Mr. Slater
Civics and Government
2012-13
The Island Government Constitution Project
Background Information
You are the leaders of a small island nation of one million people that has just gained independence from the Netherlands. As representatives of the various groups and factions you have been assembled to establish a new political and economic system to govern the island. Before you beginning framing a new constitution, you will need to take into account some of the realities / problems of the island and it's diverse people.
1. Your island covers approximately 11,000 square miles (roughly the size of Haiti) and is situated next to the large and sometimes hostile nation of Brazil.
2. Poverty is wide spread, especially in the island’s few urban centers where the people who live there feel no one is concerned about their plight.
3. There are at least six different major religious factions on the island. Tensions are high between these various sectarian groups as each try to gain more followers and power. One faction, The Holier Than Thou, wants any new government to be a theocracy based upon their belief system.
4. There are abundant natural resources (especially timber & fishing) although most of these resources have yet to be utilized. Most people survive by subsistence farming on small family plots of land.
5. Preventable diseases are widespread on the island. Thousands of people a year die unnecessarily from treatable diseases such as malaria and small pox. The primary carrier of disease is the mosquito.
6. The former monarch (King Fattah), who ruled the island under the colonial Dutch government, is eager to return from exile and assume control over the island again. A segment of the population longs for King Fattah to reestablish his rule as an absolute monarch.
7. A segment of the population is still loyal to the former colonial nation – the Netherlands. These citizens want to be reunited with the mother country and consider themselves to be “Dutch”. The “Dutch” minority lives in fear of reprisals from the rest of the population for fighting against independence and claiming and embracing their “Dutch” cultural identity.
8. A small minority of wealthy families controls 75% - 80% of the wealth on the island. The majority of these people are large landowners and business owners. Collectively these people are considered to be the island’s aristocracy (a form of government in which a few of the most prominent citizens rule). There is a tremendous economic gap between the handful of rich families and the poor masses.
9. Despite being an island, you have a very diverse population. Islanders may be white, Hispanic, black, Asian, or Arabic. Women make up 60% of the population and traditionally have been treated as the property of their fathers, husbands, and brothers. Gender equality has never been achieved.
10. Public education is virtually unknown on your island. Only the wealthy have traditionally been given the opportunity to attend private schools and receive higher education. As a result, 85% percent of your island is illiterate.
Your Task:
Create a Point Power Presentation addressing the following requirements. Each one of these items needs to be it’s own slide. Your presentation must be assembled in the following order.
(Check off as you complete): Completed
1. Have a title slide (Island name, group members full names, class, period, project name).2. Select a satellite image of an island from a Google image search to serve as your island example. Show the political boundaries on the map.
3. Select an unusual flag from a Google image search to serve as your island’s flag.
4. Create a graphic organizer / flow chart explaining the power structure of your island’s government.
5. Have a preamble (opening statement) for your new constitution.
6. Explain what system of government adopted has been adopted and explain how it is going to work on your island.
7. Political Representation (How are the people represented in the new government) – explain.
8. What authority / powers are granted exclusively to the national government? This provision is known as the Enumerated Powers.
9. What authority / powers are granted exclusively to regional or local governments? This provision is known as Reserved Powers.
10. What economic system has been implemented on the island? How does it work on the island – explain.
11. What type of national defense is going to be established on the island? Make of the military, mission of the military, how it is going to be paid for, etc.
12. What are the provisions for your Bill of Rights or guarantees of basic human rights protections?
13. How is law / justice administered on your island? Explain how the court system works.
14. Once you finish drafting your new constitution how does it become the law of the land (or ratified)? Will it be imposed on the people, voted on by the people, etc.?
15. What is your plan to address the poverty situation and the large gap between the rich and the poor?
16. What is your plan on how to get disease under control?
17. How do you plan on dealing with religious infighting and sectarian violence?
18. What are your plans for the former monarch, King Fattah? What are your plans for his loyal followers?
19. What are your plans for those citizens who are still loyal to the Netherlands (the so-called “Dutch” minority)?
20. What are your plans for dealing with illiteracy?
Be prepared to orally explain your new government to the class. Divide this task equally among all people in the group. One person should not do all the talking! Visuals, graphs, charts, etc. are encouraged and welcomed to enhance your presentation.
Value - 40 points per student (Group Grade)
Economic Systems and Theories of the World
Communism - In a perfect world, everyone would have food. and shelter, and a true utopian society would be devoid of sexism, racism and other forms of oppression. But for most of the world's population, this perfect society just isn't possible. Communism is one proposed solution to these problems. Most people know what communism is at its most basic level. Simply put, communism is the idea that everyone in a given society receives equal shares of the benefits derived from labor. Communism is designed to allow the poor to rise up and attain financial and social status equal to that of the middle-class landowners. In order for everyone to achieve equality, wealth is redistributed so that the members of the upper class are brought down to the same financial and social level as the middle class. Communism also requires that all means of production be controlled by the state. In other words, no one can own his or her own business or produce his or her own goods because the state owns everything. (http://history.howstuffworks.com/cold-war/communism.htm)
Capitalism
Capitalism generally refers to an economic system in which the means of production are all or mostly privately owned and operated for profit, and in which investments, distribution, income, production and pricing of goods and services are determined through the operation of a market economy. It is usually considered to involve the right of individuals and groups of individuals acting as "legal persons" or corporations to trade capital goods, labor, land and money. Because most economies today are mixed economies, "capitalism" does not precisely describe most contemporary economies, due to these economies containing both private-owned and state-owned enterprises, or that combines elements of capitalism and socialism, or a mix of market economy and planned economy characteristics.
