Types of Government
Distribution of Power and Authority
Power by Authority
Governments
differ based on
Authority
much power/control does the government have? How does the government gain power Power Spectrum
Anarchy
How
Totalitarianism
Government and the state manages nearly all aspects of public and private life People do not have personal freedoms No privacy People have no say in government decisions Almost all choices in your life are made by the government
Jobs Schools Where you live
Problems w/ Totalitarianism
civil liberties (personal rights) Government makes decisions that are in their best interest The people don’t have a say in decisions that can impact their lives
No
Anarchy
government body = no powers Individuals make decisions concerning all aspects of life Problems with Anarchy
Dealing
No
with major issues
Threats International Trade Domestic Issues (health, poverty)
Foreign
Governments - Power by Level Some types use different levels of government to divide powers (not branches) Unitary Confederate
Unitary Governments
power belongs to one single agency If that agency wants to give away some powers Power is usually given to other smaller local governments just to make it easier on the central agency
All
Example of Unitary Government
Great
Britain
Parliament
makes up the whole government There are some local governments, but they were just created to make it easier on Parliament Parliament could eliminate these governments at any time
Also known as Federalism Power is divided into levels - one central government and several local governments No one level can gain more power without the consent of the other level Each level has their own powers, and these cannot be changed without the consent of the people Some powers are shared
Federal Governments
Example of Federal Governments
United
One
States
central government (National) Several local government (States) Constitution divided powers between these two levels and this cannot change unless the citizens want it to
Confederate Government
Alliance of several independent states There is a Confederate Government that only gets powers that all states agree upon Usually deals with international trade/ national defense States are allowed to maintain their identities, but they also have the benefit of working with other states on common issues Has one common constitution
Example of a Confederate State
Confederate States of America Separated from the United States during the Civil War 11 States wanted to be independent of the U.S. Government and have total control over their state. Created 1 constitution for all of the states They did this because they didn’t like the fact that the federal government had some powers over them