Principles of Government

1
Chapter 1

• Principles of Government

2
Section 1

• Government and the State

3
What is Government?

• Government is the institution through which a
  society makes and enforces its public policies
• The Government is made up of people to exercise
  governments powers
• Public Policies are all things that a government
  decides to do
• taxation, national defense, education, crime and
  health care

4
What is Government?

• Government is among the oldest of all human
  inventions
• First appears when people realize that they
  cannot survive without some way of regulating
  conduct
• Earliest known evidences of Government date from
  Ancient Egypt and the 6th century, B.C.

5
The State

• The state can be defined as a body of people
  living in a defined territory, organized
  politically
• that is with a government and with the power to
  make and enforce law without the consent of any
  higher authority
• Over 190 states in the world today and all vary
  in size
• All have four of the characteristics of a state
• Population, territory, sovereignty and government

6
Population

• A state must have a certain population but size
  does not effect the state
• The worlds smallest state is San Marino with some
  25,000 people
• The peoples republic of China is the largest with
  about 1.25 billion
• India is second and the U.S. is third
• India- 960 Million
• U.S.- 270 million

7
Territory

• A state must also have recognized boundaries
• San Marino is again the smallest with 24 square
  miles
• Russia is the largest with 6.6 million square
  miles
• The U.S. has about 3.7 million square miles

8
Sovereignty

• Sovereignty means that the state has supreme
  control within its territory
• It is neither subordinate nor responsible to any
  other authority
• Sovereignty is the one thing that separates
  itself from all other political units
• The location of sovereignty within a state tells
  us who holds the power
• If the people hold the power, the government is
  democratic and if one person or a small group
  holds the power, a dictatorship exists

9
Government

• Every state has some sort of a government
• The government is the agency through which the
  state exerts its will and works to accomplish its
  goals
• Governments can take many different forms
• In the end, the government has the authority to
  make and enforce the public policies it sees fit

10
Origins of the State

• Theories have been made on how the origin of the
  state emerged
• The four most widely excepted are
• The Force Theory
• The Evolutionary Theory
• The Divine Right Theory
• The Social Contract Theory

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The Force Theory

• Scholars believe that the state was born of force
• Claiming that one person or group seized control
  over an area and forced its will onto that person
  or groups rule
• With the rule coming to the forefront, all the
  basic elements of the state were present

12
The Evolutionary Theory

• Some claim that the state developed naturally out
  of the early family
• Goes back to primitive times
• A family, which one person was the head of and
  thus a government, was the first stage in
  political development
• Over the years, the family became a network and
  eventually settled down to from the state
• Reasons for settling down would be turning to
  agriculture and ending nomadic ways

13
The Divine Right Theory

• Widely accepted in western world from 15th
  century through the 18th century
• Held that the state was created by God
• God had given the people of royal birth a divine
  right to rule
• Opposition to the divine right of kings was
  treason and a mortal sin
• Much thought upon present day democratic
  government is a challenge to the theory of divine
  right

14
The Social Contract Theory

• Americas political system is significantly based
  on the social contract theory
• Philosophers John Locke, James Harrington, and
  Thomas Hobbes in England and Jean Jacques Rosseau
  in France developed the theory in the 17th and
  18th centuries
• Talk of a state of nature
• People overcome the state of nature by agreeing
  with one another to create a state
• The state exists only to serve the will of the
  people

15
The Purpose of Government

• We the people of the United States, in order to
  form a more perfect union, establish justice,
  insure domestic tranquility, provide for the
  common defense, promote the general welfare, and
  secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and
  our posterity, do ordain and establish this
  constitution for the United States of America.

