Foundations of Government

Types of Government  Monarchy  Oligarchy  Dictatorship  Totalitarian  Democracy  Anarchy

Monarchies  A government with a hereditary ruler  A king or queen that inherits the position from their parents

Monarchies  Absolute Monarchy  Until about the 1600s, monarchs had unlimited authority to rule. This is an absolute monarchy  Constitutional Monarchy  In most countries with monarchs, the power of the hereditary ruler is limited by the country’s constitution and laws  England has a Constitutional Monarchy

Oligarchy  Power is given to a small group  Ordinary citizens have little say in what goes on with the government  The government of Panem in the Hunger Games could be considered an Oligarchy

Dictatorship  Dictators exercise complete control over the state  The usually take power by force  To stay in power, most dictators rely on intimidation and persecution via the police and military  Saddam Hussein, Joseph Stalin, and Adolf Hitler could all be considered Dictators

Totalitarianism  Many dictators impose totalitarian rule over their people  In a totalitarian state government control extends to almost all aspects of people’s lives  They ban political opposition  Regulate what industries and farmers produce  They suppress individual freedom, dictating what people should believe  They do this through media propaganda, scare tactics and violence  North Korea could be considered to have a Totalitarian government

Democracy  Government in which the people rule  Democracy began in Athens, Greece  EVERY citizen of Athens was expected to participate in the cities government  This was a direct democracy  Every citizen was allowed to debate on every law or tax that was proposed  Would this type of Democracy work in America?

Democracy  Direct Democracy  All citizens have an equal voice  Meaning every single citizen participated in the debates and voted first hand  Representative Democracy  The citizens choose a smaller group to represent them, make laws, and govern on their behalf  However, the people remain the source of the government’s authority

Anarchy  No government at all  People are allowed to do whatever they want  Some parts of Afghanistan are ruled by Anarchy  What are the problems with Anarchy?

Political Theorists

The Social Contract  Government is only legitimate if the people agree to be governed  “Contract” between the government and the people  Locke’s idea of The Social Contract was the inspiration for Thomas Jefferson’s words in the Declaration of Independence  By entering the social contract, you agree to give up unlimited freedom to ensure certain unalienable rights are guaranteed.

John Locke  First wrote against the divine right of kings  Which argued that kings were given their power by God  Second Treatise of Government (1689)  Had several thoughts on equality, human nature, and the role of the government

John Locke  Said that differences exist in people and these differences matter  Especially when it comes to who rules the country  Not everyone is equal  If all adults were equal, then all of them would be eligible to become president, regardless of their qualifications

Who is more qualified to rule?

John Locke  Tabula Rasa  People are born with a blank slate  People are inherently good.  They won’t always go out and try to conquer everything  People are only concerned with what we can actually protect and what matters to use  Knowledge and morals comes from experience  Nature vs nurture?

Thomas Hobbes  Leviathan (1659)  Complete opposite of Locke  Locke believed that freedoms are protected by the law  While Hobbes believes that freedom is the absence of law  Does this mean Hobbes believes in anarchy?

Thomas Hobbes  He thought human nature was evil  He believed in total control, because without control, life would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short”  So what kind of government was Hobbes advocating?

Jean-Jacque Rousseau  “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.”  “The Sovereign, having no force other than the legislative power, acts only by means of the laws; and the laws being solely the authentic acts of the general will, the Sovereign cannot act (except) when the people is assembled.”  “Every law the people have not ratified in person is null and void — is, in fact, not a law.”  “The legislative power belongs to the people, and can belong to it alone”

Jean-Jacque Rousseau  Believed that any government in which you have to give up certain rights is not freedom at all, it is slavery.  Agreed with Locke that legitimate political power comes from the consent of the governed  Influenced modern day Separation of Powers

Exit Slip  Use your notes to Compare and Contrast the 3 Enlightenment thinkers that we have discussed. For example, how are their political beliefs alike? How are they different?