Systems of Government:
Systems used by states to establish rules and determine the citizen’s place within that society
Democracy:
– Government by the people exercised either directly or through elective representatives.
– The common people as the source of political power.
– Rule by the majority.
– The principals of social equality and respect for the individual within the community
Raw (Direct) Democracy:
– Government run by the people directly with a majority deciding every issue.
– Everyone in the society has an equal say and decision making power in all matters that concern them.
Representative Democracy:
– Government run by the people indirectly through elections for representatives.
– Elections are open to all citizens and in some societies voting is extended to others as well.
– There is a sense that elections are fair and that the people elected represent a majority of the people in the society.
Republic:
– A political system that is not headed by a monarch, but usually a president or leader.
– Supreme power lies in a body of citizens who are entitled to vote for representatives responsible to them.
Fascism:
– A system of government that is marked by a stringent (strict) social and economic control.
– A strong centralized government usually headed by one person (a dictator).
– Often a belligerent policy of nationalism is evident.
Monarchy:
– Government by a monarch: a sole and absolute ruler of a state.
– Power of control over the people is directly given by the monarch to those of his/her choice.
Constitutional Monarchy:
– A political system where the power of the monarch is restrained by a parliament, by law or by custom.
– The monarch can have some powers but the people through their elected officials can implement laws.
Totalitarianism:
– A state where the government has absolute power over the citizens.
– Usually it is meant as the rule of one person over all others.
– The government in this system exercises absolute control over all spheres of human life
Anarchy:
– Absence of any form of political authority
– “Every man for himself.”
Economic Systems:
Intrinsically related to the political systems through laws instituted by governments to mandate the country’s economy, but separate because they can be selected by any of the systems for different reasons.
Capitalism:
– An economic system characterized by open competition in a free market.
– In raw capitalism all the means of production are privately owned.
– Achieving self-interests is the ultimate reward.
– Money is the basis of exchange of goods.
– In raw capitalism: “Economically every man for himself.”
Socialism:
An economic system where the necessary means of production for the society to function are produced and owned by the government, but where some private enterprise and ownership are allowed
Communism:
– An economic system where there is common ownership of the means of production.
– All labor is done for the common good.
– There is no private ownership.
– All needs are met for everyone.