Socialism
A socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to control by the community for the purposes of increasing social and economic equality and cooperation. This control may be either direct—exercised through popular collectives such as workers' councils—or indirect—exercised on behalf of the people by the state. As an economic system, socialism is often characterized by state or community ownership of the means of production. The wants and needs of society as a whole supersede the wants and needs of the individual.
Mixed Economy
A mixed economy is an economy that has a mix of characteristics essential to disparate economic systems. It is usually defined as an economy that contains both private-owned and state-owned enterprises or that combines elements of capitalism and socialism, or a mix of market economy and command economy characteristics. There is not one single definition for a mixed economy, but relevant aspects include: a degree of private economic freedom (including privately owned industry) intermingled with centralized economic planning (which may include intervention for environmentalism and social welfare, or state ownership of some of means of production).
Forms of Government: A List of Options and Suggestions
Aristocracy
Refers to a form of government where power is held by a small number of individuals from an elite or from noble families. Only this elite is allowed to compete for power and to hold the most powerful positions in state. The transmission of power is often hereditary. In aristocratic government, power is thus confined to an elite drawn from a single caste, or social class. It is derived from two Ancient Greek words, "aristos" meaning the "best" and "kratein" "to rule" and so aristocracy originally meant "rule by the best". Aristocracies have most often been hereditary plutocracies, with a belief in their own superiority. Aristocracies often include a monarch who although a member of the aristocracy rules over the aristocracy as well as the rest of society. Aristocracy can also refer to the highest class in society even if they do not rule directly.
Authoritarianism
A form of social control characterized by strict obedience to the authority of a state or organization, often maintaining and enforcing control through the use of oppressive measures. Authoritarian regimes are strongly hierarchical. In an authoritarian form of government, citizens are subject to state authority in many aspects of their lives, including many matters that other political philosophies would see as erosion of civil liberties and freedom. There are various degrees of authoritarianism; even very democratic and liberal states will show authoritarianism to some extent, for example in areas of national security. Usually, an authoritarian government is undemocratic and has the power to govern without consent of those being governed.
Autocracy
A form of government in which a single person holds the political power. The autocrat needs some kind of power structure to rule. Historically, very few rulers were in the position to rule with only their personal charisma and skills without the help of others. Most historical autocrats depended on their nobles, the military, the priesthood or others, who could turn against the ruler and depose or murder him.
Communism
Communist state is a term used by many political scientists to describe a form of government in which the state operates under a one-party system and declares allegiance to Marxism-Leninism, Maoism or a derivative thereof. Communist states may have several legal political parties, but the Communist Party is constitutionally guaranteed a dominant role in government. Consequently, the institutions of the state and of the Communist Party become intimately entwined. What separates Communist states from other one-party systems is the fact that ruling authorities in a Communist state claim to be guided by Marxist-Leninist or Maoist ideology. For Marxist-Leninists, the state and the Communist Party claim to act in accordance with the wishes of the industrial working class; for Maoists, the state and party claim to act in accordance to the peasantry. Both systems claim to have implemented a democratic dictatorship of the proletariat, and both claim to be moving towards the gradual abolition of the state and the implementation of communism. Most Communist states adopted centrally planned economies. For this reason, Communist states are often associated with economic planning in both popular thought and scholarship.
Direct Democracy
Direct democracy comprises a form of democracy and theory of civics wherein sovereignty is lodged in the assembly of all citizens who choose to participate. Depending on the particular system, this assembly might pass executive motions (decrees), make law, elect and dismiss officials and conduct trials. Where the assembly elected officials, these were executive agents or direct representatives (bound to the will of the people).
Representative Democracy
Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principles of popular sovereignty by the people's representatives. The representatives form an independent ruling body (for an election period) charged with the responsibility of acting in the people's interest, but not as their proxy representatives—i.e., not necessarily always according to their wishes, but with enough authority to exercise swift and resolute initiative in the face of changing circumstances. It is often contrasted with direct democracy, where representatives are absent or are limited in power as proxy representatives. Representatives are chosen by the majority of the voters (as opposed to the majority of the population/eligible voters) in elections. Also, representatives sometimes hold the power to select other representatives, presidents, or other officers of government (indirect representation). A representative democracy that also protects liberties is called a liberal democracy.
Despotism
Despotism is a form of government by a single authority, either an individual or tightly knit group, which rules with absolute political power. In its classical form, despotism is a state where one single person, called a Despot, wields all the power and authority, and everyone else is considered his slave. This form of despotism was the first known form of statehood and civilization; the Pharaoh of Egypt is a hallmark of a classical Despot.
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by a dictator. In contemporary usage, dictatorship refers to an autocratic form of absolute rule by leadership unrestricted by law, constitutions, or other social and political factors within the state.