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POLITICAL DICTIONARY The Letter C
cabinet
an advisory committee to a president or prime minister, formed by the heads of government departments.
cadre
the
nucleus around which a permanent military unit can be built, such as a
cadre of officers. Also refers to the most dedicated members of a
political party.
caliphate
the
office or rank of caliph (meaning ruler), in a Moslem country. The term
derives from the title taken by the successors of Mohammed, the founder
of Islam.
canon law
the laws that govern a Christian church organization.
canvass
to solicit votes; to examine carefully, as in to canvass public opinion.
capital
a
city that is the seat of government of a state of nation; money used in
business, where it refers to the wealth or assets of a firm. Capital is
one of the three main factors of production, the others being land and
labor.
Capitalism
an
economic system in which the means of production, such as land and
factories, are privately owned and operated for profit. Usually
ownership is concentrated in the hands of a small number of people.
Capitalism, which developed during the Industrial Revolution, is
associated with free enterprise, although in practice even capitalist
societies have government regulations for business, to prevent
monopolies and to cushion domestic industries from foreign competition.
Opponents of capitalism say that the economy should be organized to
serve the public good, not private profit. Supporters say capitalism
creates wealth, which creates jobs, which create prosperity for
everyone.
capitulation
the
act of surrendering or submitting to an enemy; a document containing
terms of surrender. The term can also be used in a non-militaristic
sense, as in, say,"the liberal members of the party felt that the
president's policy was acapitulation to pressure from the right."
carpetbagger
an
outsider. The term was originally applied to politicians from the
Northern United States who went to the South after the civil war to try
to exploit the unstable situation there for their own profit. (They
often carried all their belongings in a carpetbag.) Now used to refer
to a politician who runs for office in a state or other district that
is not his home.
carte blanche
a
signed paper, intentionally left blank so that the bearer can fill in
whatever he pleases. To give someone carte blanche is to give them
complete power to decide something, or to name their own conditions or
terms.
Carter Doctrine
the
doctrine enunciated by President Jimmy Carter in 1980, stating that "An
attempt by any outside forces to gain control of the Persian Gulf
region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the
United States of America, and such an assault will be repelled by any
means necessary, including military force." The Carter Doctrine,
although it was not formally invoked, was put to the test after Iraq
invaded Kuwait in 1990. The resulting Persian Gulf war in 1991 showed
that the U.S. did indeed regard the attempt by a belligerent country to
gain control of more than its allocated share of the region to be an
assault on the vital interests of the U.S.
caste
an
exclusive, often hereditary, class or group. Hindus in India live in a
caste system, with four distinct classes, or castes, who traditionally
are not allowed to mix with each other.
casus belli
an
act or a situation that that justifies a declaration of war. The
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 was the casus belli that
brought the U.S. into World War 11.
caucus
a
private meeting of members of a political party to plan action or to
select delegates for a nominating convention; also refers to distinct
groups, either official or unofficial, in Congress, as in the Black
Caucus in the House of Representatives.
censorship
the
prevention of publication, transmission, or exhibition of material
considered undesirable for the general public to possess or be exposed
to. This can include the censorship, in the national interest, of
military secrets, or of obscene material. One of the important public
debates of 1995 is whether there should be censorship of material
published on the Internet, the global network of computers.
census
an
offical count of the population of a district, state, or nation,
including statistics such as age, sex, occupation, property owned, etc.
In the U.S., a census is held at the end of every ten years.
centralization
the
adminstration of a government by a central authority. Centralization,
understood as the concentrating of power or authority in the hands of
the state, is often associated with socialist or communist systems.
centrism
a
political position that is neither left nor right but which occupies
the middle ground. President Clinton's reelection strategy may well be
centrist in essence, since the Republican challenger, whoever he may
be, is likely to espouse the cause of the right, leaving the middle
ground open to be claimed by the incumbent.
chain of command
the
order in which authority is wielded and passed down. A military chain
of command would extend from the most senior officers in an unbroken
link down to the ranks.
character assassination
an
unrelenting series of attacks on a person's character, often employing
exaggerated, distorted, or even false information. When used in
political races, character assassination is a tactic designed to take
attention away from issues and place it on the opposing candidate, who
is portrayed as being unfit for office.
charisma
in
political speech refers to a person's flair and personal magnetism, his
or her ability to inspire voters. Charismatic candidates exude charm
and power; they excite people and can persuade them to be devoted to
their cause. To say a politician lacks charisma is virtually to say he
is dull. Examples of charismatic leaders include President John F.
Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
charter
the
laws, including the powers and organization, granted to a city by the
state legislature; the constitution of an international body, such as
the United Nations.
chauvinism
an
unreasoning and aggressive kind of patriotism. Also refers to any
contemptuous attitude to another race, nation, or sex, as in male
chauvinism.
checks and balances
a
mechanism that gurads against absolute power in any governing body by
providing for separate governing bodies having equal power. Power is
equitably distributed or balanced amongst the various branches of
government (e.g., legislative, judicial, executive) and provisions are
made for checking or restricting too much power in any one office. The
system of checks and balances is a major part of the American system of
government provided by the Constitution to prevent any person or
persons or sector of government from gaining too much power. The system
emphasizes the interdependence of various forms of government. It
operates among the judicial, executive, and legislative branches of
government as well as between state and national governments.
Christian Democrats
political
parties in several countries in Europe, including Belgium, France,
Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. Christian Democrats are usually
Roman Catholics, and have had considerable influence on political
policies in the above countries since the end of World War II,
particularly in the area of social reform.
church and state
the
U.S. constitution provides for the strict separation of church and
state. The First Amendment states that "Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof." Opponents of the movement to introduce prayer into
public schools argue that such a provision would violate the
constitutional separation of church and state.
citizen
a
person who is a member of a state or nation, either by birth or
naturalization. Anyone born in the U.S. is a U.S. citizen and is
entitled to full civil rights.
civil disobedience
refusal
to obey laws. This tactic is most effective when used by fairly large
groups as a way of getting unjust laws changed. Mahatma Gandhi
(1869-1948) and his followers in India mounted many campaigns of mass
civil disobedience in their campaign for independence from Britain. The
American civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s, led by Martin
Luther King Jr. (1929-68), used the same tactic. Civil disobedience is
usually passive and nonviolent, aimed at bringing injustices to the
attention of lawmakers and the public at large. See also nonviolence.
civil liberties
the
freedoms people have a right to in a society. They consist mostly of
freedom of movement and association; freedom of religion, and freedom
of expression. The idea of civil liberties is deeply embedded in the
United States; it is enshrined in the Bill of Rights.
civil rights
rights
granted by a state to all its citizens. In the U.S. this refers to the
rights enshrined in the constitution and Bill of Rights. Civil rights
prevent the government from intruding on personal liberties.
civil service
all nonmilitary employees of the government.
civil war
a war between different factions, whether geographcal or political, within one state or nation.
civilian
anyone who is not in military service.
civitas
a Latin term meaning citizenship.
clan
a
close-knit social group held together by ties of kinship (as in clans
in the Scottish Highlands) or other common interests. Sometimes writers
refer to large or well-known political families as clans-the Kennedy
clan, etc.
class
a
number of people or things grouped together; a group of people that are
linked together because of certain things held in common, such as
occupation, social status, economic background: ruling class, middle
class, working class, etc.
class struggle
conflict
between different classes in a society. The idea of class struggle held
an important place in Marxism. Karl Marx divided society into two broad
groups: the capitalists, or bourgeoisie, and the proletariat, or
workers. Their interests were inevitably opposed, according to Marx,
because one group (the proletariat) was always being exploited by the
other (the bourgeoisie), so that capitalist society was a constant
struggle between them. Marx believed that eventually the proletariat
would triumph and a new classless society would emerge. The idea of
class struggle, as with other main tenets of Marxism, holds much less
appeal worldwide now than it has done for most of this century, because
of the general failure and collapse of Marxist systems around the
globe.
classical economics
the
dominant theory of economics from the eighteenth century until
superseded by neoclassical economics in the twentieth century. It is
associated with Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations (1776) John Stuart
Mill's Principles of Political Economy (1848), and the work of David
Ricardo (1772-1823), who were the first to systematically establish a
body of economic principles. The basic idea was that the economy
functioned most efficiently if everyone was allowed to pursue their own
self-interest. Classical economics therefore favored laissez faire; the
primary economic law was that of competition. See also Keynesianism;
neo-classical economics.
clemency
leniency or mercy to an offender or enemy.
closed shop
a
business in which all the employees must be members of a labor union.
