Microsoft Word Web glossary doc

Capitalist Class: The group of individuals (representing just a couple of percent of the 
population in advanced capitalist countries) which owns and controls the bulk of private 
corporate wealth, and which as a result faces no compulsion to work in order to support 
themselves. 
Carbon Tax: An environmental tax which is imposed on products which utilize carbon-based 
materials, and hence contribute to greenhouse gas pollution (including oil, gas, coal, and other 
fossil fuels). The level of the tax should depend on the carbon (polluting) content of each 
material. 
 
Central Bank: A public financial institution, usually established at the national level and 
controlled by a national government, which sets short-term interest rates, lends money to 
commercial banks and governments, and otherwise oversees the operation of the credit system.
Some central banks also have responsibility for regulating the activities of private banks and 
other financial institutions. 
 
Central Planning: An economic system in which crucial decisions regarding investment, 
consumption, interest rates, exchange rates, and price determination are made by central 
government planners (rather than determined by market forces). 
 
Class: The different broad groups in society, defined according to what work they do, their 
wealth, their degree of control over production, and their general role in the economy. 
Classical Economics: The tradition of economics that began with Adam Smith, and continued 
with other theorists including David Ricardo, Thomas Malthus, Jean-Baptiste Say, and others.
The classical economists wrote in the early years of capitalism, and they uniformly celebrated 
the productive, innovative actions of the new class of industrial capitalists. They focused on the 
dynamic economic and political development of capitalism, analyzed economics in class terms, 
and advocated the labour theory of value.