Types of Governments - Research Paper Example

Types of Governments Introduction Government, from the Latin word “gubernare,” was originally derived from the Greek term for steering a ship, “kubernan.” On its contemporary lexical denotation, the term “government” refers to either a social institution or a social process. Government, as an institution, describes the authority of a state along with individuals, vested with authority in directing the state’s affairs (Rousseau and Cole 364). It is the expression of the state’s sovereignty by exerting political power and control over a defined territory. As such, a duly instituted government regulates norms, mores, and even values of its constituents in order to ascertain the internal order of the state. The government is also responsible to establish and maintain diplomatic relations to foreign states in achieving external recognition of its political power and authority. Since 19th century, types of government have passed through political evolution. Aristotle and other great thinkers classified political governance into monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy (Downs 81). He asserted that these forms of government, when rulers ignored the welfare of the polis, can degenerate into negative political regime: tyranny, oligarchy, and demagogy. Nowadays, cleavages among the types of government not merely concern the number of rulers, but more on the extension of political powers to the citizenry. Capitalism Capitalism, in its economic sense, is concerned with the market’s dynamic forces. It gears toward the emergence of free markets that primarily protect the interest of investors over the welfare of the working class (Nagel 3). This, hence, results to inherent inequalities. In the early part of Industrial revolution, capitalists earned enormously from investing in the production of goods and services, as well as new technologies, in both domestic and international markets. Earning great profits, capitalists controlled the workers’ wages and the cost of production, leading the way to the rise of mercantilism. The mercantilists, on the other hand, influenced the government in creating economic policies. They manipulated the government to protect their own interest, monopolize the economy, and restrict foreign imports. Before the end of 17th century, with its notion on limited governance and individualism, classical liberalism has swept the remnants of mercantilism away. John Locke advocated the inherent rights to life, property, and liberty of every individual and argued that individuals themselves have the right to the fruit of their own labors (Rousseau and Cole 92). Further, Adam Smith continued, in 1776, the works of Locke and other social contract theorists, reinstating to the government to serve the interest of the state and allow the market to find its equilibrium spontaneously. Smith’s advocacies had influenced the formulation of impartial government policies in various countries. Socialism Socialism is known as a political-economic construct that aims to replace the market capitalist economy with social ownership of economic planning, wealth distribution, and means of production (Nagel 3). In the contemporary society, socialism has different political and theoretical implications. Although socialist notions can still prevail in social democratic nations, more work is needed in preserving and incorporating the forms of socialism at the present time. By abolishing the private ownership of the means of production and destroying the market for such, socialist economy eliminates the prices of capital goods, which in turn are the indicators of relative scarcity. Consequently, the alternative uses and relative values of scarce capital goods are also abolished. In the absence of this information, economic planners can impossibly establish a coordinated set of production, distribution, and consumption schemes that would correspond to the generated complexity and wealth levels of the market economies. The fall down of socialist in the Eastern Europe had stirred up the theoretical speculations on other models alternative to traditional socialism. The fall down also raised the problems regarding the transition towards market economy. Communism Communism, a political-economic system, came forth in 19th century in response to the rising problems of industrialization. It focuses on the equal distribution of goods and services, and common property ownership, opposing the distribution of wealth and services on the basis of social class (Lansford 9). This notion has inspired the late Soviet Union, China, Cuba, Korea, and Vietnam in justifying their respective crusade and form of governance. In the United States, as well as in Western Europe, minor communist parties, at different era, struggled to rise into power but failed to achieve electoral success. Even though, in the early 20th century, many Americans denounced the extraneous consumption of the wealthy class and the affliction of the working class, they did not dare to resort into revolution, rather they sought social reforms. Due to pressure of democratic reforms, communism in the late Soviet Union and eastern bloc nations fall down in the early of 1990s, setting communism as a minor political party in the former Soviet satellite nations and Russia (Lansford 10). Dictatorship Dictatorship is a form of government wherein only a single party or individual has an absolute sovereign power over the constituents of the state. The term was derived from “dictatura,” a word originated in the ancient Roman Republic, referring to the rule of military during a sudden political threat (Dowswell and Rawcliffe 6). A dictator may rise into power by means of an electoral process, but once in the position, cancels future elections and suppresses all opposing groups to achieve an absolute political power. A dictator may also arise through the inheritance of political power or appointment of the ruling party. Still, a dictator, through coup d’ etat, may come into power, whereby the opposing parties oust the existing leader and replaces with an appointed leader (Dowswell and Rawcliffe 9). The political power in a dictatorial regime is gained and sustained through suppression of civil rights, intimidation, restrain of freedom of expression, and terror. Totalitarian Totalitarian is a system of governance where a charismatic leader, along with his allies, controls an atomized society by means of terror, indoctrination, and weapons of propaganda (Kets de Vries 3). Although it may use the elements of dictatorship, totalitarian is not merely a single individual or one-party rule. The totalitarian leader destroys the demarcation between the society and the government; he rules both private and public life of the citizenry. The totalitarian party has no definite agenda because it does not uphold the interest of any group; rather it promotes sweeping ideological inquiries that are apparently of importance to the ages and not to everyday existence. The ideology of the