Chapter Focus
Section 1 Principles of Government
Section 2 The Formation of
Governments
Section 3 Types of Government
Section 4 Economic Theories
Chapter Assessment
In the last 50 years the number of
countries in the world has more than
doubled. In 2011, there are 197
independent countries, each with its own
people and government. New country
from this summer is South Sudan.
I. 4 Necessary Features of a Country
(pages
6–8)
A. Population, the most obvious essential
feature of a state.
B. An area with fixed boundaries.
C. Sovereignty, or absolute authority, within its
territorial boundaries.
D. A government which maintains order,
provides public services, and enforces
decisions that its people must obey.
II. Theories of the Origin of the State (page 8)
D. The people gave the government its power to
rule them, and in return the government had
to respect the people’s rights.
Checking for Understanding
1. Main Idea In a graphic organizer similar to the
one below, identify four major purposes of
government and give an example of each.
Answers might include: maintain social
order—police and courts; provide public
services—highways and firefighters; provide
national security—army and navy; establish
and regulate an economic system—banks
and currency.
III. The Purpose of Government (pages 9–11)
A. Governments are needed to maintain social
order by making and enforcing laws.
B. Governments provide essential services for
people, such as promoting public health
and safety.
C. Governments protect people from attack by
other states and from internal threats such
as terrorism.
D. Governments pass laws that shape and
control the nation’s economy in various ways.
Checking for Understanding
3. Identify Aristotle, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke.
Aristotle, a scholar in ancient Greece, was one
of the first students of government. He studied
the polis, the ancient Greek city-state.
Thomas Hobbes was one of the first to
theorize on the social contract.
John Locke wrote that people were naturally
endowed with the right to life, liberty, and
property. Locke believed that people had the
right to break the contract when the
government failed to preserve the rights of
the people.
Checking for Understanding
4. Summarize the divine right and social
contract theories.
The divine right theory holds that the state comes
from a god and that rulers are descended from or
chosen by a god. The social contract theory says
people give power to the state so the state may
preserve order and rights.
Force Rule Theory: He who is toughest and
strongest ruled. Example: Man and Wife in the
home.
The Formation of Governments
Understanding Concepts
Global Perspectives The United States
Constitution is the oldest written constitution still in
use. What does this imply about the stability of
government in the world?
II. Constitutions and Government (pages 13–14)
A. A constitution is a plan that provides the
rules for government.
B. Whether written or unwritten, a constitution
organizes the structure of government and
the way it operates.
C. Constitutions set out the goals and purposes
of government as well as the ideals shared
by the people.
D. Constitutions provide the supreme law for
states and their governments.
III. Politics and Government (pages 14–15)
A. Politics is the effort to control or influence
the policies and actions of government.
B. Individuals and groups use politics to seek
benefits from government.
C. Preamble: summary in the constitution that
sets forth the goals and purposes of a
government.
Global Perspectives Choose two foreign
nations and find out about each nation’s
basic structure of government. When was its
constitution adopted? Is the government
democratic? Obtain information from a local
library or on the Internet.
Over 100 million Americans voted in the
presidential election of 2000.Yet nearly twice
that number were eligible to vote. George W.
Bush was elected president with less than 50
percent of the popular vote.
I. Major Types of Government (pages 18–20)
A. Governments may be classified according to
who governs the state.
B. In an autocracy, such as a dictatorship or
absolute monarchy, power and authority
reside in a single individual.
C. In an oligarchy, such as a communist
country, a small group holds power in the
government.
D. In a democracy, such as the United States,
the people hold the sovereign power of
government.
I. Major Types of Government (pages 18–20)
II. Characteristics of Democracy
(pages 20–23)
B. Government is based on majority rule through
the people’s elected representatives, but
respects the rights of minorities.
C. Government is based on free and open
elections in which every citizen has the
right to vote, every vote has equal weight,
and candidates for office can freely express
their views.
D. Political parties choose candidates for office,
respect the voters’ decisions in elections, and
act as loyal opposition.
Checking for Understanding
1. Main Idea In a graphic organizer similar to the
one below, show who rules the state in each of
Aristotle’s three classifications of government.
autocracy—one person
oligarchy—few people
democracy—many people
I. The Role of Economic Systems
(page 26)
A. Economics-Attempt to Satisfy unlimited
wants through the use of limited resources.
B. 3 Major Economic Decisions
a. What and how much to produce?
b. How goods and services should be
produced?
c. Who gets the goods and services?
Capitalism-Free choice and individual
incentives for buyers and sellers.