16
To Form A More Perfect Union

• Under the Articles of Confederation, it was
  wanted to create a firm league of friendship
  among the states
• Only made for intense rivalries and jealousies
  among the states
• The constitution, written in 1787, was adopted in
  order to link the states together
• Built in the belief that in the union there was
  strength

17
To Establish Justice

• Justice has become to mean the la, in both its
  content and its administration, must be
  reasonable, fair and impartial
• Have not attained the goal of equal justice for
  all
• Throughout the history of the country, we have
  strived to reach that goal

18
To Insure Domestic Tranquility

• Order is a necessary essential to the well being
  of a society
• Anarchy, a state without government and law,
  pulls at the fabric order
• In the Federalist papers, James Madison observed
  If men were angels no government would be
  necessary
• Most, if not all fall short of this standard

19
To Provide for the Common Defense

• Defense is mentioned in the Constitution much
  more than any other functions of the government
• Even with the United States being a Unilateral
  power, it still must remain watchful and keep its
  armed strength
• Still seen in the world today

20
To Promote the General Welfare

• Examples of promoting general welfare for all is
  seen all over the U.S. today
• Public Schools, Public Parks
• Keeping quality air and water and protecting the
  food we drink are all government tasks performed
  to help out the public

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Section 2

• Forms of Government

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Classifying Governments

• No two governments are exactly alike
• Governments can be classified according to one or
  more of their basic features
• Three ways to classify a government that are most
  important are

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Three Ways to Classify Governments

• The geographic distribution of governmental power
  w/in the state
• The relationship between the legislative
  (lawmaking) and the executive (law executing)
  branches of the government
• The number of persons who can take part in the
  governing process

24
Geographic Distribution of Power

• The power to govern is located in one or more
  places geographically
• Three basic forms of government exist
• Unitary government
• Federal government
• Confederate government

25
Unitary Government

• Unitary government is described as a centralized
  government
• Government in which all powers held by the
  government belong to a single, central agency
• Creates local units of government
• Power for these comes from a central source
• British government is an example of this

26
Federal Government

• A federal government is one where powers of
  government are divided between a central
  government and several local governments
• A power above both the central and local
  governments makes this division of powers that
  cannot be changed the local or central acting
  alone
• Ex. United States under the constitution

27
Confederate Government

• A confederate government is an alliance of
  independent states
• Can only have the power to handle only those
  matters that member states have assigned to it
• A state can only rule on things such as defense
  and foreign commerce
• Allows for several states to cooperate in matters
  of common concern and also retain their separate
  identities

28
Relationship Between Legislative and Executive
Branches

• Viewing governments from the standpoint of
  relationship between the legislative and
  executive agencies yields two forms of government
• Presidential Government
• Parliamentary Government

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Presidential Government

• A presidential government is made up a separation
  of powers between the executive and legislative
  branches of the government
• The chief executive (president) is chosen
  independently of the legislature
• Has broad powers not subject to direct control of
  the legislative branch
• The different branches can check, block or
  restrain actions by the other branch

30
Parliamentary Government

• The executive is made up of the prime minister or
  premier and that officials cabinet
• They are members of the legislative branch, the
  parliament
• The prime minister and his parliament remain in
  office as long as their policies have confidence

31
Parliamentary Government

• If the government receives a vote of no
  confidence- the government must resign from
  office
• The parliamentary government doesnt face
  problems that a presidential government faces
• They dont face terms of a president and deadlock
  between the executive and legislative branches

32
The Number of who can participate

• The number of persons who can take part in the
  governing process are in two basic forms
• Dictatorship
• Democracies

33
Dictatorship

• Those who rule cannot be held responsible to the
  will of the people.
• Dictatorship is the oldest and most common form
  of government
• Authoritarian- those in power hold absolute and
  unchangeable authority over the people

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Leading Examples of Dictatorships

• In the 20th century
• Fascist Italy- (from 1922-1943)
• Nazi Germany- (1933-1945)
• Soviet Union- (1917- late 1980s)
• China- (1949- present)

35
Dictatorships

• Most present day dictatorships dont have the
  totalitarian rulers as in the past
• Militaristic in character
• Gain power by force and the military holds many
  of the major posts in the Government

36
Democracy

• In a democracy, supreme political authority rests
  with the people
• People hold sovereign power and government is
  conducted by and with the consent of the people
• Government of the people, by the people and for
  the people

