Government Systems

Make and enforce laws

Collect taxes to provide public goods and services

Provide police and courts to settle disputes

Provide national security (military)

Evolution- as family units grew larger, they needed to organize

Force- smaller units had to submit to a more powerful authority to have their needs met

Divine Right- rulers receive their authority from "god"

Social Contract- people contract among themselves or with a ruler in order to protect natural rights

Anarchy- nobody has the power, proponents don't believe in government

Limited Government- government power is restricted by laws such as a constitutional government

Authoritarian- government has complete power over all political aspects, rules by force

Totalitarian- government has complete power politically, economically, socially, religiously, and does not provide for liberties or rights

Autocracy- ruled by one such as a dictatorship or monarchy

Oligarchy- ruled by a few such as an aristocracy or theocracy

Direct or pure is where people make and pass policy and laws directly

Representative or Indirect or a Republic is where people elect representatives to make policies and laws.

Presidential- •a President is elected by the people to be the “Head Executive” (enforces laws) and the “Head of State” (symbolic leader to represent the nation)

•Parliamentary – an elected Parliament selects a Prime Minister to be the “Head Executive” and the Constitutional Monarch serves as the “Head of State”

Unitary- there is only one national government, centrally located; delegates/gives power to states

Confederal- stronger state governments that make sovereign laws; gives power to the weaker national government 

Federal - there is a stronger national government that makes sovereign laws with state governments that make state and local laws that must adhere to national laws