Government: The Institution of State Policies

1. CHAPTER 1 Government

2. Government • Comprises the set of legal and political institutions that regulate the relationships among members of a society and between the society and outsiders. • These institutions have the authority to make decisions for the society on policies affecting the maintenance of order and the achievement of certain societal goals. • In other words, government is the institution by which the state carries out its policies.

3. 5 BASIC SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS • Family • Economics • Education • Religion • Government—is one of the oldest and came about when people and society knew they had to have it in order to survive.

4. STATE • Group of people living in a defined territory, politically organized, with the power to make and enforce laws without the approval of a higher authority. • States vary greatly in size, population, military power, economic importance, natural resources, and in numerous other ways.

5. NATION • Group of people united by the bonds of race, language, custom, tradition, and sometimes religion.

6. 4 Characteristics of a State • Population • Grouping of individuals subject to the processes of birth, death, and migration. • Smallest—Tuvalu, population 12,373 • Smallest—Vatican City, population 826 • Largest—People’s Republic of China, population 1,338,612,968

8. 4 Characteristics of a State • Territory • Established boundaries of a state. • The exact location or shapes of political boundaries are often a source of conflict among states. • Territorial boundaries may change as a result of war, negotiation, or purchase. • Smallest—Monaco, 1.95 square kilometers, 0.75 square miles • Smallest—Vatican City, 0.44 square kilometers, 0.17 square miles, 109 acres • Largest—Russia, 6,592,769 square kilometers, 17,075,200 square miles

10. 4 Characteristics of a State • Sovereignty • Having supreme and absolute power within its own area. • Decides its won policies and courses of action, both foreign and domestic. • Does not have a higher authority in which to answer and is free from outside interference. • This is the key characteristic of a state.

11. 4 Characteristics of a State • Government • The institutions through which the public policies of a state are made and enforced and its affairs are conducted.

12. 4 Theories of the Origin of the State • Force Theory • Perhaps a person or small group claimed control over an area and forced or overpowered all of the people within it to submit to his/their rule. • Possible examples: Nazi Germany in World War II, Roman Empire

13. 4 Theories of the Origin of the State • Evolutionary Theory • Perhaps the state developed out of the early family (family-klan-tribe). • When the tribe began to use settled agriculture and was no longer nomadic the state was created. • Possible example: Abraham’s descendents in the Old Testament

14. 4 Theories of the Origin of the State • Divine Right Theory • Perhaps God gave those of “royal birth” the right to rule. • Rulers would inherit their power from God and once blessed with this power, the royal family and its heirs would become God’s representation on Earth. • Possible examples: Chinese and Egyptian civilizations, Japanese emperor Mikado governed until end of World War II.

15. 4 Theories of the Origin of the State • Social Contract Theory • Humans developed government and named rulers to establish order in the chaotic natural world in which they lived. • Man agreed to give up to the state as much power as was needed to promote the safety and well-being of all. The contract is the constitution. • Developed by philosophers such as: John Locke, James Harrington, Thomas Hobbes, and Jean Jacques Rousseau.

16. 5 PURPOSES OF GOVERNMENT • Protection • Throughout history, leaders have organized warriors to defend the community, from prehistoric tribes to modern armies. • The U.S. for example, has a military force of more than 1.5 million troops, as well as a powerful nuclear arsenal.

17. 5 PURPOSES OF GOVERNMENT • Maintenance of Social Order • Governments have taken responsibility for protecting citizens from violence against one another. • Modern governments pass hundreds of laws and maintain large police forces and court systems to protect the public, ensure the orderly daily existence, and promote a sense of justice.

18. 5 PURPOSES OF GOVERNMENT • Resolution of Social Conflicts • In human societies conflicts between groups are unavoidable. Central to many of these disagreements is the idea that some groups are unjustly treated. • Traditionally, governments have sometimes suppressed conflicts by the use of force, but if their authority is respected, people have tended to accept their decisions peaceably, whether by a king’s decree or a democratic election.

19. 5 PURPOSES OF GOVERNMENT • Responsibility for a Stable Economy • The role of government in creating and maintaining a healthy economy has varied widely throughout history. • In the late 19th century the U.S. government was expected to leave the economy alone (laissez-faire). In contrast, some modern governments actually own the major industries, and others regulate business practices of private citizens and monitor the currency or money.

20. 5 PURPOSES OF GOVERNMENT • Provision of Public Service • Many modern governments provide a transportation and communications network for public use, and most take some measures to protect public health and safety. • More controversial is the extent of government responsibility for individual welfare (poor, unemployed, aged, disabled). Some countries have extensive welfare benefits; others do not.

21. Geographic Distribution • Unitary Government • Type of government in which all of the government’s power belongs to a central agency or unit. • Local governments exist only for the convenience of the central government. • Most governments are unitary and this is the most common way to govern. • Great Britain, France, Japan, Denmark, China, Italy

22. Geographic Distribution • Federal Government • Type of government in which power is divided between a central government and several formally independent regional (state & local) governments. • Each level of government has sovereignty in some areas. • United States, Mexico, Australia, India, Germany, Brazil

23. Executive & Legislative Branches • Presidential Government • Type of government where a separation of power exists between the executive and the legislative branches of government. • The two function independently of each other, but they are also co-equal. • United States, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

24. Executive & Legislative Branches • Parliamentary Government • Type of government where the executive (Prime Minister, Premier, Chancellor) is chosen by the legislature, and as a result is subject to its direct control. • The executive does not serve a fixed term. • Most countries in the world practice a parliamentary government. • Great Britain, Japan, Czech Republic, Israel, New Zealand

25. Aristotle

26. Participating Members • Autocracy • Defined by Aristotle as “rule by one.” • Any system of government in which the power and authority to rule are in the control of a single individual.