37
Direct Democracy

• Also called a pure democracy
• Exists where the will of the people is translated
  into public policy (law)
• This system only works in very small communities
  where citizens can meet in some central places
• Does not exist on the national level
• Exists in New England towns and a few Swiss
  cantons

38
Representative Democracy

• A small group of people chosen by the people to
  act as representatives to the population
• Responsible for carrying out day to day conduct
  of government
• Held accountable to the people for that conduct

39
Section 3

• Basic Concepts of Democracy

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The Foundation of Democracy

• Democracy does not exist in the U.S. because
  Americans regard it as the best possible system
• Rather it exists here b/c the American people
  believe in its basic concepts
• The Basic Concepts of democracy, as they apply in
  the U.S. are described as

41
Basic Concepts of Democracy

• A recognition of the fundamental worth and
  dignity of every person
• A respect for the equality of all persons
• A faith in majority rule and an insistence upon
  minority rights
• An acceptance of the necessity of compromise
• An insistence upon the widest possible degree of
  individual freedom

42
Fundamental Worth of the Individual

• Democracy is firmly based upon a belief in the
  fundamental importance of the individual
• Democracy insists that each persons worth and
  dignity must be recognized and respected by all
  other indiviuals

43
Fundamental Worth of the Individual

• This concept is the overriding importance in
  democratic thought
• Everything in a democratic society should be done
  w/in the limits of this concept
• At Various times, people can be forced to do the
  things in which benefit the whole in democracy
• Some examples are taxes or registering for the
  draft or stopping at a stop sign

44
Fundamental Worth of the Individual

• Democracy is not serving the many simply as the
  interests of the mass of people
• Rather it is serving the many who together make
  up that society

45
Equality of All Persons

• Democracy doesnt insist on an equality of
  condition for all
• Does not claim all are born w/ the same abilities
• Democratic concept of equality insist that all
  are entitled to 1. equality of opportunity and 2.
  equality before the law

46
Equality of All Persons

• No person should be held back for any arbitrary
  reasons based on race, color, religion, or gender
• One must be free to develop him/herself as fully
  as he/she can
• Still a considerable distance from a genuine
  recognized quality for all

47
Majority Rule and Minority Rights

• How do you determine what is the popular will?
• The only satisfactory device is majority rule
• Democracy argues that a majority of the people
  will be right more than they will be wrong
• Doesnt say majority will always be right

48
Majority Rule and Minority Rights

• The democratic process- the process of majority
  rule- doesnt intend to come up w/ right or
  best answers
• Rather it searches for satisfactory solutions to
  problems
• Democracy cannot work w/out majority rule
• A majority could destroy its opposition and
  democracy as well
• Democracy insists on majority rule restrained by
  minority rights
• Majority must always recognize the right of any
  minority to become the majority

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Necessity of Compromise

• Compromise- process of blending and adjusting or
  competing views and interests in order to find
  the position most acceptable to the largest
  number
• Essential part of the democratic concept for two
  reasons.

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Necessity of Compromise

• First reason, democracy puts the individual first
  and, at the same time, insists each individual is
  the equal of all others
• Second, few public questions have only two sides
• Most can be answered in several ways

51
Necessity of Compromise

• Most public policy questions have several
  possible answers
• Democratic society must find some answer
• Compromise is a way of achieving majority
  agreement
• Not all compromises are good, and not all are
  necessary

52
Individual Freedom

• Democracy can thrive only in an atmosphere of
  individual freedom
• Absolute freedom can exist only in a state of
  anarchy- total absence of government
• Democracy does insist that each individual must
  be as free as he or she pleases as far as freedom
  will allow

53
Individual Freedom

• Striking the proper balance between freedom for
  the individual and the rights of society as a
  whole is similarly difficult- and vital
• The authority of government must be adequate to
  the needs of society, but authority must never be
  allowed to become so great that it restricts the
  individual beyond necessity