Government

A government is the system or group of people who make and enforce rules for a country and its areas, which we call a state. It is often called a metonym for the state when talking about how things are run.

In general, a government has three main parts: a legislature that makes laws, an executive that carries out the laws, and a judiciary that explains what the laws mean. Governments help decide what rules to follow and make sure everyone follows them. Many countries have a constitution, which is a document that explains the main ideas behind how the government works.

There are many kinds of governments around the world. The main types today are democracies, where people choose their leaders, totalitarian regimes, where one group controls everything, and authoritarian regimes, which are in between. There are also monarchies, where a king or queen leads, and other mixes of these systems. In the past, governments have included aristocracy, oligarchy, theocracy, and tyranny, among others. How leaders get their power can differ, with common ways being electoral contest or hereditary succession.

Definitions and etymology

A government is the system used to run a country or community. It is the way a place makes and enforces rules, collects money, and provides services like schools and hospitals. There are about 200 big countries in the world, each with its own government. Many smaller areas also have their own local governments.

The word "government" comes from an old Greek word meaning "to steer," like guiding a ship with a rudder. Over time, it came to mean the way people control and manage their communities. In some places, "government" can also mean the group of leaders and their policies.

History

Main articles: Political history of the world and Political philosophy

Earliest governments

We do not know exactly when or where human government began, but we do know about early governments. About 5,000 years ago, the first small city-states appeared. By the third to second millenniums BC, some grew into larger areas, such as Sumer, ancient Egypt, the Indus Valley civilization, and the Yellow River civilization.

Governments began partly because of farming. Since the Neolithic Revolution, farming made extra food. This let people do other jobs, like ruling or organizing society. As more people lived together, governments grew to manage new problems.

Another reason for governments was to manage big projects, like building water systems. This needed leadership and teamwork, as seen in places like Mesopotamia. Some places used simpler ways to organize.

Modern governments

In the late 1600s, governments began to change. Events like the English Civil War, Glorious Revolution in England, the American Revolution, and the French Revolution helped create governments where people had more say. The Soviet Union was the first large country with a Communist government. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, governments where people vote, called liberal democracy, became more common.

In the 1800s and 1900s, governments grew larger and took on more responsibilities. They started to set rules for big companies and to help care for people’s needs.

Political science

Main article: Political science

In political science, people study and group different kinds of governments. This can be hard because governments change and can be tricky to describe. A country might say it is one kind of government, but how it really works might be different.

Governments come from many ideas and movements, so it can be hard to know just what kind they are. Sometimes, the names political groups use don’t match what they actually do. Also, words about governments can mean different things in different places, making it hard to put governments into simple groups.

Measurement of governing

The quality of a government can be measured by the Government effectiveness index. This relates to political efficacy and state capacity. The political bias of a government can be measured. The fiscal sustainability of a government looks at how well it can keep its budget and policies in the long term. In some places, budgets have been hard to keep stable.

Forms

Main article: List of forms of government

Further information: Mixed government

Plato talked about five basic ways people can be led. These include:

• Aristocracy (rule by law and order)
• Timocracy (rule by honor and duty)
• Oligarchy (rule by wealth)
• Democracy (rule by liberty and equality)
• Tyranny (rule by fear)

These ways of leading can change over time.

In his Politics, Aristotle looked at who has the power to lead: one person (an autocracy), a small group of people (an aristocracy), or all the people (a democracy, such as a republic).

Thomas Hobbes said that the way people are led depends on who is in charge. If it is one person, it is a monarchy. If it is everyone together, it is a democracy. If it is only some people, it is called an aristocracy.

Modern basic political systems

There are three main types of ways people are led today: democracies, totalitarian regimes and authoritarian regimes with hybrid regimes. Sometimes monarchies are a separate type.

Autocracy

Main article: Autocracy

An autocracy is a way of leading where all the power is in the hands of one person. Their choices are not controlled by laws or regular checks by the people. Absolute monarchy is a common type of autocracy where a king or queen leads without limits on their power.

Aristocracy

Main article: Aristocracy

Aristocracy is a way of leading where power is held by a small, special group of people. This group makes the rules, even if they are a small number compared to everyone else.

Democracy

Main articles: Democracy and Types of democracy

Democracy is a way of leading where people have power by voting and talking about decisions. In a direct democracy, everyone decides each issue together. In an indirect democracy, people choose leaders to make decisions for them.

Some countries mix both ways, where people choose leaders for everyday matters, but also decide important issues directly.

Republics

Main article: Republic

A republic is a way of leading where the country is run as a public matter. People or a big part of them have the highest control over the government, and leaders are chosen by voting.

Federalism

Main article: Federalism

Federalism is a way of leading where a group of people agree to be led by someone chosen to represent them. The power to lead is shared between a central leader and local leaders, called states or provinces. Federalism shares power to govern between national and local governments.

Branches

Further information: Separation of powers and Fusion of powers

Governments are usually set up with different groups, each having its own jobs and duties. How these groups share their powers can vary a lot. Some systems keep the powers separate, which is called the separation of powers. In other systems, the powers overlap, which is called the fusion of powers.

Many governments have three main groups: a group that makes laws, a group that carries out the laws, and a group that makes sure the laws are fair. But in some countries, these groups can share members and tasks. Some governments also have extra groups, like an independent group that handles elections or checks on money matters.

Party system

Further information: Political party and Party system

Most governments today are led by people in a political party. A party helps organize the work of government workers and people who want to be elected.

In places where many parties can exist, like in a multiparty system, parties often compete in elections to lead the government.

Sometimes one party or a group of parties wins enough votes to control the government completely, called a majority government. Other times, they need help from other parties to stay in power. This is called a minority government or a coalition government. In some countries, just one party always leads, called a one-party system.

Maps

See also: List of countries by system of government

Democracy is the most common way that countries are run. Many countries use democracy to make decisions. Some places are changing, and not all people have the same democratic rights.

Public administration

Main article: Public administration

Government property, state-owned businesses, public services, civil servants, and government employees together make up the public sector of the economy. In modern developed countries, public services often include courts, education, electricity, emergency services, environmental protection, health care, mail, the military, policing, public buildings, public broadcasting, public libraries, public parks, public utilities, public transportation, social services, state schools, telecommunications, transportation infrastructure, urban planning, waste management, and water supply networks. In developing countries, public services are often less developed. For example, water services might only be available to some people. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5 is a global effort to improve public services and infrastructure for all people.

In the middle of the twentieth century, the ideas of German sociologist Max Weber about bureaucracy brought new interest to the study of public administration.

Public policy

Main article: Public policy

Public policy is everything a government does, both directly and indirectly. It affects many parts of our lives like school, hospitals, jobs, money, and roads. Making public policy is a changing and complicated process where people work together to solve problems by creating new rules or changing old ones. Government spending helps with important things such as keeping people safe, paying for hospitals, supporting families, and many other services that help communities.