Government is a very important aspect of people’s lives.

How does Government affect people’s lives? It affects…

• What they eat

• Where they go to school

• The type of education they receive

• How their tax money is spent

• How they spend their free time

Defining Government

Government: the means by which a society organizes itself and how it allocates (distributes) authority in order to accomplish collective goals and provide benefits that the society as a whole needs

Some goals that governments around the world aim to accomplish are:

• Economic prosperity

• The security of national borders

• The safety and well-being of citizens

One way that governments strive to achieve these goals, is by providing benefits for their citizens.

Know that the type of benefits provided by a government depends upon the country and its specific type of governmental system.

• Despite differences in governments between different countries, governments commonly provide things such as education, health care, and an infrastructure for transportation.

Politics: the process of gaining and exercising control within a government for the purpose of setting and achieving particular goals, especially those related to the division of resources within a nation

Why are governmental systems confused with economic systems?

Certain types of political thought/governmental organization are closely related to/develop with certain types of economic systems.

• For example, capitalism, an economic system in Western Europe and North America, developed around the same time as ideas about democratic republics, self-government, and natural rights.

Who was John Locke, what were his beliefs, and how did they impact the idea of government?

John Locke:

• Was an English political philosopher of the 17th century

• Believed that all people have natural rights to life, liberty, and property

  • From this belief came the idea that idea that people should be free to consent to being governed.

    • In the 18th century (specifically in Great Britain’s North American colonies, and later in France), this developed into the idea that people should govern themselves through elected representatives instead of through a king; in other words, only representatives elected/chosen by the people had the right to make laws to govern their constituents.

Who was Adam Smith, and what did he believe?

Adam Smith:

• Was a Scottish philosopher

• Born 19 years after Locke’s death

• Believed that all people should be free to acquire property in any way that they wished

• Argued that instead of being controlled by government, business, and industry, people should be allowed to operate as they wish and keep the proceeds of their work

  • Competition (between different businesses of the same industry) would ensure that prices remained low and that faulty goods disappeared from the market.

    • This allowed for:

      • Businesses to reap profits

      • Consumers to have their needs satisfied

      • Society (as a whole) to prosper

• Smith discussed these ideas, in his book, “The Wealth of Nations“ (1776); these ideas formed the basis for industrial capitalism.

Representative government and capitalism developed together in the United States.

• Democracy: a political system in which people govern themselves

  • In theory, a democratic government promotes two things:

    • Individualism

    • The freedom to act as one chooses instead of being controlled, for good or bad, by the government

• Capitalism

  • Relies on individualism; however, successful capitalists prefer political systems over which they can exert some degree of influence in order to maintain their liberty.

Even though many Americans equate democracy with capitalism, they do not necessarily have to go hand in hand.

Although Adam Smith theorized that capitalism would lead to prosperity for all, this has not necessarily been the case.

• Significant gaps in wealth between the owners of major businesses, industries, and financial institutions and those who work for others in exchange for wages exist in many capitalist nations.

  • As a result, great wealth can give a very small minority great influence over the government - this presents as a greater influence than that held by the majority of the population.

Socialism: an alternative economic system

In socialist societies:

• The means of generating wealth (such as factories, large farms, and banks) are owned by the government instead of private individuals.

  • The government accumulates wealth and then redistributes it to citizens via social programs that provide benefits such as:

    • • Free/Inexpensive health care

      • Education

      • Childcare

In socialist countries:

• The government usually owns and controls utilities such as:

  • Electricity

  • Transportation systems (such as airlines and railroads)

  • Telecommunications systems

• (In many socialist countries) The government is an oligarchy.

  • Oligarchy: only members of a certain political party or ruling elite can participate in government

    • Example: In China, the government is run by members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

In the United States, the democratic government works closely together with its capitalist economic system.

• The interconnectedness of the two affects the way in which goods and services are distributed.

  • The market provides many goods and services needed by Americans.

    • Example: Food, clothing, and housing are provided in ample supply by private businesses; in turn, these businesses earn a profit

      • Know that these goods and services are known as private goods

  • Ideally, people should be able to purchase their needs in the quantity in which they need it, however, in reality:

    • Those who live in poverty cannot always afford to buy sufficient amounts of food/clothing.

    • The food and clothing that they CAN afford to buy in abundance is of inferior (low, poor) quality.

    • It is often difficult to find adequate housing because it is often too expensive for poor & working-class (and sometimes middle-class) people to buy or rent.