The closed shop is most common in the printing, transportation and
construction industries. The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 made the closed
shop illegal for firms engaged in interstate commerce.
closure
also
called cloture, the term refers to the process by which a filibuster
can be ended in the Senate. A motion for closure requires the votes of
three-fifths of the Senate, i.e. 60 votes.
coalition
a
combination of parties or states. For example, in 1991 a U.S-led
international coalition defeated Iraq in the Persian Gulf war.
Domestically, coalitions can be made up of many organizations which
band together to pursue a particular cause, as for example the
Christian Coalition is a coalition made up of many different Christian
organizations for the purpose of influencing public debate on moral
affairs. There can also be legislative coalitions, in which legislators
team up with others to advance a particular issue or piece of
legislation, even though they may not be of the same party or agree on
any other issues.
code
a systematically organized set of laws, such as the criminal code, the civil code.
codification
the act of arranging laws in a code.
coercion
the
use of force or other powerful means of persuasion to get someone to do
something. Often used to refer to government by force.
coexistence
a
tacit agreement between two or more groups, parties, nations etc., that
are in fundamental disagreement or conflict, that they will not go to
war. Coexistence is not quite the same as peace, because the parties
remain wary of each other and often hostile, but they accept that
widely different ideologies and social systems can exist without those
differences alone being a cause for war. Coexistence was a phrase often
used during the Cold War, when it was a preferable alternative to the
U.S. and the Soviet Union incinerating the entire world in a nuclear
holocaust.
cohort
a group of soldiers. Also refers to an assistant or colleague.
Cold War
the
struggle between the U.S. and Western Europe against the Soviet Union
and its Eastern European allies. It involved confrontation but no
actual "hot" warfare. The Cold War began in the 1940s when the U.S.
believed it was imperative to check Soviet expansionist designs on
Western Europe. It reached its height during the 1950s and 1960s, when
the threat of nuclear annihilation hung over the world, particularly
during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. The Cold War made itself felt
all over the globe; it was as if the entire world was divided into two
units, East and West. No small regional Third World conflict was
insignificant. The U.S. backed any regime that was anti-communist;
while the Soviets tried to expand their influence anywhere they could,
from Cuba and Central America to the Middle East and Africa. The Cold
War eased slightly during the 1970s as a result of the U.S.-Soviet
policy of détente. It finally began to wind down in the late 1980s. In
1985, Mikhail Gorbachev had come to power in the Soviet Union and had
begun his policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika
(restructuring). The Soviet Union and the U.S. agreed to wide-ranging
arms control measures. Then when communism crumbled in Eastern Europe
in 1989, without resistance from Moscow, U.S.-Soviet relations warmed
dramatically. By 1990, the Cold War was virtually over. Many claim that
the U.S. won the Cold War because of the massive U.S. arms buildup
during the Reagan adminstrations of 1981-89. The Soviets knew they
could not match this and so had to come the bargaining table. Others
say that the Soviet Union would have been forced to reform anyway,
because its economic system was so inefficient.
collaboration
working
with onother person, or with many others, on a project, such as a
literary or scientific endeavor. Collaboration also refers to
cooperating with an enemy.
collective
any enterprise in which people work collectively, such as collective farms in Russia and China.
collective bargaining
negotiations
about terms of employment (wages, hours, etc.) conducted between an
employer and the representatives of a group of workers, usually a labor
union.
collective responsibility
the
responsibility born by everyone who participates in a decision to abide
by that decision and be responsible for its consequences. Britain
applies the doctrine to its cabinet, which is collectively responsible
to parliament for its decisions.
collective security
an
agreement by participating nations that they will take joint military
action against any nation that attacks any one of them. NATO and the
Warsaw Pact are examples of collective security agreements.
collectivism
refers
to all economic and political systems that emphasize central planning
and group, as opposed to individual, endeavor. Thus socialist and
communist societies are collectivist. The theory of collectivism
emphasizes the value of cooperation under, usually, authoritarian
leadership. The efforts of the individual matter less than the goals of
the group as a whole.
collectivization
the
transfer of something from private to public ownership. For example,
the establishment of communism involved the collectivization of land
and private property.
collegialism
a theory that the church is an organization equal to and independent of the state, with authority resting in its members.
colonialism
a theory that the church is an organization equal to and independent of the state, with authority resting in its members.
colonization
the
establishment of a colony. Sometimes this involves moving a group of
people from the colonizing state into the area to be colonized, usually
to solidify control and to facilitate adminsistration of the area.
colony
a
territory that is ruled by another state. Hong Kong, for example, was a
colony of Great Britain until 1997, when China took over responsibility
for it. Many colonies have a limited amount of self-government.
