Vocabulary Definitions for 3.28.08

1. Lassiez faire: the idea that government should not interfere with or regulate industries and businesses.
   
2. capitalism: an economic system based on private ownership and on the investment of money in business ventures in order to make a profit.
3. utilitarianism: the theory, proposed by Jeremy Bentham in the late 1700s, that government actions are useful only if they promote the greatest good for the greatest number of people.
   
4. socialism: an economic system in which the factors of production are owned by the public and operate for the welfare of all.
   
5. communism: an economic system in which all means of production - land, mines, factories, railroads, and businesses - are owned by the people, private property does not exist, and all goods and services are shared equally.
   
6. union: an association of workers, formed to bargain for better working conditions and higher wages.
   
7. Corporation: a business owned by stockholders who share in its profits but are not personally responsible for its debts.
   
8. Suffrage: the right to vote.
   
9. Anti-antisemitism: prejudice against Jews.
   
10. Dominion: in the British Empire, a nation (such as Canada) allowed to govern its own domestic affairs.