      • Adequate housing: housing that is found in the most desirable neighborhoods

        • Characteristics of desirable neighborhoods: low crime rates and good schools

    • For these reasons, the market is unable to provide everything (in enough quantity or at low enough costs) in order to meet everyone’s needs, therefore some goods are provided by the government.

      • These goods and services, which are available to all (with no charges/fees) are referred to as public goods.

        • Examples of public goods include national security and education

          • The government serves to protect the United States from attack and deal with international affairs; it is able to perform these tasks, due to its abilities to:

            • Tax

            • Draw upon the resources of an entire nation

            • Compel citizen compliance

Like goods (and services), one can categorize schooling into two separate groups - public and private.

• Public schools:

  • Provide education for all children in the United States

  • Children of all religions, races and ethnicities, socioeconomic classes, and levels of academic ability can attend

  • Free of charge from kindergarten through the twelfth grade

• Private schools:

  • Provide some education in the United States

  • Charge tuition (in some cases, tuition is the equivalent to that of the tuition of a private college)

  • Attendance only possible for parents who can afford to pay the tuition fees (or for children who receive a scholarship)

Note that if private schooling was the only schooling option available, the majority of the following groups of children would be uneducated:

• Poor children

• Working-class children

• Middle-class children (more likely to be lower middle-class children)

Another type of good, besides public goods and private goods, is the toll good.

What are the characteristics of toll goods?

• Available to many people

• Able to be used by many people, ONLY if they are able to pay the price

• They occupy a middle ground between public and private goods

• An example of a toll good is private schooling

  • All parents are able to send their children to a public school at no charge; however, they may also opt to send their children to a private school for additional costs

What are some of the benefits of the public school system?

• Provides free education so that all children can attend school

• Produces educated voters and workers (these educated voters end up voting for representatives in government, who can continue advocating for their constituents)

In terms of public goods, the United States government also provides stability and security at the federal, state, and local level. This is provided in the form of:

• A military

• Police department(s)

  • If someone breaks into a house and tries to harm the occupants, the police will try to protect them and arrest the intruder, but the police department will not request payment for services rendered.

• Fire department(s)

  • If a house catches on fire, the fire department does not demand payment before they extinguish any fire(s).

These services are available at no extra cost because they are funded by the taxes paid by citizens.

Government also provides other valuable goods and services such as:

• Public education

• Public transportation

• Mail service

• Food, housing, and health care for the poor

Government also performs the important job of protecting common goods.

• Common goods: goods that all people may use free of charge but that are of limited supply

  • Examples of common goods include:

    • Fish in the sea

    • Clean drinking water

• Since everyone has access to these goods, they must be protected so that few people do not take everything available, leaving others with nothing.

One of the many important tasks carried out by government, is the regulation of public access to common goods such as natural resources.

One thing to remember is that public goods are NOT the same as common goods.

• Public goods

  • All people are able to use these goods, free of charge

• Common goods

  • Limited supply

  • Use must be regulated

While the government can build more public schools and hire more firefighters/mail carriers to meet demand, it cannot simply multiply public lands and wildlife if supply is low and demand is high.

• Essentially, if some people take advantage of the supply of common goods, there will not be enough left for others.

Fish are one of the many common goods in which the government regulates access.

• The government regulates access to fish, to ensure that certain species do not become extinct, thus depriving future generations of a vital food source and a means to make a living; this idea is known as sustainability.

Government also creates a structure by which goods and services can be made available to the people.

• At each level, elected representatives try to secure funding for things that will benefit those who live in the areas they represent.

• Once money has been allocated, government agencies at each level then receive funds and use them to provide services to the public.

• In the United States, people elect representatives to city councils, state legislatures, and Congress. These bodies:

  • Make laws to govern their respective jurisdictions

  • Pass measures to raise money, through the imposition of taxes on things such as income, property, and sales

  • Local, state, and national governments also draft budgets to determine how the acquired revenue will be spent for services

    • Local level: funds are allotted for education, police and fire departments, and maintenance of public parks

    • State level: allocates money for state colleges and universities, maintenance of state roads and bridges, and wildlife management, among other priorities

    • National level: money goes to things such as defense, Social Security, pensions for veterans, maintenance of federal courts and prisons, and management of national parks

    • These governments also make laws to maintain order and to ensure the efficient functioning of society, including the fair operation of the businesses marketplace

      • Example: in the United States:

        • Congress passes laws that regulate banking

        • Government agencies regulate things such as:

          • The amount of toxic gases that can be admitted by factories

          • The purity of food offered for sale

          • The safety of toys and automobiles

            • This allows for government to monitor the actions of businesses

Most governments also provide a way for citizens to participate in government and to voice their opinions to those in power.

