80+ Terms

Glossary

Definitions of key terms in political science, economics, and political philosophy.

Aggregate Demand: The total demand for goods and services in an economy at a given time. Keynesians argue that insufficient aggregate demand causes recessions, and that government spending can stimulate it.
Alienation: Marx's concept: under capitalism, workers are estranged from the products they make, from the act of production, from other workers, and from their human potential. Labor becomes an external, imposed activity rather than an expression of creativity.
Anarchism: A political philosophy advocating the abolition of coercive hierarchies, especially the state, in favor of voluntary, horizontal cooperation. Not to be confused with chaos or disorder — anarchists advocate organized voluntary society.
Aristocracy: Rule by a hereditary noble class, justified by claims of birth, tradition, or natural superiority. One of Aristotle's three "good" forms of government (good version of oligarchy). The Roman Senate and European feudal nobility were aristocratic.
Authoritarianism: A political system characterized by concentrated power, limited political pluralism, and weak accountability to citizens. Distinguished from totalitarianism by tolerating private life outside politics.
Autocracy: Rule by a single person with unlimited authority, unrestrained by law, constitution, or other institutions. Absolute monarchies and personal dictatorships are autocracies.

Bicameralism: A legislative structure with two chambers (e.g., US Senate + House of Representatives; UK House of Lords + Commons). Upper chambers often represent states or regions; lower chambers represent population proportionally. Contrasted with unicameralism.
Bourgeoisie: In Marxist analysis, the class that owns the means of production (capital) under capitalism. The bourgeoisie employs the proletariat (working class) and extracts surplus value from their labor. More broadly, the middle and upper-middle class.
Bureaucracy: A system of administration organized hierarchically, with defined rules, roles, and procedures. Max Weber saw rational-legal bureaucracy as the defining feature of modern governance. Can be efficient but is often criticized for rigidity and inefficiency.
Bullionism: The mercantilist doctrine that national wealth consists primarily in the accumulation of gold and silver. States should maximize gold inflows through trade surpluses. Adam Smith demonstrated this was a confusion of money with real wealth.

Capital: In economics: money, machinery, buildings, and other assets used in production. In Marxist theory: a social relation — capital is value that has been accumulated through the exploitation of labor and is used to generate more value.
Capitalism: An economic system based on private ownership of the means of production, free markets, wage labor, and capital accumulation through profit. See full article.
Checks and Balances: Constitutional mechanisms by which each branch of government limits the powers of the others, preventing any one branch from becoming dominant. Central to the US Constitution's separation of powers.
Civil Liberties: Individual rights protected from government interference: freedom of speech, press, assembly, religion, due process, and equal protection. Distinguished from civil rights (protection from discrimination by other citizens and the state).
Class Struggle: Marx's central analytical concept: history is the history of conflict between economic classes. Under capitalism, the fundamental struggle is between the bourgeoisie (capital owners) and the proletariat (workers).
Coalition Government: A government formed by two or more parties that together command a parliamentary majority. Common in proportional representation systems. Requires negotiation and compromise but may be less decisive than single-party governments.
Collective Action Problem: A situation where individuals acting rationally in their self-interest produce outcomes that are worse for all. Pollution, overfishing, and public goods provision are classic examples. Typically requires coordination — often by government — to solve.
Collectivism: The principle that the group (community, class, nation, state) takes priority over the individual. Contrasted with individualism. Forms the basis of socialist and communist economic organization.
Communism: A classless, stateless society in which the means of production are held in common. In Marxist theory, the endpoint of historical development. See full article.
Competitive Authoritarianism: A hybrid regime in which elections occur but are systematically manipulated to advantage incumbents. Elections are real enough to be the main route to power, but unfair enough that incumbents rarely lose. Russia, Hungary, and Venezuela are examples.
Confederation: A political union in which most sovereign power remains with the constituent states, which delegate limited authority to a weak central body. The US Articles of Confederation (1781–89) and the Confederate States of America were examples. Distinguished from federation by the primacy of states over center.
Constitutional Monarchy: A monarchy in which the monarch's powers are limited by a constitution; real governing power rests with an elected parliament. See full article.
Corvée: A form of unpaid labor owed by serfs to their lords under feudalism. Serfs worked the lord's fields for a fixed number of days per week. One of the defining obligations of feudal serfdom.

