Terminology

Lame Duck
A person or thing that is helpless, inefficient or disabled; An elected official who has lost the recent election or is not eligible for reelection and is marking time until leaving office

Realism

A theory popularized by Greek historian Thucydides in the fifth century B.C. as a result of his analysis of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.):

• Individuals are evil by nature. The self-interest of individuals makes genuine cooperation problematic.
• States are guided by a national interest that dictates increased power.
• The international system is anarchic, meaning there is no supranational force capable of regulating the actions of states.
• Peace is obtained when states form alliances of rough equals, establishing a balance of power.

Liberalism

A theory associated with French Enlightenment thinkers that challenges the core assumptions of realism.

• Individuals are good by nature. The fundamental concern for the welfare of others makes progress through cooperation possible.
• States with democratic institutions preserve peace; states with non-democratic institutions promote war.
• The anarchic nature of the international system can be reduced or eradicated through the establishment of effective international organizations and international law.
• Ware is not inevitable.

Marxism

A theory associated with the writing s of Karl Marx (1818-1883) and influential theorists such as John Hobson and Vladimir Lenin.

• Capitalism creates two classes of people: owners (bourgeoisie) and workers (proletariat)
• Owners exploit their workers in order to realize profits.
• The search for new markets, resources and profits leads to imperialism, the establishment of colonies outside the state.
• Imperialism leads to ware among capitalists states.

Concepts

• Class struggle. The inevitable clash of interests between proletariat and bourgeoisie classes.
• Workers' revolution. Revolt by the proletariat against the bourgeoisie aimed at ending capitalism and introducing communism.
• Communism. An economic system in which classes are abolished and the state withers away. Under communism, each person works maximally according to ability and receives the fruits of collective labors in accordance with needs.

Imperialism

The policy of forcefully extending a nation's authority by territorial gain or by the establishment of economic and political dominance over other nations. Usually occurs between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination.

Communism

"Pure communism" in the Marxian sense refers to a classless, stateless society, one where decisions on what to produce and what policies to pursue are made in the best interests of the collective society with the interests of every member of society given equal weight in the practical decision-making process in both the political and economic spheres of life. In modern usage, communism is often used to refer to the policies of the various communist states, which were authoritarian governments that had centrally planned economies and ownership of all the means of production. Most communist governments based their ideology on Marxism-Leninism.

Socialism

Socialism is an economic and political theory based on public or common ownership and cooperative management of the means of production and allocation of resources. In a socialist economic system, production is carried out by a public association of producers to directly produce use-values (instead of exchange-values), through coordinated planning of investment decisions, distribution of surplus, and the use of the means of production. Some socialist currents advocate a set of social and economic arrangements based on a post-monetary system of calculation, such as labor time, energy units or calculation-in-kind.

Capitalism

Capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production are privately owned. Supply, demand, price, distribution, and investments are determined mainly by private decisions in the free market, rather than by the state through central economic planning or through democratic planning. Profit is distributed to owners who invest in businesses, and wages are paid to workers employed by businesses. Capitalism also refers to the process of capital accumulation.

Fascism

A political theory advocating an authoritarian hierarchical government (as opposed to democracy or liberalism). Fascists believe that a nation is an organic community that requires strong leadership, singular collective identity, and the will and ability to commit violence and wage war in order to keep the nation strong. They claim that culture is created by the collective national society and its state, that cultural ideas are what give individuals identity, and thus they reject individualism.

Democracy

Democracy is a political form of government where governing power is derived from the people, either by direct referendum (direct democracy) or by means of elected representatives of the people (representative democracy).

Democrat

The party has favored farmers, laborers, labor unions, and religious and ethnic minorities; it has opposed unregulated business and finance, and favored progressive income taxes. In foreign policy, internationalism (including interventionism) was a dominant theme from 1913 to the mid 1960s. In the 1930s, the party began advocating welfare spending programs targeted at the poor. Since the 1970s, environmentalism has been a major new component.

In recent decades, the Party advocates civil liberties, social freedoms, equal rights, equal opportunity, and a free enterprise system tempered by government intervention (what economists call a mixed-economy). The Party believes that government should play a role in alleviating poverty and social injustice, even if that means a larger role for government and progressive taxation to pay for social services. They support gay marriage, abortion, and stem call research. Center-left wing.

Republic

A republic is a form of government in which at least a part of its people have some element of formal control over its government, and in which the head of state is not a monarch.

Republican

The Republican Party is the more socially conservative and economically libertarian of the two major parties, and has closer ties to both Wall Street (large corporations) and Main Street (locally owned businesses) than do the Democrats and less affiliation with labor unions. Republicans have a strong belief in personal responsibility, limited government, and corporate entrepreneurship. Republicans generally oppose gay marriage, oppose abortion, and oppose embryonic stem cell research. Center-right wing.

Liberalism

Liberalism (Liberal) is an ideology, philosophical view, and political tradition which holds that liberty is the primary political value. Liberalism has its roots in the Western Age of Enlightenment, but the term now encompasses a diversity of political thought. Broadly speaking, liberalism emphasizes individual rights. It seeks a society characterized by freedom of thought for individuals, limitations on power, especially of government and religion, the rule of law, free public education, the free exchange of ideas, a market economy that supports relatively free private enterprise, and a transparent system of government in which the rights of all citizens are protected. In modern society, liberals favor a liberal democracy with open and fair elections, where all citizens have equal rights by law and an equal opportunity to succeed.

Conservatism

Conservatism (Conservative) is a political philosophy that necessitates a defense of established values. Since different cultures have different established values, conservatives in different cultures have different goals. Some conservatives seek to preserve the status quo, while others seek to return to the values of an earlier time, the status quo ante.

Bureaucracy

A system of government in which most of the important decisions are made by state officials rather than by elected representatives.

Left Wing vs Right Wing

Traditionally, the Left includes progressives, social liberals, social democrats, socialists, communists and anarchists. The Right includes conservatives, reactionaries, capitalists, monarchists, nationalists and fascists.

Origin

In 1789, the French National Assembly was created as a parliamentary body to move control of issues, such as taxation, from the king to the citizenry. Inside the chamber where the National Assembly met, members of the Third Estate sat on the left side and members of the First Estate sat on the right. The Third Estate consisted of revolutionaries, while the First Estate were nobles. Thus, the left wing of the room was more liberal, and the right wing was more conservative.

Left Wing (liberal)

Left wingers believe the country is more important than the individual. More specifically, left wingers believe that governments are a force for social justice and change, and so should intervene in individual’s lives to ensure social justice is achieved. Left wingers traditionally favor ‘big’ government. Left wingers believe in substantial equality. They argue that not every individual is the same and so government policy should be aimed to create substantial rather than just formal equality. Examples of left wing substantial equality include affirmative action and social and cultural rights.

Right Wing (conservative)

Right wingers believe that the individual is more important than the country. More specifically, right wingers believe that governments are big and unwieldy and so should not interfere with people’s lives at all. They believe that government interference contravenes an individual’s right to liberty.Right wingers favor ‘small’ government. Right wingers believe in formal equality. They believe that everyone should be treated equally under the law and should be treated equally by government. Examples of right wing formal equality include equal pay for equal work and civil and political rights.