Age of Enlightenment A period (roughly 1700–89) when political, economic, and social thought was dominated by an optimistic faith in reason and in the progress of the human race.
The Age of Exploration and Discovery (l5th–l7th centuries) — an era which provided natural wealth from the colonies in the form of gold, silver, and other raw resources.
Anarchism The support of no system of government; the belief that government, controls, and authority are oppressive.
Basic Agents (Factors) of Production Land, labor, capital, and management
Behavioral Regularities Predictable aspects of the marketplace, such as competition and demand.
Bourgeoisie The middle class. Technically, it includes the "petite bourgeoisie," or small middle class — the small shopkeepers, government officials, lawyers, doctors, independent farmers, and teachers — and the "haute bourgeoisie." The term is generally used by Marxists to describe the owners of private property. (Bourgeois is the spelling of the adjective form.)
Capital The physical necessities for production — buildings, machinery, tools, equipment, and supplies. This term commonly refers to the money used to purchase these necessities.
Capitalists The class which provides or controls the money that underwrites the production of goods. Technically, capitalists are the upper class of the bourgeoisie, known as the "haute bourgeoisie," or high middle class, the most hated class under Marxism.
Circular Flow A static system which channels productivity and profits into an endless exchange.
Classical Economists The economists who preached the doctrine of laissez faire and stressed that the production, consumption, and distribution of goods and wealth are determined exclusively by economics laws and principles.
Communism A belief in the achievement of socialism by revolutionary means, particularly by class warfare.
Compulsory Savings A deferred savings plan by which a government finances a war through a required deduction from all wages to pay for war bonds.
Conspicuous Consumption The use of material goods to flaunt a person's belonging to a moneyed or privileged class.
Consumption The process by which goods and services are utilized in satisfying human needs and wants.
