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Why are Governments Necessary

Aim: Which form of government best meets the needs of the people?

Homework: Vocabulary Crossword

A system of government in which supreme power is vested in the people

• Direct Democracy – the people themselves deliberate and vote on issues to solve solutions to their problems of society

• Indirect/Representative Democracy – a system of government in which the people control the government through elected political officials

Democracy

Autocracy

• A government in which one person has all the power.

• There are two main types of autocracy:

monarchy

dictatorship.

Monarchy A government in which there is a hereditary head of state • Absolute Monarchy – the Monarch has absolute

power over all aspects of the citizen’s lives

• Limited/Constitutional Monarchy – the monarch’s power is restricted by the country’s constitution or other laws

Dictatorship

• A form of government where the leader has absolute and unchallengeable authority over the people.

Oligarchy

A form of government in which all power is vested in a few people or in a dominant class

Anarchy

A state of disorder due to an absence of authority there is no one in control, no government, and no laws.

Theocracy

A system of government that recognizes God or a divine being as the ultimate authority. A theocracy can also be a blend of democracy, dictatorship, monarchy or other types of government.

Communism

• A governmental system in which all economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian state (strict control that can not be opposed). The nation seeks economic equality for a classless society with no private ownership.

Junta

•A military or political group that rules a country after taking power by force

Identify the type of Government

* A nation can have more than one type of governmental system.

• Citizens elect representatives to sit in two different lawmaking assemblies. But citizens also vote several times a year to decide on laws. Citizens can vote to propose their own laws or undo laws passed by their representatives. All citizens may vote directly on these laws.

• Forms of Government:

• Indirect/Representative Democracy, Direct Democracy

SWITZERLAND

SOUTH AFRICA

• From 1948-1994, official policy in South Africa gave white people all the political power. Even though the majority of South Africans were black. White South Africans elected representatives to sit in a lawmaking body.

• Forms of Government:

• Oligarchy, Representative Democracy

NORTH KOREA

• One man leads North Korea and controls its government. He also controls its ruling political party. The ruling party chooses candidates for an assembly, and citizens vote. The candidates do not have opponents, so citizens have no choices.

• Form of Government:

• Dictatorship

• * North Korea considers themselves socialists who are working toward a communist society

SAUDI ARABIA

• Saudi Arabia is led by a king. The king appoints a Council of Ministers to help govern, but there are no elections. Saudi Arabia’s Basic Law states that the country’s constitution is the Islamic holy book the Qur’an and other religious traditions.

• Forms of Government:

• Monarchy, Theocracy

DENMARK

• The people of Denmark elect representatives to sit in Parliament, a lawmaking body. The Queen of Denmark heads the country, but she only has a small role in government. The government is led by a Prime Minister, who is appointed from among the elected representatives.

• Forms of Government:

• Monarchy, Representative Democracy

BRAZIL

• Brazil is led by a president who is elected by the citizens. Citizens in Brazil elect a new president every four years. Citizens also elect representatives to serve in two different legislative bodies.

• Form of Government:

• Indirect/Representative Democracy

DebateReagan’s First Inaugural Address: “Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.”

“From time to time we’ve been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people.”

January 20, 1981