Government is the formal institution with the authority to make and implement binding decisions about such matters as distribution of resources, allocation of benefits and burdens, and management of conflicts.

1. Essential Features of State
    
   • Population - people are the most obvious feature of a state.
   • An area with fixed boundaries.
   • Sovereignty, or absolute authority, within its territorial boundaries.
   • A government, whose purpose is:
     • Maintain social order.
     • Provide essential services.
     • Protect the people from attack.
     • Enforces decisions that its people must obey.
    
2. Theories of the Orgin of the State:
    
   • The state evolved from the family group.
   • One person or group used force to establish its authority to govern the people.
   • The rulers of the people were chosen by the gods to govern.
   • The people gave the government its power to rule them, and in return the government had to respect the people's rights.

1. Greece and Rome - Greece Parliament Home Page
2. United Kingdom - Parliament Home Page
3. American Colonies

1. Government Systems
    
   • A unitary system gives all key powers to the central government.
   • A federal system divides the powers between central government and state governments.
   • In a confederal system, power is extremely diffuse - there is little central political control, with state governments making most of their own decisions.
   • A parliamentary system is characterized by no clear-cut separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches. Parliamentary systems usually have a clear differentiation between the head of government and the head of state, with the head of government being the prime minister or premier, and the head of state often being a figurehead.
   • A presidential system is a system of government where an executive branch exists and presides (hence the name) separately from the legislature, to which it is not accountable and which cannot in normal circumstances dismiss it.
    
2. Constitutions and Government
    
   • A constitution is a plan that provides the rules for government.
   • Whether written or unwritten, a constitution organizes the structure of givernment and the way it operates.
   • Constitutions set out the goals and purpose of givernment as well as the ideal shared by the people.
   • Constitutions provide the supreme law for states and their governments.
    
3. Politics and Government
    
   • Politics is the effort to control or influence the policies and actions of government
   • Individuals and groups use politics to seek benefits from government.
   • Although special groups seek special benefits, politics also provides benefits for all the people.
    
4. Governments may be classified according to who governs the state.
    
   • In an autocracy, such as a dictatorship or absolute monarchy, power and authority reside in a single individual.
   • In an oligarchy, such as a communist country, a small group holds power in the government.
   • In a democracy, such as the United States, the people hold the sovereign power of government.
    
5. Characteristics of Democracy
    
   • Government works to secure an equal opportunity for people to develop their own abilities.
   • Government is based on majority rule through the people's elected representatives, but respects the rights of minorities.
   • Government is based on free and open electrions in which every citizen has the right to vote, every vote has equal weight, and candidates for office can freely express their views.
   • Political parties choose candidates for office, respect the voters' decisions in elections, and act as loyal opposition.
    
6. The Soil of Democracy
    
   • Certain conditions favor the development of the democratic system of government.
   • Countries where citizens participate fully in civic life are more likely to maintain a strong democracy.
   • Stable, growing economics with a large middle class help strengthen democracies.
   • A public school system open to all people helps promote democracy.
   • A strong civil society in which a network of voluntary organizations (including economic groups, religious groups, and many others) exists independent of government helps democracy to flourish.
   • The people accept democratic values such as individual liberty and equality for all in a social consensus.

1. The Role of Economic Systems
    
   • Economic systems make decisions about what goods and services should be produced, how they should be produced, and who gets them.
    
2. Capitalism
    
   • Capitalism is based on free enterprise, or freely made economic choices.
   • Capitalism developed gradually from the economic and political changes in medieval and early modern Europe.
   • The United States has a capitalist economy, but government plays a role.
   • Government's role in the U.S. economy has increased since the early 1900s.
   • Today, the United States has a mixed market economy, incorporating both free enterprise and government regulation of business and industry.
    
3. Socialism
    
   • Under socialism, government owns the basic means of production, determines the use of resources, distributes products and wages, and provides all basic social services.
   • Socialism developed in Europe during the nineteenth century.
   • Some socialists favored taking over the government by means of revolution, while other socialists believed in democratic socialism in which economic conditions change peacefully.
   • Socialist governments have taken power in several countries; however, critics argue that this economic system fails to solve most economic problems.
    
4. Communism
    
   • Communism is based on the nineteenth century ideas of Karl Marx, who argued that capitalism exploited workers to benefit a small group of capitalists who controlled the economy.
   • Marx predicted workers would eventually riase in a violent revolution, which would result in government ownership of all means of production and distribution; when all property was held in common, there would be no need for government.
   • In communist nations, government makes all economic decisions; owns the land, natural resources, industry, banks, and transportation; and controls all mass communication.