• 5 Characteristics of Capitalism
• 1. Private Ownership
• 2. Free Enterprise
• 3. Competition
• 4. Freedom of Choice
• 5. Chance for Profits.
• Origins of Capitalism
• 18th century Europe
• Adam Smith- The Wealth of Nations 1776
• TWO MAIN CONCEPTS OF CAPITALISM
• 1. People could work for economic gain.
• 2. Wealth should be used aggressively
• French Word Laissez-faire-Government “Hands
Off” “To let alone”
• America today has Mixed Market Economy
• Due to human greed and desire of late 1800’s
and early 1900’s.
• Fraud/Monopolies/Great
Depression/Wages/Abuse of Workers
• Meat Inspection Act/FDA/Minimum
Wage/Workmen’s Compensation/ Price
Gouging/ Wal-Mart
• Foreign Trade/Tariffs
II. Capitalism (pages 26–28)
C. The United States has a capitalist economy,
but government plays a role.
II. Capitalism (pages 26–28)
D. Government’s role in the U.S. economy has
increased since the early 1900s.
E. Today the United States has a mixed
market economy, incorporating both free
enterprise and government regulation of
business and industry.
III. Socialism (page 28)
A. Under socialism, government owns the
basic means of production, plans the use of
resources, distributes many products and
wages, and provides basic social services.
B. Socialism developed in Europe during the
nineteenth century.
III. Socialism (page 28)
C. Some socialists favored taking over the
government by means of revolution, while
other socialists believed in democratic
socialism, in which economic conditions
change peacefully and people have some
freedoms and rights.
D. Socialist governments have taken power in
several countries; however, critics argue that
this economic system fails to solve most
economic problems.
III. Socialism (page 28)
What groups benefit most from socialism?
Those who use more government services, such
as health care and public transportation, benefit
most from socialism.
• Difference Between Socialism and
Communism
• Socialism-Peaceful Change; Government owns
basic industries and provide social services;
Freedom of Choice
• Communism- Violent Revolution, No Private
Property.
IV. Communism (pages 29–30)
A. Communism is based on the nineteenthcentury ideas of Karl Marx, who argued that
capitalism exploited workers to benefit a
small group of capitalists who controlled
the economy.
B. Marx predicted workers would eventually rise
in a violent revolution, which would result in
government ownership of all means of
production and distribution; when all property
was held in common, there would be no need
for government.
IV. Communism (pages 29–30)
C. In communist nations, government makes
all economic decisions; owns the land,
natural resources, industry, banks, and
transportation system; and controls all
mass communication.
Checking for Understanding
3. Identify Adam Smith, Karl Marx.
Adam Smith was a Scottish philosopher and
economist who provided the basic idea of
laissez-faire economics, as it applied to a free
market system.
Karl Marx, a German thinker and writer, was a
socialist who advocated violent revolution and
wrote The Communist Manifesto.
Critical Thinking
5. Making Inferences What ideas presented by
Karl Marx appealed to people in nations where
wealth was unevenly distributed?
Workers would revolt against capitalists,
property would be held in common, and one
class would evolve.
Critical Thinking
2. Making Comparisons In a Venn diagram
like the one below, show how capitalism,
democratic socialism, and communism are
alike and different.
Capitalism: private property; business
competition; profit motive; freedom of choice
Socialism: peaceful change; government owns
basic industries and provides social services;
freedom of choice
Communism: violent revolution; no private
property
1) capitalism with a mixedmarket economy
2) socialism and communism
3) capitalism
The Role of Government Many people in the
United States agree with Abraham Lincoln that the
government ought not to interfere in people’s lives
unnecessarily. These people think that government
has become too large and too controlling. Have
students present examples that they feel show an
overabundance of government control, and explain
how we could get along without such control. Allow
students who disagree time to prepare a rebuttal.
Safety versus Freedom Since the fall of the
Soviet Union, the Russian economy has often
teetered on the brink of disaster. People have lost
their jobs, a large homeless population exists, and
organized crime has rapidly increased. Faced with
this situation, some people long for the “good old
days” of communism. Others point to hopeful signs
in the economy and the growth of private
enterprise, saying that this is a transitional period,
and that conditions will improve. Choose a side and
prepare an argument in support of your choice.
Present your argument to the class.
Literature In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies a
group of schoolboys have crashed on a deserted
island. Their attempts to set up a democratic
society fail, and one boy, Jack, seizes power.
Golding’s premise that humans are basically
savage is revealed in Jack’s brutal reign of terror.