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