Democracy: A system of government in which political authority derives from and is accountable to the people, through free elections, civil liberties, rule of law, and constitutional protections. See full article.
Democratic Backsliding: The gradual erosion of democratic norms and institutions from within — often by elected leaders using legal mechanisms to concentrate power, weaken courts, capture media, and manipulate electoral rules. Distinct from sudden coups.
Democratic Centralism: Lenin's organizational principle: decisions are made collectively through party debate, but once made, all members must follow them without dissent. Intended to combine democracy and discipline; in practice concentrated power at the top.
Devolution: The transfer of powers from a central government to regional or local bodies, without full constitutional federalism. The central government retains the legal right to reclaim devolved powers. UK devolution to Scotland and Wales is the prime example.
Dictatorship: Government by a ruler with absolute, unchecked power. Ancient Rome's "dictator" was a temporary constitutional office; modern usage describes permanent authoritarian rule. A dictator may or may not have an ideological program (distinguishing them from totalitarian leaders).
Direct Democracy: A form of democracy in which citizens vote directly on laws and policies, without representatives. Athenian democracy, Swiss referendums, and California ballot initiatives are examples.

Electoral System: The rules by which votes are translated into seats or offices. Major types: First-Past-the-Post (FPTP), Proportional Representation (PR), Mixed-Member Proportional (MMP), Ranked Choice, Two-Round. The choice of electoral system has profound effects on party systems and representation.
Externality: A cost or benefit that affects parties not involved in a transaction. Pollution is a negative externality (the cost of carbon emissions is borne by the climate, not included in oil prices). Markets over-produce negative and under-produce positive externalities without intervention.

Fascism: An ultra-nationalist authoritarian ideology combining state/corporatist economic organization with intense nationalism, anti-communism, rejection of liberal democracy, glorification of violence, and a charismatic leader. Mussolini's Italy and Nazi Germany are the paradigm cases. Not a simple synonym for authoritarianism.
Federalism: A system in which constitutional power is divided between a central government and regional governments, with both levels governing citizens directly. See full article.
Feudalism: A hierarchical system of land ownership and mutual obligation between lords and serfs that dominated medieval Europe. Land was the primary means of production and source of political authority. See full article.
Fiscal Policy: Government use of taxation and spending to influence the macroeconomy. Expansionary fiscal policy (increased spending or tax cuts) stimulates demand; contractionary (spending cuts or tax increases) reduces it. Keynes's prescription for managing business cycles.
Free Rider Problem: The tendency for individuals to benefit from a public good without contributing to its provision. National defense, clean air, and basic scientific research are public goods subject to free-riding. Typically requires government provision or regulation to solve.

General Will (Volonté Générale): Rousseau's concept: the collective will of the community that reflects the common good, distinct from the mere sum of individual wills (the "will of all"). The general will is always directed toward the common good even if individuals act selfishly. A foundational but contested concept in democratic theory.
Gerrymander: The manipulation of electoral district boundaries to favor a particular party or group. Named after Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry, whose 1812 district resembled a salamander. A key mechanism of electoral manipulation in FPTP systems.
Gulag: The Soviet forced labor camp system (Glavnoye Upravleniye Lagerei). An estimated 18 million people passed through the Gulag, with millions dying. The Gulag was both a penal system and an economic institution providing forced labor for Soviet industrialization.

Hegemony (Cultural): Gramsci's concept: the ruling class maintains power not primarily through force but through cultural and ideological dominance — making its worldview appear natural, universal, and inevitable. Counter-hegemony requires building an alternative cultural framework.
Historical Materialism: Marx's theory of history: economic structures (modes of production) are the foundation upon which political and cultural "superstructures" are built. History progresses through class struggle driven by contradictions within each mode of production.

Ideology: A system of ideas, values, and beliefs that provides a coherent framework for understanding society and guides political action. Examples: liberalism, conservatism, socialism, fascism, anarchism. All political actors have ideologies, whether explicit or implicit.
Imperialism: The policy of extending a nation's power through colonization, military conquest, or economic domination. Lenin defined imperialism as "the highest stage of capitalism" — the export of capital to less-developed countries as domestic profits fall.
Invisible Hand: Adam Smith's metaphor: individuals pursuing self-interest are led, as if by an invisible hand, to promote outcomes beneficial to society. The price system coordinates millions of individual decisions without central direction. The theoretical foundation for free-market economics.
Iron Law of Oligarchy: Robert Michels' theory: all organizations inevitably develop oligarchic leadership. Leaders develop expertise and resources ordinary members lack, then use them to insulate themselves from control. "Who says organization, says oligarchy."

Judicial Review: The power of courts to strike down legislation or executive actions as unconstitutional. In the US, established by Marbury v. Madison (1803) though not explicitly in the Constitution. In other systems (Germany, France), specialized constitutional courts perform this function.
Junta: A military council that has seized governmental power. From Spanish for "committee." Distinguished from a personalist military dictatorship by being collective rule among military officers.

