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Government Notes: Ch1/1Government – is the institution through which a society makes and enforces public policies Public Policies – all the things that a government decides to do Three Basic Kinds Of power
1. Legislative – makes laws 2. Executive Power – the power to enforce laws 3. Judicial Power – the power to interpret laws Constitution – body of fundamental laws Dictatorship – single person or group holds power Democracy – the people hold supreme power Government is the oldest of all human inventions. It was the result of society’s attempt to regulate their own behavior, as well as, that of their neighbors. The earliest known form of government began in the 6th century BC. Aristotle stated, “Man is by nature a political animal.” Politics – process by which a society decides how resources and power will be distributed within society. Government- institution State – body of people living in a defined territory, organized politically Nation – ethnic term that refers to people Example: one “nation” = one “people” Country – is a geographical term referring to a particular place or region. Homogeneous – having the same culture, language heritage Territory – recognized boundaries Sovereign Power – supreme and absolute power within a territory Government – includes the machinery and the personnel by which the state is ruled Thomas Hobbes – 1588-1679 “Without government there would be continual fear and danger of violent death and life would be solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short” Major Political Theories The Force Theory – one person or group claims control The Evolutionary Theory – state developed naturally from the early family The Divine Right Theory – God created the state and chose those born by royal birth to rule Social Contract Theory – the state arose out of a voluntary act of people, revolution justified by this theory The Purpose of Government *To form a more perfect union *To establish justice *To insure domestic tranquility *To provide for the common defense *To promote general welfare *To secure the blessings of liberty Federalist No. 51 James Madison observed, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.” Homework: read the Second Treatise of Government. Answer questions in complete sentences. Text: p.781 “For forms of government let fools contest; What’er is best administered is best…” Essay on Man English poet Alexander Pope Couplet 1733 Was Pope right? Does it matter what form a government takes? Classifying Government No two governments are alike because they are products of human needs and experiences. Governments are classified according to
Who can participate? Democracy – supreme political authority rests with the people Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address of 1863 “Government of the people, by the people, for the people” Direct Democracy – the will of the people is translated into public policy……this form does not exist on a large scale anywhere in the world today (only in small forms of government ex. town meetings) Representative Democracy – a small group of persons chosen by the people and as representatives express the popular will Interchangeable terms – Democracy, republic, representative, democracy, republican form of government Dictatorship or autocracy – one person rule Oligarchy – self-appointed elite rule Sometimes dictatorships present the outward appearance of control by the people. Current one person dictatorships include Libya where Muamma al Qaddafi has ruled since 1969. Geographic Distribution of Power – where the power is located Basic Forms Unitary government, centralized government - example Great Britain in which local government exists to take the burden off parliament. Local government can be disbanded at any time but this is highly unlikely. Federal Government – power divided between a central government and several local governments It has a geographic basis and cannot be changed by either local or national government. Ex. U.S. Australia, Canada, Mexico Confederate Government – an alliance of independent states, Government can handle only those matters that the members have assigned it. This is very rare, the closet model is the European Union. Relationship between Legislative and Executive Branches Presidential Government – separation of powers exist between executive and legislative branches, they are independent of each other but co equal Parliamentary Government – The executive branch is made up of the prime minister and officials’ cabinet. The prime minister and the cabinet themselves are members of the legislative branch and the parliament. Prime Minister – is the leader of the majority party With the parliament’s approval the prime minister selects the members of the cabinet, from among its members of parliament They remain in office only as long as their policies and administration have the support of the majority of Parliament. Why do we have a federal system of government? The Framers of the Constitution had to deal with critical matters such as the preservation of federal government and the preservation of states rights. Federalism – an arrangement in which the powers of government would be divided between the new national government, on the one hand, and the state governments on the other CH 1/3 Basic Concepts of Democracy Worth of the Individual
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World History Patterns of Interaction, McDougal Littell
American Government, William A. McClenaghan
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