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A quango or QUANGO is an organisation to which a government has devolved power, but which is still partly controlled and/or financed by government bodies. The term was originally a shortening of "quasi NGO", where NGO is the acronym for a non-government organisation.
Socialism is an economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes the economic, political, and social theories and movements associated with the implementation of such systems. Social ownership can take various forms, including public, community, collective, cooperative, or employee. As one of the main ideologies on the political spectrum, socialism is considered the standard left wing ideology in most countries of the world. Types of socialism vary based on the role of markets and planning in resource allocation, and the structure of management in organizations.
State capitalism is an economic system in which the state undertakes business and commercial economic activity and where the means of production are nationalized as state-owned enterprises. The definition can also include the state dominance of corporatized government agencies or of public companies in which the state has controlling shares.
Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those related to planning and decision-making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group and given to smaller factions within it.
Corporate welfare refers to government financial assistance, subsidies, tax breaks, or other favorable policies provided to private businesses or specific industries, ostensibly to promote economic growth, job creation, or other public benefits. This support can take various forms, including tax credits, tax deductions, tax exemptions, government contracts, preferential regulatory treatment, debt write-offs, public-private partnerships, bailout programs, discount schemes, deferrals, low-interest loans or loan guarantees, direct subsidies or public grants.
A mixed economy is an economic system that accepts both private businesses and nationalized government services, like public utilities, safety, military, welfare, and education. A mixed economy also promotes some form of regulation to protect the public, the environment, or the interests of the state.
In political science, statism or etatism is the doctrine that the political authority of the state is legitimate to some degree. This may include economic and social policy, especially in regard to taxation and the means of production.
A welfare state is a form of government in which the state protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for citizens unable to avail themselves of the minimal provisions for a good life.
Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance programs which provide support only to those who have previously contributed, as opposed to social assistance programs which provide support on the basis of need alone. The International Labour Organization defines social security as covering support for those in old age, support for the maintenance of children, medical treatment, parental and sick leave, unemployment and disability benefits, and support for sufferers of occupational injury.
Welfare reforms are changes in the operation of a given welfare system aimed at improving the efficiency, equity and administration of government assistance programs. Reform programs may have a various aims, sometimes the focus is on reducing the number of individuals receiving government assistance and welfare system expenditure, at other times reforms may aim to ensure greater fairness, effectiveness and allocation of welfare for those in need. Classical liberals, libertarians, and conservatives generally argue that welfare and other tax-funded services reduce incentives to work, exacerbate the free-rider problem, and intensify poverty. On the other hand social democrats and socialists generally criticize welfare reforms that minimize the public safety net and strengthens the capitalist economic system. Welfare reform is constantly debated because of the varying opinions on a government's need to balance providing guaranteed welfare benefits and promoting self-sufficiency.
The socialist market economy (SME) is the economic system and model of economic development employed in the People's Republic of China. The system is a market economy with the predominance of public ownership and state-owned enterprises. The term "socialist market economy" was introduced by Jiang Zemin during the 14th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1992 to describe the goal of China's economic reforms.
Nationalization is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with privatization and with demutualization. When previously nationalized assets are privatized and subsequently returned to public ownership at a later stage, they are said to have undergone renationalization. Industries often subject to nationalization include telecommunications, electric power, fossil fuels, railways, airlines, iron ore, media, postal services, banks, and water, and in many jurisdictions such entities have no history of private ownership.
In relation to public services, the voluntary sector is the realm of social activity undertaken by non-governmental, not for profit organizations. This sector is also called the third sector, community sector, and nonprofit sector. "Civic sector" or "social sector" are other terms used for the sector, emphasizing its relationship to civil society. Voluntary sector activities are important in many areas of life, including social care, child care, animal welfare, sport and environmental protection.
Chavismo, also known in English as Chavism or Chavezism, is a left-wing populist political ideology based on the ideas, programs and government style associated with the Venezuelan President between 1999 and 2013 Hugo Chávez that combines elements of democratic socialism, socialist patriotism, Bolivarianism, and Latin American integration. People who supported Hugo Chávez and Chavismo are known as Chavistas.
The Nordic model comprises the economic and social policies as well as typical cultural practices common in the Nordic countries. This includes a comprehensive welfare state and multi-level collective bargaining based on the economic foundations of social corporatism, and a commitment to private ownership within a market-based mixed economy – with Norway being a partial exception due to a large number of state-owned enterprises and state ownership in publicly listed firms.
Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist and democratic approach towards achieving socialism. In modern practice, social democracy has taken the form of predominantly capitalist economies, with the state regulating the economy in the form of welfare capitalism, economic interventionism, partial public ownership, a robust welfare state, policies promoting social equality, and a more equitable distribution of income.
"Socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor" is a classical political-economic argument asserting that, in advanced capitalist societies, state policies assure that more resources flow to the rich than to the poor, for example in the form of transfer payments.
Nanny state is a term of British origin that conveys a view that a government or its policies are overprotective or interfering unduly with personal choice. The term likens such a government to the role that a nanny has in child rearing. An early use of the term comes from Conservative British Member of Parliament Iain Macleod who referred to "what I like to call the nanny state" in the 3 December 1965 edition of The Spectator.
In the United States, the federal and state social programs including cash assistance, health insurance, food assistance, housing subsidies, energy and utilities subsidies, and education and childcare assistance. Similar benefits are sometimes provided by the private sector either through policy mandates or on a voluntary basis. Employer-sponsored health insurance is an example of this.
The Big Society was a sociopolitical concept of the first 15 years of the 21st century, developed by the populist Steve Hilton, that sought to integrate free market economics with a conservative paternalist conception of the social contract that was influenced by the 1990s civic conservatism of David Willetts. The Big Society influenced the 2010 UK Conservative Party general election manifesto and the legislative programme of the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition agreement. The relevant policy areas were devolved in Northern Ireland, in Scotland and in Wales, to, respectively, the Northern Ireland Executive, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government.
References
- ↑ Grynbaum, Michael (31 May 2012). "New York Plans to Ban Sale of Big Sizes of Sugary Drinks". New York Times. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
- ↑ Patrick Garry (14 June 2011). "The meaning of big government". Renew America. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
- ↑ Micheletti, M. (2000), End of Big Government: Is It Happening in the Nordic Countries?. Governance, 13: 265–278. doi : 10.1111/0952-1895.00134
- ↑ Peter Lindhert (2004). "Does Big Government Hurt Economic Growth" (PDF). St. Johns University. Retrieved 26 April 2012.