systems of government Flashcards
(12 cards)
Monarchy
government with rule by a single king or queen. Leadership is hereditary, which means rule passes to the monarch’s children when they die. There are two types of monarchies:
Constitutional Monarchy - The king or queen makes all decisions for the country, but they must obey a written constitution.
Absolute Monarchy - The king or queen has complete authority to make decisions for the country.
Autocracy
ruled by a single person. However, unlike a monarchy, the person ruling an autocracy usually took power by force. Other names for this type of government are tyranny and dictatorships, because they abuse the citizen’s natural rights.
Oligarchy
s government is ruled by a small group of individuals, usually because they have the most wealth, power, or education. They use this power to make themselves richer, instead of for the common good like in a republic.
Theocracy
occurs when government leadership and religious leadership are the same. These governments are often very strict, and do not have religious freedom like a republic.
Democracy
a government where all eligible citizens vote directly themselves on the laws they want to see created. This does not work in larger countries because there are too many people. Since whatever the majority says wins, minority views are often ignored.
Republic
citizens elect representatives to make laws for them. These representatives must follow a Constitution. This is what we have in the United States today.
Unitary
In a unitary system, power is NOT divided between the central government and the states. Instead, all decisions are made by one central authority, and any power state/regional governments have is delegated (given to them) by the central government. This is very efficient, but can result in corruption and less participation.
Confederal
power is held by states and regional governments. The central government is very weak. States do not cooperate with each other.
Federal
power is shared by the central and state governments. This protects the citizens by splitting power. It also allows states to meet the unique needs of their citizens, while still allowing the national government to be united on necessary issues (war, money).
Socialism
the government controls essential parts of the economy in order to provide basic needs for people. Some areas the government may run include energy, healthcare, and education. The people usually must pay higher taxes to pay for these services. There is still some private ownership of property, though it can be limited.
Communism
central government controls ALL aspects of the economy, including: the resources to make goods, the production of those goods, and the distribution of the goods themselves. There is NO private property.
Capitalism
the government does NOT control the economy. Instead, success is based on supply and demand. There is complete individual freedom to own private property, which results in competition and invention.
