Social Studies 30-1 key terms

A set of connected beliefs about what people are like, how society should work, and what government should do. Ideologies explain the world and guide political action.

A belief that each person matters most as a separate individual, with personal goals, rights, and choices taking priority over group demands. It values self-reliance and personal responsibility.

A belief that people are defined largely by the groups they belong to and that group needs, shared goals, and cooperation should come before private wants. It values solidarity and mutual obligation.

An ideology centred on individual rights, freedom, equality before the law, and government by consent. It holds that people should be free to pursue their own goals within agreed limits.

A belief that people who share a language, history, culture, or territory form a nation and should govern themselves. It can unite groups seeking freedom or exclude and attack outsiders.

A system where the state controls nearly every part of public and private life through one ruling party, propaganda, surveillance, and force. Dissent is treated as treason and organized opposition is destroyed.

The belief that a perfect society can be designed and built, often by reorganizing property, work, or government. Critics argue such plans ignore human limits and can justify harsh means.

A belief that society can and should be improved through reform, education, and government action. Progressives trust evidence and planning to address problems such as poverty and inequality.

Assumptions about what people are basically like - cooperative or competitive, rational or emotional, good or flawed. These assumptions shape whether an ideology trusts individuals, groups, or the state.

The shared benefits and conditions that help a whole community flourish, such as safety, health, and fair access to opportunity. Ideologies disagree about who defines it and who pays for it.

A belief that change should be slow and cautious, respecting tradition, established institutions, and tested practices. Conservatives value order, stability, and inherited social bonds over abstract plans for reform.

A person or movement that wants to reverse change and return to an earlier social or political order. Reactionaries reject both gradual reform and revolution, seeking restoration instead.

A theory holding that society is shaped by class conflict between owners of production and workers, and that capitalism will be replaced by socialism and eventually communism. It calls for collective ownership.

A belief that governments are unnecessary and harmful, and that people can organize themselves through voluntary cooperation. Anarchists oppose state authority and usually favour decentralized, self-governing communities.

Early socialist thinking that imagined ideal communities built on cooperation, shared property, and fair work, often created by example rather than revolution. Marxists later criticized it as unrealistic.

Organized workers joining together to bargain collectively over wages, hours, and working conditions, and to press for laws protecting labour. Unions challenged the liberal idea that free contracts were always fair.

A strict form of belief that treats a sacred text or tradition as the unchanging authority for all of life, including law and politics. It often resists secular, liberal values.

The deliberate control or banning of information, expression, or art by a government or authority. It limits freedom of expression and is a common tool of illiberal rule.

The principle that everyone, including rulers and officials, is subject to the same known laws, applied fairly and predictably by independent courts. No one is above the law.

An idea that legitimate political authority rests on an agreement among people to give up some freedom in exchange for protection and order. Government that breaks the agreement can be resisted.

Rights believed to belong to every person simply by being human, such as life, liberty, and property, rather than by any government's gift. Governments exist to protect them.

The principle that state power should be legally restricted so that individual rights are protected. Limits may come from constitutions, courts, elections, and a separate civil society.

Dividing government authority among separate branches - typically legislative, executive, and judicial - so that no one group holds all power. Each branch can restrain the others.

An economic view that government should interfere as little as possible in markets, letting businesses, workers, and consumers make their own choices. It trusts competition to regulate prices and behaviour.

Ownership of land, goods, and ideas by individuals or groups, with legal protection against taking without consent. Liberals see it as a foundation of independence and economic freedom.

The ability of individuals to choose work, buy and sell, start businesses, and keep the rewards of their effort with minimal government interference. It is a core liberal value.

The idea that everyone should start with the same chances to succeed, regardless of background, so that success reflects effort and ability. It differs from equality of outcome.

The right to vote in elections. Extending suffrage to more groups has been a major struggle in the history of liberal democracy.

A situation where a majority uses democratic power to override the rights and interests of a minority. Liberal thinkers argue that rights must protect minorities from any majority.

Rights held by groups rather than individuals, such as language, treaty, or self-government rights belonging to a people. They can challenge purely individualist views of rights.

Membership in a political community that carries rights, duties, and a sense of belonging. It involves participating in public life, not just holding a passport.

The network of voluntary groups and associations - charities, clubs, unions, faith groups, media - that exist between the individual and the state. A strong civil society supports participation and holds power accountable.

The deliberate, public, and usually nonviolent breaking of an unjust law to protest it and persuade others. Those who practise it typically accept punishment to show respect for law overall.

A system in which government provides income support, health care, and other services to reduce poverty and share risk. It reflects a belief that citizens have social as well as political rights.

An organized group that tries to influence government policy on a particular issue, such as business, labour, environment, or health. It is a channel for citizen participation between elections.

Media that operate without government control and can report, investigate, and criticize. It supports informed citizenship and accountability, though it can also spread misinformation.

The growing interconnection of economies, cultures, and communications across borders through trade, investment, migration, and technology. It spreads ideas and wealth while creating new inequalities and identity tensions.