Government: Meeting Society’s Needs I.
The Role of Government •
Government provides four essential functions within society. Government: 1) Keeps the Peace 2) Protects our Country 3) Provides Necessary Services 4) Maintains and Protects other Institutions •
Government makes and enforces laws and provides a court system. Government provides for our defense against outside attacks by maintaining well-­‐trained and well-­‐equipped armed forces. •
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II.
Government provides services such as building and maintaining roads, sewers, and schools. Government protects our freedom of religion, provides schools, and offers services to families (such as disaster relief). Forms of Government •
There are many forms of government around the world, but the three most common are: 1) Monarchy 2) Dictatorship 3) Democracy •
A monarchy is a form of government in which all or most of the power is in the hands of one individual, the monarch (King, Queen, or Emperor). Once the most common form of government, monarchies are increasingly rare today. Many monarchs today are figureheads, without much real power. •
A dictatorship is a government controlled by one person, called a dictator. A dictator is different from a monarch because they usually come to power by force, not by inheritance. Dictators rely heavily on their control of the military to stay in power. We are seeing dictatorships coming under heavy pressure across the Middle East today, with the dictators of Tunisia and Egypt having already been forced to leave office after decades in power. •
III.
Laws: The Rules of Government •
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IV.
A democracy is a system in which power is shared by all the citizens. In a democracy, citizens vote for those people who will rule them. The United States was the first modern democracy. The uprisings in the Middle East are calling for democracy to replace their dictatorships. Laws are the formal rules that govern our behavior in society. We have national, state, and local laws that must be obeyed. Laws are enforced by the police and violations are ruled on in the court system. Because laws affect all of us, we may have an interest in seeing them changed from time to time. In a democracy, the citizens have the right to petition the government and to elect representatives who will make laws that we support. Political Socialization •
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Just as we learn rules of groups through the process of socialization, we learn the expectations of political conduct through the process of political socialization. Through political socialization we learn why it is important to protect freedom of speech, why we should respect the rights of others who we may disagree with, and why we should respect the will of the people as expressed through elections even if we did not vote for the winners.