Keynesianism: The school of economics associated with John Maynard Keynes, arguing that aggregate demand drives economic activity, that markets can fail, and that government fiscal and monetary policy can stabilize economies. Dominant in Western economic policy from WWII to the 1970s.

Labor Theory of Value: The economic theory, developed by Ricardo and Marx, that the value of goods is determined by the labor required to produce them. Marx used it to derive the concept of surplus value. Rejected by mainstream economics, which uses marginal utility theory instead.
Laissez-Faire: French for "let [them] do." The economic doctrine that governments should not interfere with markets, allowing supply, demand, and prices to operate freely. Associated with Adam Smith, and more recently with libertarian economics.
Legitimacy: The perceived rightfulness of a government's authority. Max Weber identified three types: traditional (custom), charismatic (personal qualities of leader), and rational-legal (follows correct procedures). Governments without legitimacy rule by force alone and are unstable.
Libertarianism: The political philosophy that individual liberty — both personal and economic — should be maximized and government minimized. Distinct from liberalism in rejecting most government intervention. Ranges from minarchism (minimal state) to anarcho-capitalism (no state).

Market Failure: A situation where free markets produce inefficient outcomes. Types include: externalities (pollution), public goods (national defense), natural monopolies (utilities), and information asymmetries (healthcare). Justifies government intervention.
Means of Production: Marxist term for the resources used to produce goods: factories, machinery, tools, land. Who owns the means of production determines the class structure. Under capitalism: private owners (bourgeoisie). Under socialism: workers or state.
Mercantilism: The dominant economic ideology of early modern Europe (1500–1800): states should accumulate gold through favorable trade balances, using tariffs, monopolies, and colonies. See full article.
Mixed Economy: An economic system combining private enterprise and free markets with government intervention, public ownership, and welfare provisions. All modern economies are mixed to varying degrees. See full article.
Mode of Production: Marx's term for the combination of forces of production (technology, labor power) and relations of production (ownership structures, class relations) that characterize a historical epoch. Capitalism, feudalism, and slavery are modes of production.
Monarchy: A political system headed by a hereditary ruler (king, queen, emperor). Absolute monarchies have unchecked power; constitutional monarchies have largely ceremonial roles. The oldest and historically most common form of government.
Monetarism: The school of economics associated with Milton Friedman, arguing that the money supply is the primary determinant of economic activity and inflation, and that central banks should target stable money supply growth rather than fine-tuning fiscal policy.
Monopoly: A market structure in which a single seller supplies the entire market. Monopolists can set prices above competitive levels, extracting rents from consumers. Natural monopolies (utilities) may justify regulation; other monopolies result from anti-competitive behavior.
Mutual Aid: Voluntary reciprocal exchange of resources and services for mutual benefit. Peter Kropotkin argued (in Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution, 1902) that cooperation and mutual aid — not competition — are the dominant force in natural and social evolution. Anarchist organizing principle.

Natural Rights: Rights that individuals possess inherently, not granted by government. Locke identified life, liberty, and property; Jefferson adapted it to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." The philosophical foundation of liberal democratic theory.
Neoliberalism: The dominant economic policy paradigm since the 1980s: market liberalization, deregulation, privatization, free trade, and fiscal austerity. Associated with Reagan and Thatcher. The Washington Consensus applied these prescriptions globally through IMF/World Bank conditionality.

Oligarchy: Rule by a small, powerful elite. See full article. Types include aristocracy (birth), plutocracy (wealth), technocracy (expertise), and junta (military).
Ostracism: An Athenian democratic institution: citizens could vote to exile a politician for 10 years without charges or trial. Used as a safety valve against dangerous individuals. Derived from "ostracon" (potsherd) — the clay tablets used as ballots.

Parliamentary System: A government structure in which the executive (prime minister) is drawn from and accountable to the legislature. See full article.
Plutocracy: Rule by the wealthy. Formal or informal dominance of politics by those with the most money. Distinguished from democracy by the unequal political weight given to wealth. Aristotle identified it as the corrupt form of oligarchy.
Political Compass: A two-dimensional model mapping political ideologies on economic (left-right) and social (authoritarian-libertarian) axes. More descriptive than the single left-right axis, capturing the distinction between economic and social-political positions.
Popular Sovereignty: The principle that political authority derives from and belongs to the people. The foundational principle of democracy. Rousseau's concept of the "general will" is one elaboration; the Lockean "consent of the governed" is another.
Presidential System: A government structure in which a directly elected president serves as head of state and government, separate from the legislature. See full article.
Proletariat: In Marxist theory: the working class — those who must sell their labor to capitalists to survive because they own no means of production. The proletariat produces surplus value that capitalists appropriate. The revolutionary class that Marx predicted would overthrow capitalism.
Proportional Representation (PR): An electoral system in which parties receive seats in proportion to their vote share. More representative than FPTP; tends to produce coalition governments and more parties. Used in most European democracies.

