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Albrecht Dürer was an artist who worked during the Thirty Years War. His work reflects the turmoil of the time. The invasions of the German area during the Thirty Years War were ended by the Treaty of Westphalia, which defined the nation-state and the concept of sovereignty.
Why do governments exist? One major reason is that they create rules. But what rules are necessary or desirable? That is open to question, and different types of governments have certainly created a wide variety of rules.
Governments almost certainly originated with the need to protect people from conflicts and to provide law and order. Why have conflicts among people happened throughout history? Many people, both famous and ordinary, have tried to answer that question. Perhaps human nature dictates selfishness, and people inevitably will come to blows over who gets what property or privilege. Or maybe, as Karl Marx explains, it is because the very idea of "property" makes people selfish and greedy.
Whatever the reasons, governments first evolved as people discovered that protection was easier if they stayed together in groups and if they all agreed that one (or some) in the group should have more power than others. This recognition is the basis of sovereignty, or the right of a group (later a country) to be free of outside interference.
Part of a government's function is to protect its citizens from outside attack. Ancient Chinese emperors constructed a "Great Wall" to defend the borders of their empire.
A country, then, needs to not only protect its citizens from one another, but it needs to organize to prevent outside attack. Sometimes they have built Great Walls and guarded them carefully from invaders. Other times they have led their followers to safe areas protected by high mountains, wide rivers, or vast deserts. Historically, they have raised armies, and the most successful ones have trained and armed special groups to defend the rest. Indeed in the twentieth century, governments have formed alliances and fought great world wars in the name of protection and order.
In more recent years, government responsibilities have extended to the economy and public service. An early principle of capitalism dictates that markets should be free from government control. But when economies spun out of control during the 1930s, and countries sank into great depressions, governments acted. The United States Congress created the Federal Reserve System in the early twentieth century to ward off inflation and monitor the value of the dollar. Franklin Roosevelt and his "Brain Trust" devised New Deal programs to shock the country into prosperity.
Governments become involved with the economic workings of their countries. In the 1930s, the Federal Reserve System began to take a role in helping the American economy prevent another depression by locating currency reserves at centralized banks.
Perhaps government responsibility to provide social programs to its citizens is the most controversial of all. In the United States the tradition began with the New Deal programs, many of which provided people with relief through jobs, payments, and food. During the 1960s President Lyndon Johnson unveiled his "Great Society" programs aimed at eliminating poverty in the entire country. Many European countries today provide national medical insurance and extensive welfare benefits. Many Americans criticize these programs as expensive ventures that destroy the individual's sense of responsibility for his/her own well being. So the debate over the proper role of government in providing for its people's general welfare is still alive and well today.
Though the rules and responsibilities vary greatly through time and place, governments must create them. Governments provide the parameters for everyday behavior for citizens, protect them from outside interference, and often provide for their well-being and happiness.
FAQs
The main types of modern political systems recognized are democracies, totalitarian regimes, and, sitting between these two, authoritarian regimes with a variety of hybrid regimes. Modern classification system also include monarchies as a standalone entity or as a hybrid system of the main three.
What are the 3 foundations of the American government? ›
The Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, and Bill of Rights established the government's structure and continue to secure the rights of American citizens.
What are the three 3 types of government around the world? ›
Basic forms of governments
| Democratic | Direct Democracy, Representative Democracy (Republic Government, Parliamentary Government), Constitutional monarchy |
|---|
| Non-Democratic | Authoritarian, Totalitarian, Oligarchy, Technocracy, Theocracy, Dictatorship, Absolute monarchy |
| Other Types | Communist, Colonialist, Aristocratic |
The three types of political legitimacy described by German sociologist Max Weber, in "Politics as Vocation", are traditional, charismatic, and rational-legal: Traditional legitimacy derives from societal custom and habit that emphasize the history of the authority of tradition.
What are the 4 types of U.S. government? ›
The Federal Government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, executive, and judicial, whose powers are vested by the U.S. Constitution in the Congress, the President, and the Federal courts, respectively.
What are the 5 most common types of government? ›
This lesson will discuss and differentiate between the five main forms of power, or government, utilized in past and present societies: monarchy, democracy, oligarchy, authoritarianism, and totalitarianism.
What are the 3 basics of government? ›
To ensure a separation of powers, the U.S. Federal Government is made up of three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. To ensure the government is effective and citizens' rights are protected, each branch has its own powers and responsibilities, including working with the other branches.
What are the 3 major groups all governments belong to? ›
Legislative—Makes laws (Congress, comprised of the House of Representatives and Senate) Executive—Carries out laws (president, vice president, Cabinet, most federal agencies) Judicial—Evaluates laws (Supreme Court and other courts).
What are the three pillars of the federal government? ›
1.7: Three Pillars of Government
- EXECUTIVE AUTHORITY.
- THE LEGISLATIVE REALM.
- AN INDEPENDENT JUDICIARY.
The Constitution of the United States divides the federal government into three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial.
The U.S. Constitution establishes three separate but equal branches of government: the legislative branch (makes the law), the executive branch (enforces the law), and the judicial branch (interprets the law).
What are the three 3 main functions of government? ›
The provision of public goods and services, the protection of its population from danger, and the maintenance of law and order are considered to be three of the most essential roles that governments play. The provision of public goods and services is the government's first and most significant important function.
What are the six legitimate purposes of government? ›
The purpose is expressed in the preamble to the Constitution: ''We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more per- fect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ...
How to define a nation? ›
A nation is a territory where its the people are led by the same government. The word “nation” can also refer to a group of people who share a history, traditions, culture and, often, language—even if the group does not have a country of its own.
What is authority in government? ›
The term authority identifies the political legitimacy, which grants and justifies the ruler's right to exercise the power of government; and the term power identifies the ability to accomplish an authorized goal, either by compliance or by obedience; hence, authority is the power to make decisions and the legitimacy ...
What are the 4 origins of government? ›
Rather, the theories of government aim to explain the impetus to enter into a society with government. The four theories are evolutionary, force, divine right, and social contract.
What are the 4 types of government quizlet? ›
- Autocracy. a government in which one person has all the. ...
- Monarchy. a government in which a king or queen rules the country. ...
- Dictatorship. a form of government where one leader has. ...
- Democracy. a government in which the citizens hold the political power. ...
- Representative Democracy. ...
- Direct Democracy. ...
- Oligarchy. ...
- Theocracy.
Explanation: All governments engage in four main activities: legislation, executive, judicial, and administration. Legislation refers to the process of creating and passing laws, which establish rules and regulations for a society.
What are the four types of governance? ›
For this purpose, the article presents what I consider to be the four most popular approaches to the concept of governance: corporate governance, global governance, good governance, and modern governance.
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