Forms of Government Flashcards
Legislative Branch
Makes laws
Judicial Branch
Interperpates laws
Executive Branch
Enforces laws
Monarchy
A system of government in which a single ruler exercises supreme power based on heredity or devine right.
Theocracy
A system of government headed by religious leaders.
Democracy
A form of government in which supreme authority rests with the people.
Direct Democracy
A system of government in which public decisions are made directly by citizens meeting together in an assembly or voting by ballot.
Republic (Representative Democracy)
A system of government in which supreme power rests with the citizens and is exercised by their elected representatives.
Dictatorship
A system of government in which a single person or group has absolute power and authority.
Oligarchy
A form of dictatorship in which the power to rule is held by a small, usually self-appointed elite.
Autocracy
A form of dictatorship in which a single person holds unlimited political power.
Command Economy
Economy where the government owns and offers all the goods and services.
Market Economy
Economy where most goods and services are offered by private companies.
Mixed Economy
Economy where the government and private businesses are involved in goods and services.
Unitary Democracy
National government holds all the power and the regional governments can only exercise power that is given by the national government.
Confederal Democracy
Regional governments hold all the power and the national government gets limited power from the regional governments.
Federal Democracy
National and regional government is divided between governments. Some have powers the other doesn’t.
Presidential Democracy
People elect a president and the members of the legislative branch separately.
Parliamentary Democracy
People elect members of the legislative branch and then the legislative branch selects a prime minister.
Equality of all Persons
We are all entitled to equal opportunity and equality before the law.
Majority Rule, Minority Rights
Majority makes decisions BUT CANNOT
deprive the minority of their rights or their voice
Necessity of Compromise
Compromise – process of blending & adjusting competing views & interests - is needed in a democracy.
Individual Freedom
Free to do as we please until our rights interfere with someone else’s rights!
Worth of the Individual
Every person is important – worth & dignity of all people.
