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Governing ideas. 20 th Century History. Formation of Government. Governments first came about shortly after people became settled and sought a way to protect their homes, crops and persons These were small governments, similar to town councils
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Governing ideas 20th Century History
Formation of Government Governments first came about shortly after people became settled and sought a way to protect their homes, crops and persons These were small governments, similar to town councils The most powerful of these governements were then able to overtake other government areas They formed the first large ‘States’ originally ruled by ‘Kings’ who at that time were the toughest and best fighters, and were naturally chosen to lead their tribes This form of government ‘Monarchy’ stuck around for a long time with only small examples of other governing systems such as democracy By the 1700s this started to be challenged by philosophers and revolutionaries
Thomas Paine – The Rights of Man (1791) Thomas Paine was a pamphleteer (sort of like a political journalist) who wrote The Rights of Man after the American Revolution and during the French Revolution. He supported the ideas of revolution in the following ways: • Monarchy was inherently corrupt as the reason Kings held power was because at some stage in the past they had stolen and conquered land because they were powerful – they held no ‘Right from God’ so it was a corrupt governing system • Rights were ‘natural’ and the only job of a Government was to protect these rights via law • Hereditary succession was no way to chose a ruler you should be able to have the best person for the job
Charles II of Spain 1665-1700 Passing the inheritance of government can lead to big problems: Charles II of Spain is the most obvious example He was born with physical and intellectual disabilities But he was still King – Just a very bad one Spain owned huge areas of land, but Spain was engaged in constant war So Spain was slowing going bankrupt After his death – without a successor Europe plunged into the ‘War or Spanish Succession’ Spain was reduced to approximately its current size in Europe and lost Colonies in North America The ‘roll of the dice’ that ended with Charles II could happen in any Monarchy
Governing Ideas There are many different governing ideas: Increasingly as the 20th century (1900-1999) progressed they became the core reasons for conflict within and between states We can classify governing systems based on: • The power of Government • Social and Economic Freedom How governments are decided
Social Freedom Scale More Free Totalitarian/Authoritarian – Government that seeks total control of populace through laws and public organisations – Seeks to mould the people into the ideal image Libertarian – Laws only purpose is to preserve property and prevent violence Moderate – Government that has more laws to control ‘undesirable behaviour’ but stays out of most ‘private areas’
Economic Freedom Scale More Free Socialism – “Communism” State control of production – no private property LEFT WING Pure Capitalist – No restrictions on business, few taxes, no consumer protections RIGHT WING Mixed Economy – Government owns some businesses, and there is some regulation, business is fairly free
Where do governments sit? Libertarian Anarcho Syndicalism Libertarian General Trend from the 1970s - today Liberal – Democracies The West Today Socialism Capitalism China Today Socialist/Communist Fascist/Nazi Totalitarian Theocracy
