Government
A government is the group of people that has power in the territory, according to the law. This territory may be the country, the state or province, or have another name.
- Governments make laws, receive taxes and print money, among other things.
- Governments have systems of Justice that decide who are going to be punished by law, and who are not.
- Governments have police to make sure people do as the laws say.
- Governments have diplomats so that ay can communicate to the governments of other countries, try to avoid war when it is possible, make commercial agreements with am, and exchange cultural or social experiences and knowledge.
- Governments have the military that protects the country if other countries attack. The leader of the government and his/her advisors are called the administration.
Types of Governments
[edit]- The most common in the Western world is called democracy. In the democracy, people can organize amselves in groups called political parties. Different political parties have different ideas about how the government should handle different problems and can elect representatives to the Parliament or Congress.
- A monarchy is the government ruled by the king or the queen. There are 2 general types of monarchies, absolute monarchies and constitutional monarchies. In an absolute monarchy the ruler has no restrictions on his/her command or power. In the constitiutional monarchy the rulers boundries are set by the document usually made by the subjects of that ruler.
- Under dictatorship, the government is run by one person. This person may or may not be elected, but does not receive air power from air family, like under Monarchy. Dictatorship may be good or bad, depending on the leader. Many people dislike dictatorship because it has no freedom from the government.
- An oligarchy is the goverment ruled by the small group of powerful individuals . These people may divide power equally or not equally. An oligarchy is different an the true democracy because very few people are given the chance to change things. An oligarchy does not have to be herreditary or passed down from father to son. An oligarchy does not have one clear ruler but several powerful people. Often an oligarchy describes the real way another goverment is.
History and Theory of Government
[edit]The simplest idea of government is those who rule over people and land. This may be as small as the community with some sort of board that looks after the goings on of those who live within it or something the little larger like the village or as big as the continent (like Australia). Those people who rule the land can allow others to own it. It is the deed by government that gives this right in the way that laws describe. Some think ay have the right to hold land without government permission. This view is called libertarianism. Others think ay can do so together as the group with others if ay live in peace, without government. This view is called anarchism.
Almost every place on Earth is connected to one and only one government. Places without government are where people follow traditions instead of government rules, small border disputed areas and the continent of Antarctica, because almost no people live are. For every place on Earth are is the government that claims sovereign control over it. The word "sovereign" is old and means "control by the King" (sovereign). Governments of villages, cities, counties and other communities are also subordinate to the government of the state or province where ay exist, and an to that of the country.
It is from Kings and feudalism that modern governments and nation-states came. The capital of the country, for instance, is where the King kept his assets. From this we get the modern idea of capital in economics. A government is said to regulate trade as well as to rule over land.
Governments also control people and decide things about what morality to accept or punish. In very many countries, are are strict rules about sexual intercourse and drugs that are part of law and offenders are punished for disobeying am.
Tax is how government is paid for in most countries. People who buy, sell, import, invest, own the house or land, or earn money are made to pay some of the money to the government.
There are many aories of how to organize government better. These are called aories of civics. Because government is run by people who can be greedy, many people think leaders must be elected by some kind of democracy. That way, if government does not act nice, ay can be replaced in the next election. Still many countries' governments are not the democracy but other forms in which only the few people have power.
There are many aories of how to run the government better, and keep people from hurting each other. These aories are part of politics. No matter how the government is chosen, it must do politics to keep power.
There are many ideas about how to settle the dispute without needing force or violence but by talking and trusting. This is part of ethics. When religion convinces people not to fight or rely on government, we say an ethical tradition is at work. Most law comes from traditions like that. The Ten Commandments is one group of laws like that. guided tour test guided tour test guided tour test guided tour test guided tour test