Political culture – The widely shared beliefs, values, and norms about how citizens relate to governments and to one another.

Social capital – Democratic and civic habits of discussion, compromise, and respect for differences, which grow out of participation in voluntary organizations.

Natural rights – The rights of all people to dignity and worth; also called human rights.

Democratic consensus – Widespread agreement on fundamental principles of democratic governance and the values that undergird them.

Majority rule – Governance according to the expressed preferences of the majority.

Popular sovereignty – A belief that ultimate power resides in the people.

American dream – The widespread belief that the United States is a land of opportunity and that individual initiative and hard work can bring economic success.

Capitalism – An economic system characterized by private property, competitive markets, economic incentives, and limited government involvement in the production, distribution, and pricing of goods and services.

Suffrage – The right to vote.

Monopoly – Domination of an industry by a single company that fixes prices and discourages competition; also, the company that dominates the industry by these means.

Antitrust legislation – Federal laws (starting with the Sherman Act of 1890) that tried to prevent a monopoly from dominating an industry and restraining trade.

Political ideology – A consistent pattern of beliefs about political values and the role of government.

Liberalism – A belief that government can and should achieve justice and equality of opportunity.

Conservatism – A belief that limited government insures order competitive markets and personal opportunity.

Socialism - An economic and governmental system based on public ownership of the means of production and exchange.

Libertarianism – An ideology that cherishes individual liberty and insists on minimal government, promoting a free market economy, a noninterventionist foreign policy, and an absence of regulation in moral, economic, and social life.