27. Participating Members • Autocracy • Dictatorship • Form of government in which authority is centered in a single person whose power is not circumscribed by law nor by the acts of other official bodies. • It is the oldest and most common form of government. • It’s main characteristic is that it is not responsible to the people and cannot be limited by them. • Elections are controlled and voters are offered only one candidate.

28. Dictare • Latin word in which dictator is derived. • It means “issue orders or authoritative commands.” • Title was given to the ancient Roman republic’s leader who was given great power in times of crisis. • Julius Caesar was the first dictator in 49 B.C. Julius Caesar

29. Participating Members • Autocracy • Dictatorship • Authoritarian • Form of dictatorship in which individual liberty is completely subordinate to the authority of the state, which is controlled by a dictator. • Libya, Syria, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan,

30. Participating Members • Autocracy • Dictatorship • Authoritarian • Totalitarian • Form of dictatorship in which all societal resources are monopolized by the state in an effort to penetrate and control all aspects of public and private life. • Germany (1933-1945), Italy (1922-1943), Soviet Union (1924-1953)

31. Participating Members • Autocracy • Dictatorship • Monarchy • When a king, queen, or emperor exercises the supreme powers of the governments and they usually inherit their position.

32. Participating Members • Autocracy • Dictatorship • Monarchy • Absolute Monarchy • Form of monarchy where the ruler has complete and unlimited power to rule. • Brunei, Saudi Arabia

33. Participating Members • Autocracy • Dictatorship • Monarchy • Absolute Monarchy • Constitutional Monarchy • Form of monarchy where the ruler shares governmental powers with an elected legislature. • Great Britain, Japan, Sweden, Belgium, Denmark, Jordan

34. Participating Members • Oligarchy • Defined by Aristotle as “rule by few.” • Any system of government in which the power to rule is held by a small, usually self-appointed elite.

35. Participating Members • Oligarchy • Aristocracy • Type of oligarchy where people are ruled by the finest. • In some aristocracies the ruling group has been determined by social position or wealth. • Comes from Greek aristos which means “most virtuous, noblest, or finest.”

36. Participating Members • Oligarchy • Theocracy • Type of oligarchy where the power to rule lies in the hands of a religious group. • Today theocracies rarely exist in pure form, although in some countries religious groups still have a powerful influence on government. • Comes from the Greek theos which means “god.” • Vatican City, Afghanistan under the Taliban

37. Participating Members • Oligarchy • Political Party • The modern version of oligarchy. • Type of oligarchy where the government is controlled by a political party. • Type of oligarchy in which the state plans and controls the economy and a single party holds power. • China, Cuba, North Korea, Laos, Vietnam

38. Participating Members • Democracy • Defined by Aristotle as “rule by many.” • It is a form of government in which a substantial proportion of the citizenry participates in ruling the state. • Supreme political authority rests with the people. • Comes from the Greek demos which means “the people” and kratia which means “rule.”

39. Participating Members • Democracy • Direct (Pure) Democracy • Form of democracy in which the people participate directly in decision making through the voting process. • Citizens vote on laws in an assembly, as they did in ancient Greek city-states and in New England town meetings.

40. Participating Members • Democracy • Direct (Pure) Democracy • Representative (Indirect) Democracy • Form of democracy where citizens elect officials to represent them in government; people’s wishes are expressed through small groups of individuals chosen by the people to act as their representatives. • United States, Australia, Israel, Great Britain, France, Tuvalu, New Zealand

41. REPUBLIC • Form of government in which sovereignty rests in those people entitled to elect, either directly or indirectly, representatives who hold office for limited periods of time. • In a republic, the head of state is a non-hereditary officer most often called the president. • The president may also be the actual chief executive, or such power may reside with a prime minister or premier. • A republic may or may not be a democracy, depending on voting qualifications, the degree of suffrage, and the presence of real electoral alternatives. • Some political systems are democratic but are not republics because they have a hereditary head of state, as, for example, Great Britain. • United States, Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Mexico, Italy, South Africa

42. 7 DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES • Sanctity of the Individual • Each individual is looked at as a distinct being. • Equality of Opportunity and Equality Before the Law • No person should be discriminated against for arbitrary reasons. • All persons are treated equally under the law.

43. 7 DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES • Majority Rule Restrained by Minority Rights • The majority must always recognize the right of any minority to become the majority if it can be obtained by fair and legal means. • The majority must always be willing to listen to a minority’s argument.

44. 7 DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES • Compromise • The resolutions of conflict in which concessions are made by all parties to achieve a common goal. • Democracy, in most cases, must be a matter of give-and-take.

45. 7 DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES • Individual Liberty • The individual should be free to do as he pleases as the freedom of all allows. • This does not mean absolute freedom. There must be a balance between liberty and authority.

46. “The right to swing my fist ends where the other man’s nose begins.” Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.Associate Justice U.S. Supreme Court(1902-1932) Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

47. 7 DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES • Free Elections • They give people the chance to choose leaders who share their beliefs and views and allow for expression of those views. • It also ensures that public officials pay attention to the wishes of the people. • All genuine democracies have free and open elections.

48. 7 DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES • Competing Political Parties • They make elections more meaningful by giving voter’s a choice among candidates. • They also help to simplify and focus attention on key issues.

49. ANARCHY • The total absence of government.

50. CAPITALISM • Economic system in which the means of production are privately owned.