Cominform
the
Communist Information Bureau, set up in 1947 to coordinate the
activities of communist parties in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe,
France, and Italy. It was dissolved in 1956, on the initiative of the
Soviet Union, in an attempt to reassure the West about Soviet
intentions.
Comintern
The
Communist International, also known as the Third International. The
Comintern was founded in Russia in 1919, with the purpose of promoting
revolutionary Marxism. As such, it encouraged revolution in capitalist
countries. It was dissolved in 1943, during World War II, to ease the
fears of Russia's Western allies.
comity
rules of etiquette in international relations that do not have the force of law but make international relations smoother.
commercialism
the
methods of commerce and business. Sometimes in social commentary the
term is used in a negative sense, as when a writer bemoans the
commercialism of our society, which is said to squeeze out moral or
spiritual values, or the conducting of business (i.e. the making of
money) where it is not appropriate-such as the commercialism involved
in the O. J. Simpson trial, for example.
commissar
formerly
the title of Soviet administrative officers, particularly the heads of
government departments. The term was dropped in 1946 in favor of
minister.
common good
the welfare of all. See also commonwealth; national interest; public interest; social welfare.
common law
the
legal system of most English-speaking countries, including the U.S,
based on custom, habit, and precedent. Common law is supplemented by
statutory law, which is established by legislation. The distinction
between common law and statutory law has become blurred in modern
times, because much of common law has been converted into statutes.
Common Market
see European Community.
commonwealth
similar
in meaning to common good. The term originated in seventeenth century
political thought. The idea was that all members of a society had
certain common interests which contributed to the good of all
(originally called the "common weal") and which they should therefore
pursue and protect.
commune
the
smallest territorial district in some European countries. More commonly
used to denote a small group of people living communally, working
together and sharing proceeds, etc.
Communism
the
political system under which the economy, including capital, property,
major industries, and public services, is controlled and directed by
the state, and in that sense is "communal." Communism also involves a
social structure that restricts individual freedom of expression.
Modern communism is based on Marxism, as interpreted by the Russian
revolutionary leader Vladimir Ilyitch Lenin (1870-1924). See
bolshevism; Communist manifesto; dialectical materialism; Leninism;
Marxism; Marxist-Leninism.
Communist Manifesto
one
of the most influential documents in modern history, the appearance of
which marked the birth of modern socialist theory. Published by Karl
Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1848, the manifesto began by declaring
that the history of all societies was that of class struggle. It then
described the history of the rise of the bourgeoisie, who had developed
the system of production and distribution on which capitalism was
based. But in doing so they had created an entirely new class, the
proletarians, who possessed no land, wealth, craft or trade, and so
were forced to labor in the factories of the bourgeoisie. The
proletarians were driven into a ceaseless struggle with their
oppressors, who were always exploiting them because of capitalisms need
for ever cheaper production. But the proletariat, or workers, were
destined to win the struggle. The last passage of the manifesto became
famous. "The workers have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a
world to win. Workers of all lands, unite!"
competition
rivalry.
In economics, it refers to a situation in which two or more companies
vie for business; if for example, there is competition between sellers
for a limited number of buyers, this will tend to bring down the price
of the commodity being sold. Buyers can also compete with each other;
the result is usually that prices go up. Competition is a cornerstone
of the free enterprise system, and extends itself into all areas of
U.S. society: people vie for the best university places, the best jobs,
etc. According to this idea, competition provide the spur for people to
succeed and to excel.
competitiveness
in
political speech, competitiveness often refers to the need to make sure
that U.S. goods and services are on a par with or better than those of
its foreign competitors. Commentators often point out in this respect
that we live in an increasingly competitive world.
compromise
a
settlement in which each party gives up something, or makes a
concession, for the purpose of reaching an agreement. It also refers to
something that is midway between two things. Someone once said that
politics is the art of the possible; it might also be said that
politics is the art of the compromise. Politicians constantly have to
make compromises to keep the widely different groups that make up
society, and who all have their own interests to defend, satisfied.