Republic: A form of government without a hereditary monarch, in which supreme power rests with citizens and is exercised through elected representatives. The USA is a republic (representative democracy). Ancient Rome was a republic before the Empire.
Rule of Law: The principle that all persons and institutions, including government officials, are subject to and accountable under law. No one is above the law. A foundational requirement for democracy and liberal governance. Undermined by authoritarianism.

Separation of Powers: The constitutional division of government into distinct legislative, executive, and judicial branches, each with separate powers. Formulated by Montesquieu; implemented in the US Constitution. Prevents tyranny by ensuring no single institution controls all government functions.
Serfdom: A form of unfree labor under feudalism: serfs were legally bound to the land and could not leave without the lord's permission. Not chattel slavery (serfs couldn't be sold separately from the land) but lacked meaningful freedom. Abolished in Western Europe by 1350s; Russia in 1861.
Social Contract: The philosophical theory that political authority arises from an agreement (explicit or implied) among individuals to surrender some freedoms in exchange for the benefits of organized society. Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau gave radically different accounts of the social contract's terms and implications.
Social Democracy: A political philosophy accepting capitalist markets but advocating extensive government intervention, strong welfare states, and redistribution to reduce inequality. The Nordic model is the contemporary benchmark. Distinguished from democratic socialism (which seeks to replace capitalism, not merely reform it).
Socialism: A broad family of economic and political philosophies advocating collective or state ownership of the means of production. See full article.
Sovereignty: The supreme authority within a state's territory. Internal sovereignty: the state's exclusive authority over its own territory. External sovereignty: recognition by other states. The Peace of Westphalia (1648) is said to have established the modern sovereign state system.
State Capitalism: A system in which the state owns or heavily directs major enterprises but uses market mechanisms and profit incentives. Modern China and Russia are examples. Combines capitalist dynamics with state ownership; often paired with authoritarian governance.
Surplus Value: Marx's concept: the difference between the value workers produce and the wages they receive. Workers produce more value than they are paid; the remainder (surplus value) is appropriated by the capitalist as profit. The source of exploitation in Marxist analysis.

Technocracy: A system in which technical experts make governmental decisions, rather than elected representatives. Justified by claims that complex modern governance requires specialist knowledge. Criticized for being undemocratic. The IMF, ECB, and Singapore's governance are often described as technocratic.
Theocracy: Government by divine authority or religious law; religious leaders hold or heavily influence political power. See full article.
Totalitarianism: An extreme form of authoritarianism that seeks total control over all aspects of life — political, economic, cultural, and private. Characterized by an all-encompassing ideology, pervasive propaganda, secret police terror, and mass mobilization. Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia are the paradigm cases (Hannah Arendt).
Tyranny: Aristotle's term for the corrupt form of monarchy: rule by one person in their own interest rather than the common good. More broadly: any form of oppressive, arbitrary, or illegitimate rule. The prevention of tyranny was the central concern of the American Founders.

Unicameralism: A legislature with only one chamber. Examples: New Zealand (1950), Sweden, Denmark, Israel, most smaller democracies. Contrasted with bicameralism. Simpler but may be less deliberative.
Unitary State: A state in which sovereignty resides in the central government, which is supreme over all other political units. Sub-national governments exist at the center's discretion. See full article.

Vanguard Party: Lenin's concept: a small, disciplined party of professional revolutionaries that leads the working class to power. The party has special authority to speak for the proletariat because of its theoretical understanding. The institutional foundation of Soviet and other communist parties.
Vote of No Confidence: A parliamentary mechanism by which the legislature can remove the executive (government/prime minister) if a majority votes that it has lost confidence in the government. A defining feature of parliamentary systems. Absent in presidential systems (which use impeachment instead).

Welfare State: A government system providing social services and economic security: healthcare, pensions, unemployment insurance, housing, and education. Developed primarily in Western Europe after WWII. The Nordic countries operate the most extensive welfare states.
Westminster System: The model of parliamentary government originating in the UK, characterized by first-past-the-post elections, single-party majority governments, strong party discipline, and the official opposition. Adopted by most former British colonies.