such as
• -free public education
• -free police and fire services
• -free mail delivery
• The Govt. also regulates access to common goods, such as public land, water and, air. -> This is a key factor in what makes the United States a Representative Democracy.

Representative Democracy

• A country where people elect representatives to make political decisions for them.
• our government is elected by citizens. Here, citizens vote for their government officials. These officials represent the citizens' ideas and concerns in government. Voting is one way to participate in our democracy.

KEY CONCEPTS

• Common Goods - Goods that all people may use but that are of limited supply
• Democracy - A form of Govt. where political power rests in the hands of people
• Direct Democracy - A form of Govt. where people participate directly in making government decisions instead of choosing representatives to do this for them
• 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

More Key Concepts

• 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
• Totalitarianism - A form of government where government is all-powerful and citizens have no rights

More key concepts

• Political Power - Influence over a governments institutions, leadership, or policies
• Politics - The process by which we decide how resources will be allocated and which policies government will pursue

More key concepts

• Government - The means by which a society organizes itself and allocates authority in order to accomplish collective goals
• 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
• Totalitarianism - A form of government where government is all-powerful and citizens have no rights

Folie 7

• Common Goods - Goods that all people may use but that are of limited supply
• Toll Good - A good that is available to many people but is used only by those who can pay the price to do so
• Private Goods - Goods provided by private business 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