Enlightenment Ideas - Review

a political system in which power is exercised by elected leaders who work in the interests of the people

• monarchy
• representative government

• oligarchy
• dictatorship

the principle that government is based on clear and fairly enforced laws and that no one is above the law

• Rule of law
• Law of the land
• Rule of order
• Law of the jungle

a political system in which the powers exercised by the government are restricted, usually by a written constitution

• Limited Government

• Anarchy
• Dictatorship
• Absolute monarchy

the rights and liberties that can be claimed by individuals by virtue of being human; also called natural rights or human rights

• Alien rights
• Individual Rights

• Robot rights
• Animal rights

the idea that the powers of a government should be split between two or more strongly independent branches to prevent any one person or group from gaining too much power

• separation of powers
• concentration of powers
• unification of powers
• centralization of powers

the principle that the people are the ultimate source of the authority and legitimacy of a government

• Tyranny
• Monarchy
• Oligarchy
• Popular sovereignty

the belief that governments should operate according to an agreed set of principles, which are usually spelled out in a written constitution

• Anarchy
• Totalitarianism
• Dictatorship
• Constitutionalism

the idea that decisions approved by more than half of the people in a group or society will be accepted and observed by all of the people

• Majority rule
• Minority rule
• Equal rule
• Dictatorship