The Basics of GovernmentGovernment - Libertyville HS

Four Characteristics of a State

• Population

• Territory

• Sovereignty

• Government

What is a Government?

• Definition: “institution through which a society makes and enforces public policies”

• Public policy = all things a government decides to do

Composition of Government• ALL governments have these parts

• Legislature• Makes the laws

• Executive• Enforces the laws

• Judiciary• Interprets the laws

Purposes of Government

• Brainstorm with a partner a list of the purposes off government

• Some of Mr. Duffy’s purposes of gov’t• Maintain a national defense• Interact with other national governments• Preserve order

• Set rules of society• Punish rule breakers• Provide means of dispute resolution (judiciary)

• Provide appropriate public services• Collect taxes• Socialize youth

Forms of Government

• One or few hold power = dictatorship• Types of dictatorships

• Absolute Monarchy• Oligarchy

Forms of Government• Many participants

= democracy

• Types of democracy• Direct Democracy

(“Pure”)• Indirect

Democracy (“Representative”)

Flow of Power

Forms of Government

• Idea of “levels of government” (between central / national gov’t and state / local gov’t)• Unitary system• Confederate

system• Federal system

Key question: What isThe “direction of power”;in other words, who tells the other political units what to do???

Presidential vs. Parliamentary Governments

What is American Democracy?

• Review - what is a democracy?• Government by the people

• People vote on issues, either directly / indirectly• Usually, majority rules

• What is American democracy?• Majority rule & protection of minority rights• Equality of opportunity (vs. equality of outcome)• Freedom of speech (= obligation to listen?) and

other individual rights• Limited or unlimited individual rights?• Capitalist economic system (vs. Socialism)

American Democracy: Capitalism• Free enterprise

• Based on Law of Supply and Demand

• Individuals, not government, makes day to day economic decisions

• Profit motive drives system• Mixed (blended) economy

• Government regulation of most important sectors of economy• Goal = protect individuals

from market forces• How? Government laws,

regulations, and litigation

Mixed Economy

HOW MUCH REGULATION OF THE ECONOMY IS APPROPRIATE IS ONE OF THE

KEY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO AMERICAN POLITICAL PARTIES!!!