totalitarian party is interpreted and indoctrinated by a charismatic leader, who deems to be infallible and speaks about humanity and political relations. Any declarations of the leader is adjusted or fulfilled by the party to reinforce his political status. The totalitarian party monopolizes the economy and the state affairs in order to gain the support of the citizens. They indoctrinate citizens with opposing and neutral positions through propagandas disseminated by means of monopolistic mass media (Kets de Vries 3). They utilize psychological domination in wining over the support of the populace and punishing those dissidents. Moreover, terror is the strongest weapon of a totalitarian ruling. Once the populace is subdued, the terror unleashes while the propaganda comes to an end. Theocracy Theocracy, derived from the Greek word “theokratia,” is a God-blessed and divinely-inspired form of government. Denoting “rule by God” or “rule of God,” a theocratic leadership is governed by religious law (Carlyle 96). Different forms of this kind of leadership, more often comprised of religious denominations, continue to exist today. One of such is the hierocracy, in which the society is directly ruled by God through a clergy or vested authority. Apparently, even the 2008 Gallup poll showed that Muslims, even though, preferred a form of government which incorporates the teachings of the Koran, they wanted to adopt the democratic form of western countries. Likewise, the 2006 Gallup poll revealed that most Americans preferred the Bible as an integral source of legislation. Parliamentary Parliamentary form of government is primarily characterized by the absence of a clear separation of powers between its branches. Rather, it fuses the executive branch with the legislative branch. The parliament elects a prime minister, whose term duration heavily relies on the members of the parliament (Rahman 67). The prime minister generally carries out a dual function, as the head of the government and member of the parliament. Further, the prime minister and his cabinet cannot continuously enact laws and direct the government without the support of the majority members of the parliament. If the prime minister losses the support of the legislative branch, his government collapses which paves for the election of a new chief executive. Since the veto power of the executive leader is abolished in a parliamentary government, bills are readily approved into laws in the legislative house. Republican The republican form of government is inspired by the ancient Roman Republic. The citizens in a republican state have active role in the every aspect of the government affairs. Advocates of this type of government posit on its fundamental tenet that a well-run state represents the will of its constituents (Goodwin 1). Presently, there are various kinds of republican governments. Some are constitutional republics because the state affairs are governed in accordance with a constitution. Others are federal republics which are headed by a citizen-elected president that rules under a constitution. There are also parliamentary republics and Islamic republics which, respectively, govern by republican hybrid with parliamentary and Islamic theocracy. The strength of a republican nation depends largely on the people’s involvement. In some nations, people actively participate in state’s affairs, holding each elected officials accountable for his actions, exercising wisely the right of suffrage, and working for electoral reforms (Goodwin 60). In a few nations, the state is only theoretically run under the republican dogma, but realistically controlled by elite political group. Most often, the citizens in those nations either lack understanding and will or tie by the political elites down to fear or confusion. Democracy The term “democracy” was originated from the Greek terms, “demos,” the people, and “kratein,” to rule. It literally suggests, then, the rule by the people. The fundamental tenet of democracy contends the inherent rights of the people, which in any means can impossibly be taken away by the rulers. The rulers, as duly elected by the people, should lawfully fulfill their duties and up hold the civil rights of the citizens (Tocqueville 214). Thus, abiding with democratic principles necessitates civil liberties, human rights, electoral process, freedom of speech and assembly, and the rule of law. These elements are crucial not only in the promotion of social justice and equality, but in the prevention of abuse, tyranny, and oppression as well. Under democratic ruling, the people, particularly the voting citizenry, have the power to direct the governance of the state. In a direct democracy, the citizens directly participate in the state’s affairs, while in a representative democracy the duly elected officials cast the decision on behalf of the citizenry. Monarchy Monarchy is a form of government wherein the rule of law is primarily vested in a single individual. Similar to theocracy, monarchy posits on the divine rights of the king or queen in governing the state. Hence, the reigning monarch is often invested with authority by members of religious denomination. The term “monarch” is commonly associated with nations in which leadership succession is hereditary. Among the different types of monarchies, elective and constitutional monarchies are the most prominent (Fandel 22). Monarchs are elected into office under elective monarchy, while a hereditary monarch shares the governance of the state with executive or legislative body under the constitutional rule. In the 20th century, monarchy has harmoniously coexisted with other forms of government. However, the political powers of the reigning monarch have gradually been decreased and eventually relegated into a more symbolic leadership form. Literature Cited Carlyle, Thomas. On Heroes and Hero-Worship and the Heroic in History. Boston: Estes and Lauriat, 2007. Downs, Robert B. Books That Changed the World. New York: Signet Classic, 2004. Dowswell, Paul, and John Michael Rawcliffe. Dictatorship. London: Evans, 2009. Fandel, Jennifer. Monarchy. Mankato, MN: Creative Education, 2007. Goodwin, Charles Stewart. A resurrection of the republican ideal. Lanham, Md.: Univ. Press of America, 1995. Kets de Vries, Manfred F.R. Lessons on leadership by terror: finding Shaka Zulu in the attic. Massachusetts: Edward Elgar, 2004. Lansford, Tom. Communism. New York, N.Y.: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, 2007. Nagel, Stuart S. Handbook of Win-Win Economics. Huntington, N.Y.: Nova Science Publishers, 2001. Rahman, Taiabur. Parliamentary control and government accountability in South Asia: A comparative analysis of Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka. New York: Routledge, 2007. Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, and G. D. H. Cole. The Social Contract ; and, The Discourses. New York: A.A. Knopf, 1993. Tocqueville, Alexis de. Democracy in America. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2003. Read More