Limited & Unlimited Government

Government makes and enforces public policies for society.

There are many different types of government, none of which are exactly alike.

Governments differ based on who holds power or authority.

Governments in their most basic form can be classified as either limited or unlimited.

Definition: the exercise of authority or power in a cruel, or unjust manner.

Which of the following types of governments are more likely to oppress their citizens?

Limited governments are limited by established laws and procedures created by the people.

In other words, limited governments cannot do as they please and are not above the law.

Examples: Canada, United States, Mexico

Unlimited governments and their leader(s) have total power to rule the nation-state as they choose with no accountability to the people.

In other words, leaders of an unlimited government are above the law.

Examples: authoritarian, totalitarian

Definition: of or relating to a governmental or political system in which individual freedom is held as completely subordinate to the power or authority of the state.

Authoritarian regimes are represented in countries such as Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, and Equatorial Guinea.

Monarchy - ruled by a single person who is usually a hereditary figure like a king or a queen (example: Great Britain)

Oligarchy - ruled by a small group of people who are usually wealthy or a powerful military (example: ancient Greece, early South Africa)

Theocracy - ruled by religious leaders (example: Iran's Ayatollah)

Dictatorship - most common form of authoritarian government in which unlimited power is held by one person who rules and controls the people by force (example: Cuba)

It is a form of government that does not permit individual freedom and seeks to subordinate or oppress all aspects of individual life to the authority of the state.

It is characterized by strong central rule that attempts to control and direct all aspects of individual life through coercion and repression.

It replaces all political institutions with new ones and its sweeping away of all legal, social, and political traditions.

The totalitarian state pursues some special goal, such as industrialization or conquest.

All resources are directed toward its attainment, regardless of the cost.

Example: Nazi Germany's goal of exterminating the Jews

Other modern examples of totalitarian states include the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin, the People’s Republic of China under Mao Zedong, and North Korea under the Kim dynasty.