• Example: Western democracies protect citizens’ freedom of speech and the press. They also allow citizens to vote. Examples of western democracies include:

• The United States

• Britain

• France

A simpler definition of the term '“politics“ is “the process of who gets what and how”.

Politics involves choosing which values government will support and which it will not:

Examples of ideals that government may choose to support include:

• Individualism: government may choose to “relax” regulations on business and industry or to cut taxes so that people have more money to invest in business

• Egalitarianism (calls for equal treatment for all and the destruction of socioeconomic inequalities): government may raise taxes in order to be able to spend more money on public education, public transportation, housing for the poor, and care for the elderly

• If the government is more concerned with national security than with individual liberty, it may authorize the tapping of people’s phones and restrict what newspapers may publish.

• If liberty is more important, then government will place greater restrictions on the extent that law enforcement agencies can intrude upon citizens’ private communications.

These varying outcomes are determined by the political process and the input of citizens (via voting).

Civic engagement is a vital ingredient of politics.

• Civic engagement: the participation that connects citizens to government

• In the United States, citizens play an important role in:

  • Influencing what policies are pursued

  • What values the government chooses to support

  • What initiatives are granted funding

  • Who gets to make the final decisions

Political engagement can take many forms:

• Reading about politics

• Listening to news reports

• Discussing politics

• Attending (or watching televised) political debates

• Donating money to political campaigns

• Handing out flyers promoting a candidate

• Voting

• Joining protest marches

• Writing letters to their elected representatives

Different Types of Government

The government of the United States can best be described as a republic, or representative democracy.

• Democracy: a government in which political power rests in the hands of the people

  • Political power: influence over institutions, leaders, and policies

• Representative democracy: citizens do not govern directly - they elect representatives to make decisions and pass laws on behalf of all the people

Most representative governments favor majority rule.

• Majority rule: the opinions of the majority of the people have more influence with government than those of the minority

  • Example: If the number of elected representatives who favor a proposed law is greater than those who oppose it, the law will be enacted.

  • Since decisions are made through majority rule, it is crucial to make your opinions known and to vote for the men and women who make decisions that affect all of us.

    • These are crucial and influential forms of civic engagement in a representative democracy.

However, in representative governments (like the United States), minority rights are protected; this means that people cannot be deprived of certain rights even if an overwhelming number of people think that they should be.

• For example, if American society decided that atheists (people who do not believe that God exists) were evil and should be imprisoned or expelled from the country, this would not be possible. Even though atheists only account for about seven percent of the United States population, they would still be protected due to minority rights.

A direct democracy is different from a representative democracy.

• In a direct democracy: people participate directly in making government decisions

  • For example, in ancient Athens, all male citizens were allowed to attend meetings of the Assembly; here, they debated and voted for or against all proposed laws.

Even though residents of different states vote for people to represent them and to make laws in their behalf in the state legislatures and in Congress, people may still directly vote on certain issues.

• For example, a referendum or proposed law might be placed on the ballot for citizens to vote on directly during state or local elections instead of leaving the matter in the hands of the state legislature.

  • At New England town meetings, all residents are allowed to debate decisions affecting the town. (These scenarios provide additional opportunities for civic engagement)

Most countries have some form of representative government. At the other extreme (end) of the political spectrum are elite-driven forms of government.

• One such example is of a monarchy.

  • In a monarchy, one ruler (usually a hereditary ruler) holds the political power.

    • For some monarchs, their power is limited by the law, therefore, they often rule along with an elected legislature that makes laws for the country.

    • Many southwest Asian kingdoms, however, have absolute monarchs whose power is unrestricted.

      • Examples: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates

• Another nondemocratic form of government is the oligarchy.

  • Oligarchy: a form of government in which a handful of elite members of society (often those who belong to a particular political party) hold all political power

    • Example: In Cuba, only members of the Communist Party are allowed to vote or hold public office, and the party’s most important members make all government decisions

• Some nondemocratic societies are totalitarian in nature.

  • Under totalitarianism:

    • The government is more important than the citizens

    • The government controls all aspects of citizens’ lives

    • Citizens’ rights are limited

    • The government does not allow political criticism or opposition

  • These forms of government are fairly rare

  • North Korea is a notable example of a totalitarian government