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Chapter 1, Governments
What is government?
Why governments exist
Types of governments
What is a government?
• Government - an institution
which makes and enforces
public policies through various
leaders
• Public policies are rules and
laws
Why do we have
government?
• Govt. preserves a common
culture.
• Government protects us from
invasion and from domestic
disorder.
• Government solves problems
we have problems solving
otherwise.
Theories of Govt Origins
• Force Theory – govt. comes
about because one group is
stronger and more powerful
than another
• Evolutionary Theory – govt.
comes from the family
• Divine Right Theory – God created
the government
• Social Contract Theory – man
voluntarily creates govt. to handle
problems he can not easily fix as an
individual.
• England’s Glorious Revolution in 1688 and American
Revolution of 1776 are examples of Social Contract
Theory.
How do governments
function?
• A government makes rules and
laws.
• A government enforces the laws
and rules with police and the
army.
What is the closest
government to us at this
very moment?
• The school is the closest govt.
to us at the moment.
• What makes Hudson ISD a
government?
How doe a government
do it’s “thing”?
• Government is about power –
control.
• In a republic or democracy,
Government derives power from
the consent of active voters
• When government has no power
or fails to exercise power, there
is anarchy.
How Gov. Exercises
power
1. Physically
– prison, death, torture, corporal
punishment, militarily, policing
2. Psychologically
– patriotism, optimism, dependency,
threats, intimidation, deception
3. Financially
– fines, taxes, welfare payments,
subsidies, facilities, services
3 Ways Governments
Exercise Power
• The legislature
makes laws or
statutes
• The executive
branch enforces
laws
• The judicial branch
interprets law.
Nation States /
Countries
• To be a nation state 4 things
must exist 1. Population, 2.
Defined Territory, 3.
Sovereignty, 4. Government
• A state can exist yet not be a
nation – Texas is state but not a
nation because it lacks
sovereignty.
Levels of Govt.
• There are national govts. such as
those of United States of America,
Mexico, and Canada.
• Within these national govts. can be
state or provincial governments such
as Texas or Sonora or Alberta.
• Some nations only have a national
government and local government is
limited
Systems of
Government
• Democracy – people hold
ultimate power – their will is
supreme
• Republic – certain rights of the
people are inviolate even to the
democratic majority.
• Authoritarianism – government
is dictatorial; the will and rights
of the citizens are not important
• Totalitarianism – the
government controls all aspects
of the peoples lives.
Characteristics of
Govts.
• Socialist Govt. – govt. owns key
industries and resources such
as transportation and
communications; political and
socio economic needs dictate
the use of these resources,
regardless of profit or loss
Characteristics of
Govts.
• Tribal Govt. – A govt. unique to
a community of people; in
America it is associated with
various Native American Indian
tribes and are recognized as
governing structures of the
territory or reservation held by
the tribe.
Authoritarian examples.
• Absolute Monarchy – king or
queen hold total power – Saudi
Arabia – often tied to divine
right of kings
• Aristocracy – power is passed
down through families
• Theocracy – govt. run on
religious lines, such as Iran
• Oligarchy – a small group bound
by some common trait or
characteristic holds power – For
example a military dictatorship
• Despotism – ruler has absolute
power and behaves tyranically –
in other words, they rule by
whim or without reason
Democratic –
Republican Government
• Classical republic –
representitive democracy in
which a small group of leaders,
elected by voters represent the
concerns of the voters;
interests of the majority take
precedent over the minority, but
not to the extent that anything
goes –Rome
• Constitutional Monarchy
• King or Queen’s power is
constrained by a constitution or
laws
• Closest monarchy to America is
….
2 Types of Democracy
• Parliamentary Democracy
• Elected legislature
• Legislature picks the executive
branch usually headed by a Prime
Minister
• Legislature may use a vote of no
confidence to fire a prime minister
and executive branch
• Judiciary is independent
• Presidential Democracy
• People elect the legislature
• People elect the executive
separately from the legisalture
• Only the people may fire the
executive
• Independent judiciary
Where the power lies
determines the type of
government
• Democracy – people hold ultimate power
• Dictatorship –dictator or government holds ultimate
power
• Unitary Government – national government holds
the power and has no regional government (can
still be democratic)
• Federal Government – power is shared between the
national government and several regional
governments
• Confederacy – states or regional governments hold
more power than the national government
• Direct Democracy – citizens vote on all issues of
govt. directly…no need for legislatures, councils,
etc
Basic Concepts of
Democracy
• Compromise must happen
• Widest degree of individual freedom
• Every person has worth and dignity
• Equality of people before the law
• Majority rule restrained by individual
rights
Major Thinkers
• Hammarabi – 1st
recorded code
of laws in Western Civilization
• Moses – The Ten
Commandments and other laws
in the Bible which govern
personal code of conduct; lay a
foundation for modern American
laws on Judeo Christian beliefs
Major Thinkers
• Thomas Hobbes – wrote
Leviathan ; he believed the
contract once made was
irreversible; majority must
protect the rights of the
minority
Major Thinkers:
• John Lock in his Second
Treatise on Government said
the contract could be altered by
the people; believe in life liberty
and property; held to the
concept of natural rights or
natural law; strong influence on
Thomas Jefferson
• Charles Montesquieu – believed
in checks in balances that came
with the separation of power
into three different branches.
• Jean Jacques Rousseau –
French philosopher – wrote of
the Social Contract theory as
well –
• William Blackstone – English
judge and professor who wrote
down his views on English
Common Law which are part of
the foundation of Modern
American Law
• Blackstone Wrote the 4 volume
essay Commentaries on the
Laws of England
Blackstone’s
Commentaries
• Rights of Person: describes the
relationship between the
government and individual citizens
• Rights of Things: describes property
rights
• Private Wrongs: deals with citizen on
citizen issues
• Public Wrongs: deals with crimes
and punishments