Foundations of
Government
Chapter 1
• What are the purposes of government?
Essential Question
• Most people do not desire to live in chaos or turmoil
• Order is created by legitimate and functioning
governments
• Leadership, order, defense, security, public service,
economic assistance
Purposes and Origins of
Government
• Providing Leadership
• Government officials set priorities and make
all sorts of decisions on behalf of the people
• They can require that people do things they
might not do voluntarily, such as pay taxes or
serve in the army
• Without leadership, no one can be in
charge….anarchy
Purposes and Origins of
Government
• Maintaining Order
• Conflict is an inescapable part of life.
• placing limits on what individuals are
permitted to do
• Without government, civilized life would
be impossible
Purposes and Origins of
Government
• Providing Public Service
• Governments create schools, build sewer
systems, pave roads, and provide other
services that individuals cannot or would
not do on their own
Purposes and Origins of
Government
• Providing National Security
• protect the people against attack by
another country or by terrorists
• complex and demanding task
Purposes and Origins of
Government
• Economic Security and Economic
Assistance
• Governments negotiate trade deals with
other countries and they try to protect
businesses that are important to their
own economies.
• Governments can provide assistance to
people in need.
Purposes and Origins of
Government
• Turn and Talk means to turn to a
partner or two and elaborate on the
following question
• The founding fathers had to make extremely
important decisions regarding the type of
government the new country would have.
• What information would you use to support why
they chose democracy with all of the other types
of governments throughout the world?
Turn and Talk
• Origins (Theories) of the State
• Evolutionary Theory
• Evolved from the family
• Clans, tribes, etc.
Purposes and Origins of
Government
• Origins (Theories) of the State
• Force Theory
• States emerged when people needed to
cooperate to survive but could only become
organized when one or more people took
control
Purposes and Origins of
Government
• Origins (Theories) of the State
• Divine Right Theory
• certain people are chosen by a god or gods to
rule is a very old theory
Purposes and Origins of
Government
• Origins (Theories) of the State
• Social Contract Theory
• Some people believe states exist to protect
and to serve their people.
Purposes and Origins of
Government
•Lesson 2
Types of Government
• What principles guide different types of
government?
• The United States and many other countries around the
world are democracies. What does the idea of democracy
mean to you?
• What do you think are the most important characteristics
of a democratic form of government? List them in order
of importance.
Types of Government
• Guided Question
• How is a federal system of government
different from a unitary or confederate one?
Types of Government
• Unitary System
• All key powers to the central government
• Only powers that states or local government
have are those expressly given to them by the
central government.
• Less power given to localities
• Japan, France, and Bolivia
Types of Government
• Confederate System
• What we were first under Articles
• A loose union of independent and sovereign
states
• Tremendous power given to states
• Very rare today
• Federated States of Micronesia
Types of Government
• Federal System
• Divides the powers of government between the
national and state or provincial government
• On a smaller scale, individual states in the United
States may have their own structure of government
• Maryland gives its counties much more
authority to make their own decisions than
most states.
• Brazil
Types of Government
• Question
• How is a constitutional government different
than a country without a constitution?
Types of Government
• Constitution
• No matter what type of government you have,
you need a constitution
• plan that provides the rules for government
• Purposes
• (1) it sets out ideals that the people bound by the
constitution believe in and share
• (2) it establishes the basic structure of government
and defines the government’s powers and duties
• (3) it provides the supreme law for the country.
Types of Government
• Constitutional Government
• constitution has authority to place clearly recognized
limits on the powers of those who govern.
• Constitutions are important but incomplete guides to
how a country is actually governed.
• 2 reasons
• First, no written constitution can possibly spell out
all the laws, customs, and ideas that grow up around
the document.
Types of Government
• Constitutional Government
• 2 reasons
• Second, a constitution does not always reflect actual
government practice.
• China, for example, has a written constitution
filled with statements about the basic rights,
freedoms, and duties of citizens. Yet, the Chinese
government does not uphold many of those rights
and freedoms.
Types of Government
• Major Types of Government
• Authoritarian Governments
• characterized by leadership that controls all
aspects of its citizens’ economic and social
lives
• sometimes referred to as totalitarian states
because the government has total control.
Types of Government
• Major Types of Government
• Authoritarian Governments
• appear to have democratic features.
• opponents to the current leaders are
persecuted.
• few, if any, political freedoms
• use ruthless force or the threat of force to
maintain order.
Types of Government
• Major Types of Government
• Oligarchy
• derive their power from their wealth, social
position, military power, or a combination of
these factors.
• When a few rule
• Dictatorships and Monarchs can be classified
here as well.
Types of Government
• Major Types of Government
• Democratic Governments
• rule is by the people.
• either through representatives or directly.
• Republics
• democracy that does not have a monarch in
charge
Types of Government
• Turn and Talk
• What principles are central to
democracies?
Discussion Question
• Principles of Democracy
• While no democracy is a perfect democracy,
there are certain principles that guide them.
Types of Government
• What are the Principles of Democracy
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Citizen Participation
Regular Free and Fair Elections
Accepting the Results of Elections
The Rule of Law
Majority Rule with Minority Rights
Accountability
Transparency
Limited Government and a Bill of Rights
Control of the Abuse of Power
Types of Government
• What are the Principles of Democracy
•
•
•
•
•
Economic Freedom
Equality
Individual or Human Rights
Independent Judiciary
Competing Political Parties
Types of Government
• Your job………
• Grab a text book from the cupboard and
look up each of these principles and
briefly describe each
• These must be placed into your notes!!!!
• Lesson 2
Types of Government
•Lesson 3
The Role of Government
in Economic Systems
• Essential Question……
What is the role of government
in different types of economic
systems?
The Role of Government
in Economic Systems
• When is the last time you wanted to buy something you
could not afford? Do you know people who can buy it
and whatever else they want? How did they get enough
money to buy it? Did they work hard? Did they save?
Has their family always had plenty of money, going back
for generations?
• Now think about your needs instead of your wants. Can
you or your family afford to pay for your basic needs like
food, shelter, and clothing? Do you think the government
has a responsibility to make sure you have all you need?
Write a personal reflection answering these questions.
• Essential Question……
What are the basic factors of
every economy?
The Role of Government
in Economic Systems
• The Government’s Role
• In every society, governments guide economies
• Some allow free use of resources
• Others use regulation to allocate resources
The Role of Government
in Economic Systems
• The Government’s Role
• Governments can exert almost total control
over their economies or very little control.
Either way, governments play significant roles
in the economic lives of their people.
The Role of Government
in Economic Systems
• Economic systems are classified in two ways
• how economies actually work.
• the political ideology that is connected to an
economy.
• capitalism, socialism, and communism.
The Role of Government
in Economic Systems
• Capitalism, Communism, Socialism
• All different economic systems
• Capitalism has five characteristics: private
ownership and control of property and
economic resources, free enterprise,
competition, freedom of choice, and the
possibility of profits.
• Communism uses a command economy
The Role of Government
in Economic Systems
• Capitalism, Communism, Socialism
• the government decides how much to produce,
what to produce, and how to distribute the
goods and services produced.
• Today only a handful of communist states exist
in the world. North Korea is one.
The Role of Government
in Economic Systems
• Socialism
• economic system in which the government
plays a significant role in the economy, but it
does not completely control it.
• Under socialism, government planners
determine the use of resources and distribute
the products and wages.
• government also provides extensive social
services such as education, health care, and
welfare for its people.
The Role of Government
in Economic Systems
• Socialism
• The goal of socialism is an equal distribution
of wealth.
The Role of Government
in Economic Systems