World History
Foundations of Government.
A government is a group of people who have the power to make and enforce
laws for a country or area.
The basic purpose of government is:
1. Keep order
2. Provide services
3. To protect the common good and well being of the people.
Governments create and enforce the laws. Laws are created and put into place to
keep order. With out laws there would be anarchy and people could do whatever
they wanted including hurting other people. Laws protect people and their
property.
Protecting the common good could include building roads and schools or defending
the country from attack.
Governments also collect taxes. Taxes are required payments, from people and
businesses. Governments use taxes to pay for the goods and services that they
provide.
The sole purpose of government has not changed that much through history.
Where did governments come from?
Our early human ancestors, were hunters. They traveled around following the
herds of large game, which they killed to eat. When game became scarce they then
became hunter-gatherers where they supplemented their diets with other food
which they could gather while following the game. This then gave way to the first
humans discovering agriculture. When people began planting crops they no longer
needed to travel to get food. They could stay in one place. They then began to build
permanent dwellings, or homes. These led to more people, and more homes, and
soon small towns and villages began to appear.
The whole time this behavior was happening people where living in groups.
These groups, no matter how large, often had leaders who kept order and made
decisions for the group. This was a very simple form of government.
Small towns and villages grew into cities. When the population, began to rise the
people began to realize that they needed a way to organize, solve problems, and
oversee tasks. Governments were formed to oversee these tasks.
Powers of government.
Today, most governments have a constitution. A constitution is a system of basic
rules and principles by which the government is organized. A constitution also
identifies the powers a government has.
A government’s powers are either limited or unlimited.
Limited government is a government in which government actions are limited
by law. Most government’s constitutions today call for limited government.
Limited governments work to protect the common good and provide for the
people’s needs.
In a limited government the government’s actions are limited to protect the rights of
the people. People in a limited government may gather freely to express their
opinions and work to change government policies to suit their needs and protect
themselves.
The United States has a Constitutional Democracy. This is exactly like it sounds.
The system of government is a democracy, with a constitution, which defines the
rights of the people and the powers of the government.
Unlimited Government is a government in which there is no effective limitations
on the power of the government and it’s actions. Here, the government can do
whatever it pleases to better suit it’s self. In an unlimited government, a ruler ,or a
small ruling group, has the power to make all of the decisions for the country and
society. This can lead to Tyranny.
Tyranny is the unjust use of power. The leader of such a government is called
a Tyrant.
Unlimited governments often do not protect citizen’s basic rights. They may censor,
or restrict, a persons write of free speech and may not even allow them access to
the internet, or other forms of communication and technology.
Political Systems.
A state is a region that shares a common government. The first real states were
called city states and developed in Southwest Asia more then 5,000 years ago.
A city-state is an independent state which is made up of a city and the surrounding
territories.
Some military leaders, of city-states, began conquering the areas around them,
taking control of other city-states. These leaders then began to rule these large vast
areas as empires.
An empire is a state containing several countries, which used to be city-states.
Today most states are called nation-states.
A Nation-state is a state that is independent of other states. The United States is a
nation-state. We often use the words nation or country to refer to nation-states.
All nation states have several things in common:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
A specific territory with defined borders.
A government.
Laws.
Authority over citizens.
Most are divided into smaller states or provinces that contain cities and
towns
Forms of Government
Democracy is a form of government in which the citizens hold the political power;
citizens are the ultimate source of government power and authority. The powers of
a democratic government are usually very limited.
There are two types of democratic governments:
1. Direct Democracy- where the citizens come together to pass laws and select
leaders. An example of direct democracy is Ancient Greece.(This form of
democracy only works with small amounts of people)
2. Representative Democracy- here citizens elect representatives to make
government decisions. The chosen representatives voice the concerns and
opinions of the people found in a designated area. An example of a
representative government is the United States of America.
Monarchy is a form of government in which the state is ruled by a monarch. A
monarch is usually a king or a queen. Power is inherited by blood related, family
members. The powers of a monarchy can be limited or unlimited.
There are two types of monarchies:
1. Constitutional Monarchy- is limited by law and share power with other
branches of government. The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy.
2. Absolute Monarchy- have unlimited power and are not hindered by a
constitution. Here a leader makes all of the decisions and have unlimited
power. Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy.
Authoritarian Government is one in which all the power is held by a single person
or a small group. Here, the government can, and may, control all aspects of life. One
of the common forms of authoritarian government is communism.
Communism is a political and economic system in which government owns all
property and makes all economic decisions.
The powers of an authoritarian government are unlimited. Examples of such
governments include Cuba, Nazi Germany, and North Korea.