Without compromise it is difficult to reach agreements and keep
government running.
conciliation
the
process of getting two sides in a dispute to agree to a compromise. The
conciliator is a third party not involved in the dispute. The agreement
has to be voluntary; the process of conciliation, unlike arbitration,
does not compel the disputants to accept the proposed solution.
confederation
a
group of states which join together to execute some government
functions, such as the conduct of defense or foreign policy, but remain
independent, sovereign states. The U.S. was a confederation from 1778
until 1787, after which it became a federation.
conflict of interest
a
situation in which a person's private interests are in conflict with
the public interest that he is entrusted with representing. For
example, if a legislator has investments in a certain business, and
that business stands to benefit or lose by a particular piece of
legislation, he is involved in a conflict of interest. He may choose to
declare this conflict and abstain from voting. If he does not, he runs
the risk of later being accused of unethical conduct.
congress
a
representative assembly, such as the U.S. Congress. In the U.S.,
Congress consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Congress also refers to the two-year period which starts on January 3
each odd-numbered year, in which each particular Congress holds its
meetings and debates. Thus one can speak of the achievements of, say,
the 92nd Congress, or the 101st.
conscientious objector
someone
who refuses to serve in the military for religious or moral reasons.
They may believe, for example, that it is wrong to fight or kill, under
any circumstances.
consensus
agreement.
In politics, consensus refers to occasions when there is broad
agreement on specific issues and / or the overall direction of policy,
either between political parties or in public opinion, as, say, in 1993
there was a consensus among Democrats and Republicans about the need
for health care reform. Consensus politics, the seeking for the middle
ground on the assumption that society has shared values, is the
opposite of politics driven by sharp ideological confrontation.
consent of the governed
the
idea that a just government must be based on the consent of the people
who live under its jurisdiction. Government must be an expression of
the popular will. This concept is found in the writings of theorists
from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century, especially John Locke,
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and John Stuart Mill. Locke's work influenced
the Founding Fathers, and the Declaration of Independence states that
"governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from
the consent of the governed, that whenever any form of government
becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to
alter or abolish it."
conservatism
a
political philosophy that tends to support the status quo and advocates
change only in moderation. Conservatism upholds the value of tradition,
and seeks to preserve all that is good about the past. The classic
statement of conservatism was by the Irishman Edmund Burke, in his
Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790), in which he attacked
the French Revolution. He compared society to a living organism that
has taken time to grow and mature, so it should not be violently
uprooted. Innovation, when necessary, should be grafted onto the strong
stem of traditional institutions and ways of doing things: "it is with
infinite caution that any man ought to venture upon pulling down an
edifice which has answered in any tolerable degree for ages the common
purposes of society."
conservative
a
person who supports conservatism. Naturally, those who are most
conservative are usually those who have most to conserve, such as those
who own wealth and property, or who are otherwise privileged, and thus
have a stake in the disposition of things as they are. A conservative
tends to be for the free market in economic affairs, and against what
he calls "big government"-an excessive federal bureaucracy that
intervenes in a wide range of social and economic areas. Conservatives
prefer a kind of individualistic self-sufficiency. On social issues
conservatives are pro-family, anti-abortion, and in general support
traditional moral values and religion. Conservatives usually favor a
strong military.
conservative parties
political
parties that advocate conservatism. In the U.S., the Republican party
is more conservative than the Democratic party, and although the
Democrats have traditionally had a conservative wing (based in the
South) in the last two decades much of it has joined the Republicans.
