Foundations of Government Part 6 Types of Government

Foundations of Government Part 6: Types of Government

Review • • What is a government? How does government emerge? What are the natural rights? What are the systems of government? • Can a system be further defined?

Types of Government • A nation-state in creating a government, chooses its type first, and develops a system as time continues. • There are THREE major types of government: – Autocracy – Oligarchy – Democracy

Autocracy • Rule by one person. • All authority is given to a single individual. This authority can be gained various ways, examples being inheritance, and military power. – This creates the position of authority as being either gained, or given.

Autocracy: Position Gained • Dictatorship – Usually totalitarian, in which a single leader is in complete control of all aspects of social, political, and economic life. – This is a position that is usually won by force and military power. – Their responsibility is not to the people, as the people have no power.

Autocracy: Position Gained • Dictators do not have to be totalitarian. – Authoritarian dictators focus more on politics than all other aspects of life. • Dictators do not have to take over the position militarily. – They can be appointed, or even elected in some cases. – To achieve a position this way, dictators will often claim they will rule for the sake of the people.

Autocracy: Position Given • Monarchy – A single ruler exercises all powers of government (and sometimes religion). – The throne is typically inherited through heredity. – Monarchs often make, or appear to make the attempt to hear the voice of the people.

Autocracy: Position Given • There are TWO major forms of a monarchy – Absolute Monarchs have complete and unlimited power to rule their people. – Constitutional Monarchs share their governing powers with elected officials and serve as ceremonial leaders.

Oligarchy • A small group holds power. (Rule by a few) • An oligarchy’s power typically comes from wealth, military power, social position, and/or sometimes religion. – Often claim to rule for the sake of the people, much like a dictatorship. – However, they usually wind up suppressing any political opposition.

Democracy • Rule by the people. • The people hold sovereign power to protect their own interests. • Make decisions through personal input, i. e. , voting. • There are TWO major types of democracy: – Direct – Representative

Democracy: Direct Democracy • People govern themselves and make decisions as a whole through voting on key issues. – Problems that appear in direct democracy often have to do with the people’s participation or lack their of. Therefore, most of the problems have to deal with the population. • In a direct democracy, everyone must vote on everything every time an issue arises.

Democracy: Representative Democracy • The people elect representatives to vote for them. • The people give these representatives the power to conduct government on their behalf. – This is also known as a republic, where citizen participation is required as voters hold sovereign power, and solves the problem of size in a direct democracy. • A constitutional republic strives to limit the government as it holds the people as the ultimate source of power. • While stemming from democracy, republics do not exist in every democracy.