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explain and evaluate the importance of gov
anarchy
state of disorder due to absence or nonrecognition of authority or other controlling systems
similar to state of nature
dictatorship
a gov controlled by one person or a single group
ppl have little or no say in gov
ex: china, cuba, north korea
aim to keep power and expand it
monarchy
a form of gov with a monarch at the head, hereditary rule characterized by right to rule by god
ex: saudi arabia
provide stability but someone not fit will come along
theocracy
a system of gov in which priests rule in the name of god or a god
church itself ruless the country, exL nevadican, iran, afghanistan
word of god is higher law, regular ppl don’t have a say
autocracy
a gov in which the rulers, whether one or many, exercise unlimited power
ex: china (moving towards)
totalitarianism
form of gov in whcih one person or party exercises absolute control over all aspects of life and in which no opposition is allowed
will be exactly want gov wants
ex: north korea, nazis, china can’t control/challenge gov in anyway
tyranny
a gov in which a single ruler is vested with absolute power
democracy
a form of gov in which political control is exercised by all the ppl, either directly or thru their elected reps
rule by the people
direct democracy
the ppl decide on policies w/o any intermediary or representative, whereas in a representative democracy
pppl make the laws themselves, takes too long, represent the needs of ppl
ex: none today, athens, voting on propositions
republic
representatives make laws for us, people still have a say
ex: united states, what they think is best not the ppl
constitution
a set of customs, traditions, rules and laws that set forth the way a gov is organized and operated
rule book for the government
constitution sets rule for gov, gov makes rule for us
written constitution
constitution that’s written down
unwritten constitution
the body of political practices developed thru custom and tradition
doesn’t matter if its written or unwritten, as long as its followed and enforced
higher law
refers to the superiority of one set of laws over another
nobody can violate it even the president
swear to the constitution when holding up an office (ex: presidents, military)
limited gov
a system restricted to protecting natural rights and that doesn’t interfere w other aspects of life
protect only life, liberty, property
limit the gov
constitutional gov
a gov in which the powers of gov are limited in practice by a written or unwritten constitution which they must obey
all governments have constitutions but aren’t all constitutional governments
constitution has to actually limit the powers of the gov
delegated powers
ppl give or assign certain powers to the govs the powers of government are therefore “ delegated powers” in that they come from the ppl
federal gov can only do what the constitution says
ex: federal gov can’t regulate who gets married, but the states could
separation of powers
division of powers among different branches of the gov
3 branches of our government
legislative
executive
judicial
legislative
makes laws
house of representatives
senate
congress
executive
enforces and carries out the laws
president
military
nasa
fbi
judicial
interprets the law
us supreme courts
circuit courts of appeals
district courts
military courts
checks and balances
distribution and balancing of power among different branches of gov so that no one branch is able to dominate the others
how we enforce separation of powers or one branch will take over
private domain
areas of human affairs placed pff limits to unreasonable interference
ex: having kids, religion
big limitation that gov doesn’t have a say in parts of life
equal protection
idea that a governmental body may not deny ppl equal protection of its governing laws
gov treats everyone the same
can discriminate but has to have a good reason
common good
good of the community as a whole, also referred to as common welfare
what gov should do good for society
common good trumps individual rights
classical liberalism vs classical republicanism
classical liberalism: considers individual rights to be most important
classical republicanism: rights of the community is the most important
montesquieu ideas
liberty is the peace of mind that comes from being safe
gov should be divided into parts and each part has its own purpose
gov needed to be balanced with other parts and should be equal
hobbes ideas
humans naturally selfish and quick to fight
before govs, ppl lived in a state of nature
ppl agree to give up some rights and power in exchange for protection
once the ppl agreed to hand over power in exchange for protection, they lost the right to overthrow, replace or even question the government
single sovereign (ruler) should have total authority over the ppl
thought the gov would work best if all power rested in one place
lockes ideas
believed ppl are born with a mind like tabula rasa (blank slate)
ppl learn and develop differently bc they are exposed to different things
natural rights that ppl are born with them
life: ppl want to live and will fight to survive
liberty: ppl want to be free as possible to make their decisions
property: ppl want to own things that help them survive
believed it would lead to a state of nature
purpose of gov is to end state of nature and give ppl certain protections
govs should protect ppls natural rights
gov can be valid if its based on social contract with citizens
ppl agree to give up some freedom but only if the gov agrees to protect everyones rights
natural rights
people are born with these rights
life: ppl want to live and will fight to survive
liberty: ppl want to be free as possible to make their decisions
property: ppl want to own things that help them survive
factions
a big or small group of ppl who have similar interests or feelings that go against the rights of other ppl or the good of the community
why madison thought a republic in the us would be less likely to suffer from the problems caused by factions
people dividing into groups and hating each other instead of working tgt for the common good
greeks
direct democracy
majority rule
all citizens equal
third party intervention
gov responsibility to enforce the rules and seek justice
laws should be written down and displayed
juries (200-6000)
rome
representative democracy
everyone equal the law
continued juries (75 ppl)
laws written down and displayed
started idea of lawyers thru “advocates”
innocent until proven guilty
right to remain silent
concept of a grand jury
right to remain free until a jury reaches a verdict
english
parliament
common law
magna Carta
power of the purse
right to a jury of ur peers
right to a speedy trial
right to be protected from unjust punishment
magna carta
purpose to keep the king from abusing his power by limiting it
power of the purse
gov requires money to do almost anything, therefore whoever controls the money has a great deal of power
common law
precedent: rule of one judge following the decision made earlier by another judge
applying the law equally
Note 
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