Types of Goverment Flashcards
What is Government?
Institution in which society makes and enforced its public policies
What is a public policy?
What a government does and how it enforces laws
What is the absence of a government called?
Anarchy/state of nature
What is the Evolutionary Theory?
The belief that the state developed naturally out of the early family
What is the Force Theory?
The belief that the state or government was created by force
What is the Divine Right Theory?
Belief that a God-like or supernatural entity had given a certain person/family the right and authority to rule the state
What is the Social Contract Theory?
A belief that the government exists only to serve the will of the people. If the agreement is broken, the government can be dissolved by the people
What are the purposes of government?
Laws, Law enforcement, court/justice system, protection, services, and plan for the future
What three types of power does every government have?
Legislative, Executive, and Judicial
What are the levels of government?
National (federal), state, local, school
Who believed that a society should be ruled by an autocracy because people cannot survive being in a state of nature and people have to give up their rights of equality and freedom in exchange for protection?
Thomas Hobbes
Who believed that people are born with unalienable rights (life, liberty, property) and the government is there to protect those rights through a social contract and that people had the right to revolt?
John Locke
Who believed that in a state of nature, the need for food would bring conflict which leads to laws and government and that separation of power (checks and balances) are important.
Montesquieu
Who believed that in a state of nature, people are good and peaceful, claiming property is evil, people should follow a social contract, and retain their rights through direct democracy
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Who said the quote “Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains”?
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
What is an autocracy?
When there is 1 ruler (can be dictatorship or monarchy)
What is an oligarchy?
When there are a few rulers (can be by force like a junta or a ruling family sharing powers)
What is a monarchy?
When there is one ruler who inherits the position
What are the two types of monarchy?
Absolute and constitutional
What is the difference between absolute and constitutional monarchy?
Absolute is when ruler has all the power and constitutional is when the ruler has limited powers based on a constitution
What is a dictatorship?
When there is 1 ruler that usually gains power through some type of military force (coup, war, revolution, assassination)
What are the two types of democracy?
Direct and republic
What is a direct democracy?
When all citizens participate in government first hand and all decisions are made by citizens
What is a republic democracy?
When the citizens elect a small group of citizens to represent them in government
What is a unitary government?
Centralized, when all the power rests in a single agency (most common)
What is a federal government?
When power is divided between a central government and several local governments
What is a confederate government?
When states have most of the power and only some power is given to the national government
Which government system is characterized by a combined executive and legislative branch and the leader of executive branch being called the prime minister
Parliamentary system
