"Scab" is used, in a demeaning fashion, to describe someone who renders the effects of a strike less effective by continuing to work during the strike or by taking the job of a striking member of a union.

Frictional unemployment is the name given to a situation whereby people quit because they are dissatisfied with their jobs.

In The Communist Manifesto, the working class is referred to by the latin term “proletariat.” Marx argued that the “proletariat” were essentially enslaved by the bourgeoise and the upper class who controlled the means of production and thus all the wealth and property.

The Iron Law of Wages is a famous economic term that originated during the eighteenth or nineteenth Century. It is actually difficult to track who first used the terminology or who first wrote about the idea; historians sometimes credit Malthus, Ricardo, Marx, Engels and so on. The law itself is well-understood: it states that the wage of a laborer will always fall to the very minimum needed to keep the worker working. Because of the massive competition in the labor market, employers have the power to pay their workers as little as possible, because if the worker refuses those terms, someone else will simply take the job. To rephrase: the money paid to a worker will always be the very minimum needed to keep the worker alive and working.

Labor is defined as the factor of production that is directly attributable to human effort and work. Labor is distinct from capital, in that capital describes inanimate goods that are essential to production, while labor describes the human element of production. Ed, Ellen, and Michael all contribute to the production of Sally's business, but they do so through the provision of capital. Stephanie contributes her own effort and work as a laborer for Sally. Meanwhile, Allen, as a customer, isn't directly involved in the production process.

A joint stock company is a large scale business whereby shares (or stocks) are owned by numerous individuals, thereby distributing the responsibility for the company, the risk involved for the individual, and the profits that can be made. The development of the joint stock company by the Dutch, Russians, English, and French at various times in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was a very important development in economic history, providing much of the means for Europe to gain great material wealth from the age of Colonialism.

"Interdependence" is used to refer to a situation that exists between two or more countries in which they rely on one another for the exchange of raw resources, finished products, goods, and services to the mutual betterment of their respective economies.

Social Security is a government program whereby people who have very little money or are too infirm, old, or disabled to earn money of their own are provided a certain amount of support by the government. It emerged in the twentieth century, partly as a product of increasing state control over the lives of citizens and partly out of the progressive mentality that was prevailing at the time. The United States has an extensive Social Security system, although significantly less than many European countries.

A monopoly occurs when one company controls the means or production of a product and is able to exclusively sell that product on the market. The problem with this system is it allows the company to effectively charge higher prices than might be considered "fair." The alternative to this is competition, which occurs when two or more companies control a share of the market and have to compete with each other to produce better quality products at a lower price.

If there is only one company that controls the sale of any particular product they have a "monopoly" on that product.