Unit One:Foundations of government
What is Government?
Government:
The institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policies (all of those things a govt. decides to do, such as taxation, education, defense, etc.)
What are the basic powers of Government?
• Legislative power–To make law and frame public policy
• Executive power–To execute, enforce, and administer
the law
• Judicial power– To interpret laws and settle disputes
Why do we need Government?
What is a state?
• State: • a body of people, living in a
defined territory, organized politically, and with the power
to make and enforce law without the consent of any
higher authority
Four elements
of a state
Population:
people, no set amount needed
Territory:
land, again, no set amount needed
Sovereignty:
supreme and absolute power within its own
territory
Government:
politically organized
How did
the state form?
Force Theory• one person or a small
group claimed control over an area and forced all within it to submit to that person’s or group’s rule
Evolutionary Theory• state
developed naturally out of the
early family
Divine Right TheoryGod created the stateand that God had given those of
royal birth a “divine right to
rule”, and people were bound by duty to obey their ruler as they would God.
Social Contract Theory
• by contract people within a certain area
agreed to give up to the state power to promote
the safety and well being of all
What are the different forms of
Government?
Monarchy
A hereditary sovereign
DictatorshipThose who rule
are not responsible to the will of the
people
Ruled by religious authority
• God/Deity is supreme authority
Theocracy
Oligarchypower to rule
is held by a small usually
self-appointed
elite
Unitarycentralized government
all govt. power held by one
central agency
DemocracySupreme political
authority rests with the people
Which form of government is
the best?
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