Government-Chapter 1 Introduction

What is government? It is the institution through which a society makes and enforces the laws.

What is the purpose of government? Answers can be found in the Preamble to the Constitution (pg. 8)

  1. To Form A More Perfect Union-to help link states and its people together.
  2. Establish Justice-protect people from being treated unfairly.
  3. Insure Domestic Tranquility-To keep order within its borders. “If men were angels, no government would be necessary”—James Madison, The Federalist No. 51
  4. Provide for the Common Defense-Provide a defense against foreign attackers.
  5. Promote the General Welfare-Make are life better through providing goods and services. (Public Education and environmental regulations)
  6. Secure the Blessings of Liberty-Make sure people have their freedoms. The only catch is that your freedoms cannot hinder my freedoms. “You cannot be free unless I am free.”-Clarence Darrow

Every government no matter if they are democratic or communist has and exercises three kinds of power:

  1. Legislative Power-the power to make laws and public policy.
  2. Executive Power-the power to enforce, execute, and administer law.
  3. Judicial Power-the power to interpret laws and settle disputes that arise in society.

Governments are formed to guide the most basic form of political unit called a state. A state can be defined as a body of people, living in a defined territory, organized politically, and is sovereign (power to make and enforce law without the consent of any higher authority). A state is often referred to as a nation or country. There are over 190 states in the world.

Classifying Governments

-Governments are classified by three ways:

  1. Who can participate in the governmental process?
  2. What is the geographic distribution of governmental power within the state?
  3. What is the relationship between the executive and legislative branches of the government?

Who Can Participate?

Democracy-political power is held by the people.

*A democracy can either be direct or indirect. In a direct democracy, every citizen has a direct voice in each governmental decision. How is this done? Through mass meetings, usually done in small communities. In an indirect democracy, representatives are chosen by the people to carry out their voice. Commonly called a representative democracy.

Dictatorship-exists where those who rule cannot be held responsible to the will of the people. Dictatorships can either be an autocracy or an oligarchy. An autocracy is a government in which one person holds all the power. An oligarchy is a government in which a few select people who the power. In both cases, the power of those in charge is absolute and unchallengeable by the people. Can there be such a thing as a democratic dictatorship?

Geographic Distribution of Power-Where is the government located?

-Three basic forms of government exist-unitary, federal, and confederate.

  1. Unitary-a centralized government. Government is located in one area. Can create local governments, but these local governments only have powers given to it by the national government.
  2. Federal or Federalism-government in which powers are divided between a central government and several governments. Both governments are bound by a superior authority. (Think of the United States-there is a national government and 50 state governments who both have to obey a superior authority-The Constitution)
  3. Confederation-an alliance of independent states. Only deals with issues that the states assign to it. (European Union)

Relationship Between Legislative and Executive Branches

-Two basic forms of government exist based on this criteria: Presidential and Parliamentary.

  1. Presidential government-The executive and legislative branch are separate, independent of one another, and coequal. The members of both branch are chosen independently of one another. Usually, one branch has some “check” on the other branch.
  2. Parliamentary government-The executive, usually called a prime minister or premier, comes from the legislative branch. The legislative branch is chosen by the people, then the executive is chosen from the legislature by its members. Not only is the executive part of the legislature, but he/she is also subject to its control.