Unit+I+-+Political+Decision+Making

 Decision making is an inescapable part of life. Making decisions and carrying them out is an example of the use of power. Learning to use power is a critical life skill because we have to know how to get the things we want and need without making it impossible to live with others. Democratic societies have created social organizations which encourage people to use the skills of negotiating, compromise, and conciliation to work out their relationships. For a free society to work well, individuals need to develop these political skills and use them effectively. In this unit, students are introduced to the basic decision making organizations of Canadian society so that they can better understand and participate as citizens of a democracy. They will also examine the concept of power and the ways it is used within the political structures of social organizations. As part of that process students will learn the concept of social contract and its role in making clear the rights and duties of the members of any social organization. Students will use the concepts of social contract and power to study the way political structures such as Parliament and government make decisions and carry them out in governing society.