3.2.7 Politics — section quiz — the 9 pairs that get mixed up
Most mix-ups happen when two words sit next to each other. These are the 9 pairs
worth practicing apart. The 5 marked most confused are the ones the course
itself flags, or that sit closest together.
Cover the right-hand column with your hand, read the left definition, and say which term it
is out loud before you look. Then swap sides.
most confused
power
Control over others, however it's obtained — fear works fine.
vs
authority
Power that the ruled recognize as legitimate.
How to tellCaligula's motto — "let them hate me, as long as they fear me" — is power without authority. A respected leader has both.
autocracy
One ruler holds all the power.
vs
oligarchy
A small group holds the power together.
How to tellCount the rulers. One = autocracy. A few (nobility, one party) = oligarchy.
direct democracy
Every citizen participates directly in decisions.
vs
representative democracy
Citizens elect a smaller group to make decisions for them.
How to tellDirect democracy doesn't scale past a small population. Nearly every modern democracy is representative.
most confused
parliamentary system
Legislature chooses the head of government (prime minister) from among its own members.
vs
presidential republic
People directly elect a president who is both head of government and head of state.
How to tellAsk who picks the executive leader — the legislature, or a direct popular vote.
most confused
Bundestag
Germany's elected lower house — citizens vote, using a mix of FPP and proportional methods.
vs
Bundesrat
Germany's upper house — members are delegates chosen indirectly by the state governments, not elected by citizens at all.
How to tellOnly the Bundestag is a citizen vote. The Bundesrat is state governments sending representatives, which is a different kind of "indirect" than a parliamentary prime minister.
most confused
Socialism
The broad goal: social and economic equality and cooperation.
vs
Communism
One specific path to that goal: state ownership of the means of production, usually single-party.
How to tellEvery Communist system is Socialist, but not every Socialist system is Communist — social democracy pursues the same goal through votes, not state ownership.
most confused
totalitarian government
Total control over actions and beliefs — rare, hard to sustain.
vs
authoritarian government
A lot of power, but not total control — the historically common form.
How to tellTotalitarian reaches into what people believe, not just what they do. Authoritarian stops at controlling actions.
anarchy
No government power at all.
vs
failed state
A country with a central government that doesn't actually control its own territory.
How to tellA failed state usually still has a government on paper — it's the lack of real control, often from competing factions, that produces anarchy-like conditions.
nationalism
The belief one shared-culture group should have its own sovereign state.
vs
partition
Actually dividing a country into separate political entities.
How to tellNationalism is the idea; partition is one possible (and often messy) outcome, as in the Iraq debate.