The current trend in the Republican party is towards greater
conservatism.
consortium
an association or partnership of states or companies. Often used of an association of bankers.
conspicuous consumption
refers
to consumption of goods or services that is mainly designed to show off
one's wealth. The term was coined by Thorstein Veblen in the 1890s, who
said that all classes in society, indulged in conspicuous consumption,
even the poor (who, like the wealthy, sometimes buy something that is
not essential and which is beyond their means). According to Veblen,
the way to decide whether a certain item belongs in the category of
conspicuous consumption is to ask, "whether, aside from acquired tastes
and from the canons of usage and conventional decency, its result is a
net gain in comfort or in the fullness of life."
conspiracy
planning and acting together in secret, especially for an unlawful purpose.
conspiracy theory
the
idea that many important political events or economic and social trends
are the products of conspiracies that are largely unknown by the public
at large. Conspiracy theorists often assume that the political
authorities are involved in massive deceptions and cover-ups to
disguise their actions and intentions. Official versions of events are
regarded with suspicion. Conspiracy theories are probably as old as
human society itself. The one that has gripped the public imagination
like no other claims that President John Kennedy was killed not by a
sole assassin acting alone, but by a conspiracy involving (take your
pick) the Mafia, the Cubans, the CIA, the military-industrial complex.
Conspiracy theories have also flourished around the assassinations of
Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr, in 1968. Many members of the
citizens' militias that have received so much publicity since the the
April, 1995, bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City harbor
conspiracy theories. These theories claim that the U.S. government, in
cooperation with the media, international bankers, and the United
Nations, is somehow orchestrating a plot to establish a tyrannnous New
World Order that will enslave America.
constitution
a
document that describes the fundamental legal and political structures
of a state. A constitution may be written or unwritten.
constitutional government
a
form of government in which a constitution details the powers available
to each branch of government, and the rights of the individual in
relation to the government. Any action by the government that it not in
accord with the constitution is considered illegitimate.
constitutional law
the law that governs relations between the state and the citizens of a country.
constitutional monarchy
a system of government in which the head of state is a hereditary king or queen who rules through a constitution.
constitutionalism
government
according to a constitution. The term also refers to the branch of
political science that deals with the theory of constitutional
government.
consul
an
official appointed by one country who lives in another country and
assists his country's nationals with their business dealings.
consumer
in
economic terms, someone who consumes goods and uses services. Consumer
is distinguished from producer, since a consumer uses the goods or
services to fulfill his or her needs, not to produce more goods.
consumer activists
people
who are active in protecting the interests of consumers by pressing for
higher standards of safety, healthfulness, truth in labeling, and
customer service among producers of consumer goods.
consumption
in
economics, the terms refers to the using up of goods or services, as
opposed to production. It also refers to the amount used up.
containment
refers
to the policy of the U.S. that began in 1947 and continued throughout
the Cold War. It aimed to contain communism within its existing limits.
This could either be through military means, as in Korea and Vietnam,
or through technical and economic assistance to noncommunist countries.
See also Cold War.
contempt of court
obstructing
the business of a court; disobeying a court order; acting in such a way
as to undermine the dignity or authority of a court.
contract
a
legally binding agreement between two or more people. Also refers to
the document that describes the terms of the contract. There was much
publicity in 1994 about the book contract signed by House Speaker Newt
Gingrich with a prominent publisher: the contract would have spelled
out what each side agreed to do: Gingrich to write the book by a
certain date, the publisher to pay him a certain percentage of
royalties from sale of the book.
corporation
an
organization of people bound together to form a business enterprise or
any other stated function. A quarter of U.S. business firms are
corporations, but over three-quarters of all sales are through
corporations. Ownership shares of a corporation are sold to buyers, but
shareholders do not get much direct say in how the corporation is run.
Another distinguishing characteristic of a corporation is the principle
of limited liability, under which owners of corporations are not liable
for debts of the firm.
cosmopolitan
belonging
to the whole world, not just one locality or nation. A cosmopolitan
person would be at home in many countries; a cosmpolitan city would be
one in many different nationalities congregrated.
cost-benefit analysis
a
comparison between the cost of a specific business activity and the
value of it. A cost-benefit analysis is not limited to monetary
calculations, but attempts to include intangible effects on the quality
of life. For example, say there is a proposal to build a new factory in
a town. The factory may bring economic benefits, but what if also gives
off toxic emissions? In a cost-benefit analysis, the increase in jobs
and other economic activity that the factory would bring has to
measured against the possible damage on the health of the community.
Council for Mutual Economic Aid
was
set up in 1949 by Eastern European countries, as a counterpart to
Western Europe's Organization for European Economic Co-operation.
