Research Paper on:
Comparative Politics - Definition Of Terms

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and democracy (Wikipedia, Classical, 2004). Lockes work argued for personal freedoms and natural rights. Smith brought an economic ideology to the forefront advocating a laissez-faire type of government (Wikipedia,  Classical, 2004). John Stuart Mills work brought an end to classical liberalism (Wikipedia, Classical, 2004). Mill is viewed as the transitional ideologist between classical liberalism and modern liberalism  (Wikipedia, Classical, 2004). Classical liberalism was extremely influential in the area of comparative politics, in fact, the ideology was so broadly accepted that "the majority of Western countries are considered  to be Liberal Democracies" (Wikipedia, Classical, 2004). Comparative Method: The comparative method is a scientific method of comparing two systems of politics, as an example. Wilsford calls it "comparative  investigation of political systems" (1995, p. 221). It looks at the whys and whats of the different systems, such as comparing a nation-state to a non-nation state or a country  that has a parliament to that with another form of governmental and political structure and system. The comparative method is the key to understanding comparative politics (Wilsford, 1995). It  is the only way the student can gain a true understanding of the many different political systems in the world. Gross Domestic Product (GDP): This is an economic term  that is "a measure of the size of the economy of a particular territory" (Wikipedia, Gross, 2004). It is the value of all the goods and services that a nation  or territory produces within a certain named period of time (Wikipedia, Gross, 2004). This is not the same as the gross national product (GNP) because GDP does not include "inter-country  income transfers" (Wikipedia, Gross, 2004). Thus, it has to do with what is produced within the borders of the country (Wikipedia, Gross, 2004). The GDP is significant because it