Global History & Geography Review Sheet: Economic and Political Systems
Spiconardi
Economic Systems
 Types of Economies
 Traditional – an economy based on cultural needs. Usually agricultural. Subsistence
farming is a traditional economy
 Market – economic system in which means of production are privately owned. Buyers
and sellers determine price and quantity produced. Capitalism is an example of a
market economy
 Command – an economic system in which the government makes all the economic
decisions. Communism is an example of a command economy
 Mixed – combination of market and command economies.
 Major Economic Systems
 Capitalism – an economic system based on private ownership and on the investment
of money in business ventures in order to make a profit. Private property is valued.
 Adam Smith
 Wealth of Nations/“Invisible Hand”
 Laissez-Faire – “Let do;” minimal government regulation of economy
 Capitalism develops in 1500s
 Communism – an economic system in which all means of production are owned by
the government. Private property does not exist.
 Karl Marx
 The Communist Manifesto
 History is a struggle between classes; the proletariat (worker)
and bourgeoisie (industrialist)
 Proletariat will rise one day in a bloody revolution and
eliminate the bourgeoisie
 Eventually there will be no need for government
 Reaction to the negative aspects of the Industrial Revolution
 Russia first communist state in 1917
 Only 5 communist countries remain today: China, Cuba, North Korea, Vietnam,
and Laos
 Socialism – an economic system in which the factors of production are owned by the
public (the people) and operate for the welfare of all.
 Mercantilism – the economic policy in which nations sought to export more than they
imported. Overseas empires were central to mercantilism, which led to imperialism.
Controlling overseas colonies ensured that you would be able to exploit the colonies
and export more than you imported as the colonial power would sell manufactured
goods to the colony
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Global History & Geography Review Sheet: Economic and Political Systems
Spiconardi
Government and Political Systems
 Types of Government
 Democracy – a system in which the people hold ruling power. Developed by the
Greeks in the 500s BC, although it was limited. Most western countries use this form of
government today in its representative form (citizens elect representatives to the
government)
 Monarchy – a government in which power is in the hands of one person, usually a
king or queen
 Feudalism – decentralized political system resulting from the Fall of Rome. Nobles
were granted the use of lands that legally belonged to their king in exchange for
loyalty, military services, and the protection of serfs that lived on the land
 Absolutism – a king or queen that has unlimited power and seeks to control all aspects
of government and society
 Louis XIV : The Sun King
 “L’etat, c’est moi” – I am the state
 Limited Monarchy – a government in which a legislative body, like parliament, limits
the power of a monarch
 Also known as a CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY
 Signing of Magna Carta in 1215 limits King John’s power
 Glorious Revolution/English Bill of Rights (1688-1689)
 Ensured the supremacy of parliament over the monarchy
 Creation of National Assembly by Third Estate during French Revolution and
Creation of Legislative Assembly after deposing of Louis XVI
 Creation of the Duma in Russia by Czar Nicholas II in 1905
 Totalitarianism – a one party dictatorship that regulates all aspects of citizen’s lives.
Stalin is the best example of a totalitarian leader. REGENTS USUALLY GIVES THE
EXAMPLE OF GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF PRESS/MEDIA
 Fascism – a dictatorial-one party government that promotes extreme nationalism and
stresses the importance of the state over individual rights. Mussolini’s Italy of the 1930s
and Hitler’s Nazi Germany are examples of fascist societies.
 Theocracy – government controlled by religious leaders and governed by religious
principles/law. Switzerland under John Calvin in the 1500s is an example, as is Iran
after the 1979 Revolution of Ayatollah Khomeini. Also, the leader may be viewed as a
divine figure. Egypt is an example of this theocracy, as is early China under the
Mandate of Heaven.
 Aristocracy – government in which power is in the hands of the ruling class or nobility.
 Oligarchy – government in which the power in the hands of a few. Sparta is an
example of oligarchy, as is Florence during the Renaissance.
 Legalism – a Chinese political philosophy based the idea that a highly efficient and
powerful government is the key to social order
 Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of China, is an example of a ruler who governed
through legalism
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