Comecon exists to co-ordinate the various national economies-to
provide, for example, adequate raw materials, and also to facilitate
co-operation in science and technology.
counter-culture
the
term given to the youth movement of the 1960s, which rejected many
aspects of mainstream American culture. The counter-culture had both a
political and a personal dimension. Politically, it was left-wing.
Counter-culturalists loathed the concentration of power and resources
in the military-industrial complex, they opposed the Vietnam war, they
espoused the causes of minorities, and tried to create a new social
order based on cooperation not competition. The counter-culture was
strongly anti-authoritarian. It also promoted ecological awareness,
feminism, and utopianism. In their search for personal fulfillment,
counter-culturalists tried to expand their minds through drugs and
meditation; sex and rock music was added to the mix to create a
personal ethos of abandonment to a kind of Dionysian freedom. The
movement petered out in the early 1970s, and the term counter-culture
had fallen into disuse, until it was revived in 1994 by House Speaker
Newt Gingrich, who accused the Clinton adminstration of embodying
counter-culture values, implying that those values were at the root of
America's malaise.
counter-revolution
the
overthrowing of a revolution and the return to the social order that
preceded it. A famous series of counter-revolutions took place
throughout Europe in 1848. After revolutions had overthrown monarchies
and autocrats all over the continent, a conservative backlash restored
the ousted monarchies and aristocrats to power.
coup d'etat
a sudden revolution in which control of a government is seized by force. Also means a sudden stroke of policy.
court martial
a military court convened for the trying of military personnel for military offenses.
covenant
a
binding agreement. In law, a covenant is a writing, under seal,
containing the terms of agreement between two parties. A covenant may
also be a clause containing a subordinate agreement or stipulation in a
deed. Another meaning of covenant, although not used often, is
international treaty, such as the Covenant of the League of Nations in
1919.
credibility
believability.
In political discourse it sometimes refers to a politician's standing
with the electorate. If he is perceived to have broken many promises,
for example, his credibility will be low. He will have what is sometime
known as a "credibility gap". The same applies to international
relations. If a country's policies are always changing, little
credibility will be given to each new position adopted.
criminology
the study of crime and criminals.
criterion
a
standard of judgment; any rule, principle, law, or fact by which a
correct judgment may be formed. The plural is criteria. If someone
wishes to apply for Medicaid, for example, they must meet certain
criteria before they can be eligible.
cult of personality
the
term refers to authoritarian regimes in which the enormous power of the
leader is reinforced and enhanced by exaggerated propaganda centered on
him personally. The leader's picture is everywhere, on billboards, in
public squares and buildings; he is supposed to be the embodiment of
wisdom and compassion and courage and leadership-a true father of the
country, possessing almost superhuman powers. The term was first used
in 1956 by the Russian Communist Party when it denounced Josef Stalin
for indulging in a personality cult when he was in power, from 1924 to
his death in 1953.
cultural revolution
refers
to the period of social and political upheaval in China between 1965
and 1968. The cultural revolution was a massive attempt to reassert the
principles of revolutionary Maoism (the doctrine associated with the
Chinese leader, Mao Tse Tung) and teach them to a new generation of
Chinese. Any elements in the communist party that were considered
liberal, or influenced by the model of Russian communism under its then
leader, Nikita Khrushchev, were denounced. There were massive party
purges. A personality cult of Mao emerged. Revolutionary fervor was
whipped up by groups known as Red Guards; writers, economists and other
intellectuals were criticized and denounced. Schools and colleges were
closed, as thousands of urban teen-agers were sent to work in the
countryside. The cultural revolution had run its course by 1968. In
ensuing years, many of the measures promoted by the cultural
revolution, particularly those which were based solely on ideology
rather than practical utility, were gradually eased.
curfew
a
time, usually in the evening, after which it is forbidden to appear in
the streets or in public places. Curfews are sometimes imposed by an
occupying army in a city in order to maintain its control, but in
unstable countries in times of great upheaval, the legitimate
authorities may impose a curfew as a way of maintaining public order.
currency
refers to legal tender that is "current," that is, it is in circulation as a medium of trade and exchange.
currency convertibility
the
right to exchange the currency of one country, at the going rate of
exchange, for that of another. This enables a person to carry out a
transaction in a foreign market whilst using the currency of his own
country, which the seller can then convert to his own national
currency. Currency convertibility is an essential element of world
trade.