Name:_____________________________
Directions:
After reviewing the “3” Branches of Government we will
be discussing types of government. Democracy, Dictatorship, and
Monarchy are the three we will focus on. Read about the types we will
study and write a brief paragraph about what each type is like. This
only has to be 1 paragraph to include all three types. Please do NOT
copy! This should be done in your own words.
Gully cricket is popular amongst young boys in India. They just troop into a
street with little traffic outside their homes and start hitting the ball with
the bat. Now, there are a number of ways in which this can be organized.
When only one boy brings a bat, he rules. He keeps batting even when he
gets out and he lets his close friends also bat or as long as they want. If he
wants to end the game, he simply walks away with the bat. Let’s call this the
Bossy Bully system.
Sometimes all the cricket equipment – bat, ball, stump, gloves, etc is
contributed by all. So each boy gets a good batting chance, a chance to wear
the pads and gloves. Lets call this the Just Friends system.
Sometimes there is a coach. In that case, the coach monitors and improves
the game of each and every boy in his tutelage. But you don’t get to say
whether you like the way he coaches. This can be the Big Brother system.
If we think of these teams as forms of government and of course you have
to imagine that there are extremely many boys playing in the street, then
the ‘bossy bully’ is a dictatorship; ‘just friends’ is a socialist government and
or could even be a democracy depending on how you look at it; a ‘big brother’
is totalitarian and if one of the players owns the street where the boys are
playing, it would be a monarchy.
There are 7 types of government:
*Democracy
*Theocracy
*Anarchy
*Dictatorship
*Totalitarian
*Monarchy
*Republics
DEMOCRACY
Modern governments are complex and are shaped by historical and political
events like wars and colonialism. A democracy is governed of the people, by
the people and for the people. Here citizens of the country can run for
public office. This means the boys in the street get to decide who is in
charge of what equipment is in the pile. Of course each boy will nominate the
person who best represents his interests.
Democratic elections could be city-wide for municipal governance, state-wide
for state governance or nation-wide for central governance. When the
population goes to vote, they vote for a candidate in their area. When the
candidate wins, the political party he belongs to also wins. The party with
maximum votes form the government.
DICTATORSHIP
In contrast a dictatorship where a single individual has gained power through
force and everyone has to follow his policies. He’s the big bully. The boys
have little to no voice in such a system. Oftentimes the advisors who control
the equipment kit are his close friends. Examples of dictators are Adolf
Hitler in Germany and Fidel Castro of Cuba.
Sometimes you have what is known as a ‘benevolent dictatorship’. This is
when the dictator maintains his position as the head of the country for the
sake of the country instead of self interest. Most dictatorships like to
portray themselves in the international community as benevolent but it is not
always so.
MONARCHY
A monarchy is another form of government where there is one head of
state. In this system a king or queen rules the country for the period of
their lives. The crown is inherited, usually by the first born of the family.
In earlier days, monarchs used to have absolute powers and owned all the
public land. Pharoahs for example, claimed to be representatives of the Gods
on earth. But nowadays, even democracies like Great Britain, Sweden, and
Spain have kings who are nominal heads of state. Still it is their signature
that turns a bill into a law.