What is government?
The institution through which a makes and enforces its public
A Review of Government
ž What
do public policies cover?
¡ Crime,
,
health care, education, environment, health, social welfare, ,
civil rights
How Government Works
ž Powers
of government are often outlined in a ,
which is the fundamental laws setting out the principles, structures, and
processes of a .
What three kinds of power does every government have?
ž Legislative
power
ž Executive
Power
ž Judicial
Power
Legislative power
ž The
power to make and frame public
ž What
are the two assemblies of the legislative branch called?
ž House
of Representatives and the
Executive Power
ž The
power to execute, enforce, and laws.
Judicial Power
ž The
power to interpret ,
to determine their meaning, and to settle that arise within society.
The State
ž A
body of people, living in a defined ,
organized and with the power to make and enforce laws
without the consent of any higher authority.
Four Characteristics of a State
ž Population:
the living in the state
ž Territory:
land with known and recognized
ž . :
the supreme and absolute power within the state
ž Government:
the agency through which the government exerts its will and works to its goals
ž America
is based on the idea of -the
idea that the power comes from the people and government can only exist with
their consent.
Major Political Ideas and Theories
ž What
brought into being?
¡ Historians
use these four theories:
ž Force
Theory
ž Evolutionary
Theory
ž Divine
Right Theory
ž Social
Contract Theory
Force Theory
ž The
state was born through and war.
ž Belief
that a small group claimed an area and forced all within to to their will.
Evolutionary Theory
ž Idea
that the state developed out of the early
ž One
person was “head of the family”
ž Over
time, clans, or a network of related families, became a
Divine Right Theory
ž Belief
that God created the and given those of royal birth the right to
rule.
ž People
were bound to obey the ruler as they would
ž This
is also called an
ž Belief
held from 15th throughout18th centuries
Social Contract Theory
ž Evolved
from a time when humans were only as safe as their strength.
ž Individuals
created a contract with one another to keep each other safe, while giving up
rights for the state.
Forms of Government
Classifying Governments
ž There
are basic features that can classify a government
¡ 1.
Who can participate in the governing process
¡ 2.
The geographic distribution of governmental power within the state
¡ 3.
The relationship between the legislative and the executive branches of the
government
Types of Government
Democracy
ž System
of government where the for the exercise of powers rest with a
majority of the people
ž Types
of democracy
¡ Direct:
A pure democracy where the of the people is translated into policy directly by the people
¡ Indirect:
A democracy where a small group of persons are
chosen by the people to act as their representatives.
¡ Also called a
Dictatorship
ž System of government where the responsibility
for the exercise of power may be held by a person or a small group
ž Types
of a dictatorship
¡ . :
government in which a single person holds unlimited power
¡ . :
government in which a small elite hold unlimited power
ž All
dictatorships are , meaning those is power hold absolute and
unchallengeable power over people
ž Most
dictatorships are also ,
meaning the government has power over nearly every aspect of human affairs.
Geographic forms of Government
ž With
every government system, the power to govern is located in one or more places.
ž . :
system of government where all power belongs to a single central agency
¡ Examples:
Parliaments of United Kingdom and the Ukraine
ž . :
system of government in which the powers are divided between a central
government and several local governments
¡ Examples:
United States, Canada, Australia
¡ Division
of powers: Constitution provision in which governmental powers are divided
between central and local governments, on a geographic basis
ž . :
system of government where independent states have formed an alliance
¡ Examples:
European Union, Iroquois League
Presidential versus Parliamentary
ž Governments
are also classified based on the relationship between their and agencies.
ž Presidential
Government:
¡ A of powers between the executive and the
legislative branches of government. The branches are independent and coequal.
Parliamentary Government
ž Parliamentary
government: the branch is made up of a prime minister or
premier and that official’s cabinet.
ž The
official and cabinet members belong to the branch, which is called the Parliament.
ž The
prime minister is the leader of the majority in Parliament.
Rule of Law: the government and its officials are subject to the law!
American Concept of Democracy
ž 1. A
recognition of the worth and dignity of every person
ž 2. A
respect for the equality of all persons
ž 3. A
faith in rule and an insistence upon minority rights.
ž 4.
An acceptance of the necessity of compromising
ž 5.
An insistence upon the wisest degree of individual freedom
Equality of all Persons
ž “All
men are created equal” – Thomas Jefferson
ž What
does this mean?
ž 1.
Equality of
¡ Each
person should have the chance to himself or herself as much as they are able
and should not be held back based upon ethnicity, gender, or religion.
ž 2.
Equality before the
¡ Each
person shall be treated as the equal of all other persons before the day
The Necessity of Compromise
ž . :
the process of blending and adjusting competing views and interests
ž Why
is compromise necessary?
¡ 1.
Democracy puts the individual first, and insists that the individual is equal
to all others
¡ 2.
Few public questions have only two sides. In fact, most can be answered in
several different ways
ž Compromise
is how to achieve agreement.
Individual Freedom
ž Does
not mean that individuals have freedom
ž However,
it does mean that individuals must be able to do as they please as far as
“freedom for all” will allow.
ž Examples?
¡ “The
right to swing my fist ends where the other man’s nose begins.” –Oliver Wendell
Holmes
ž Limited
Government: individuals have rights the government take away
Comparative Economic Systems
What is an economic system?
ž An way in which a state or nation allocates its
resources, goods, and services in the national community.
Factors of Production
ž Basic
resources to make all and
ž Land
and natural resources
¢
Trees, water, coal, iron, petroleum
ž Labor
¡ Human
resources that complete the work
ž Capital
¡ Human
made resources that are to produce goods and services
¡ Two
types:
¢
Physical: money, buildings, machines, and
computers
¢
Human: skills and knowledge workers gain from
experience
How does the Free Enterprise System Work?
ž Free
does NOT rely on the government to decide what
items will be produced, how much should be produced, or how much items should
sell for.
ž These
decisions are made by the market based system of
¡ When
supplies of goods and services are plentiful, prices go down. When supplies of
goods and services are scarce, prices go up.
The Free Enterprise System
ž Economic
system characterized by of capital goods, investments made by private
decisions (not government directives) and success or failure determined by
competition in the market place.
ž Based
on four fundamental factors:
¡ Private
ownership
¡ Individual
initiative
¡ Profits
¡ Competition
ž Can
you think of another name for this system?
!
Government’s Role in the Market
ž America
is a
¡ When
private enterprise exists in combination with a considerable amount of
government regulation and promotion
Socialism and Communism
Karl Marx
ž Father
of modern day
ž Critic
of
ž Believed
that capitalism was fatally flawed
¡ Workers
were abused and would overthrow upper-class and entire system
ž From
him, socialism and communism evolved
Socialism
Philosophy that the benefits of an economy should be equitably
distributed throughout a society
Characteristics of a Socialist Economy
ž Nationalization:
Placing enterprises under government control
ž Public
Welfare: equal distribution of necessities and services to all citizens
ž Taxation:
Taxing individuals around 50%
ž . :
The government plans how the economy will develop, with targets for production
and investment
¡ Also
called a centrally planned economy
Communism
A collective that calls for the state to own all land and
productive property
Characteristics of Communist Countries
ž Government
has %
control over decision making and the economy
ž Government
plans and supervises all in factories, farms, and stores.
ž Government
all enterprises, farms, transportation, and
industry.
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