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Chapter 1: People and Government Who was Aristotle? The word state and country have familiar terms. State comes from the Latin word stare, meaning “to.

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Presentation on theme: "Chapter 1: People and Government Who was Aristotle? The word state and country have familiar terms. State comes from the Latin word stare, meaning “to."— Presentation transcript:

1 Chapter 1: People and Government Who was Aristotle? The word state and country have familiar terms. State comes from the Latin word stare, meaning “to stand”. The word state precisely identifies a political community that occupies a definite territory and has an organized government with the power to make and enforce laws.

2 Chapter 1 Features of a State –Population –Territory –Sovereignty Having supreme and absolute authority within one’s territorial boundaries. No one can tell it what to do. –Government

3 Chapter 1 The purpose of Government –1) Maintain social order Tell people to pay taxes, serve in military Have power given to certain entities to enforce laws Do stuff that you wouldn’t normally do –2) Providing Public Service Building sewer systems, checking meat, requiring people to pass driving tests –3) Providing National Security –4) Making economic decisions Governments controlling what is made or produced Laws on national currency Regulate the development of natural resources

4 Chapter 1 Section Review –The word state…also used to mean country Ex: United States is one of about 200 states in the world –Features of a state: Population Territory Sovereignty Government –Purposes of a Government 1.Maintain social order 2.Provide public services 3.To provide for national security 4.To provide for and control the economic system

5 Chapter 1 Section 2 Systems of Government 1.Unitary System- a system that gives all key powers to the national or central government. Ex: Great Britain, France, Italy. 2. Federal System- system that divides the powers of government between the national government and state or provincial governments. Ex: United States.

6 Chapter 1 Section 2 The Constitution –Simply, it is a plan that provides the rules for government –Serves several major purposes: 1.Sets out ideals that the people bound by the constitution believe in and share. 2.Establishes the basic structure of government and defines the government’s powers and duties. 3.Provides the supreme law for the country.

7 Chapter 1 Section 2 A constitution is an incomplete guide b/c it could not say everything you could do or not do, and some countries do not follow their constitutions exactly either. Constitutions basically give procedures and guidelines for local, state (territory), and national governments to abide by and educate on how to change laws or add new ones (amendments). A constitution is also the highest law in a state (country). Accepted as a superior, morally binding force. Constitutional law involves the interpretation and application of the constitution. Primarily concerns defining the extent and limits on government power and rights of citizens.

8 Chapter 1 Section 3 Types of Government –Autocracy Ruled by one Totalitarian dictatorship –Hitler (Germany) –Stalin (Russia) Monarchy –King, queen –Powers pass through inheritance –Absolute monarchs »Saudi Arabia –Constitutional Monarch »Great Britain : 3 types (1 on next pg.) -- Oligarchy Ruled by the few –China –Some countries claim they are for the people but really are not –Elections become fixed –All politicians are suppressed

9 Chapter 1 Section 3 Democracy –Rule by many persons –Abe Lincoln said it best “Government of the people, by the people, and for the people.” –Two forms of democracy Direct democracy= people govern themselves directly Indirect or Representative democracy= elect representatives and give them the power and responsibility to make laws and conduct government

10 Chapter 1 Section 3 Characteristics of Democracy –Individual Liberty Gov works to promote equal opportunity for everyone –Majority Rule with Minority Rights Decisions based on majority Rights of the Minorities are kept in mind so no one is deprived or repressed of any right granted them in their country’s constitution. –Free Elections Few requirements: Age, registered in an area, citizen No tax on voting…so everyone can do it –“one person, one vote” –Competing political parties –Gives choices rather than certainties –Keeps the public informed

11 Chapter 1 Section 4 Economy in Government –Each economic system in the world makes three decisions: 1)What and how much is produced? 2)How goods and services should be produced? 3)Who receives the goods and services that are produced? 3 TYPES OF ECONOMIC SYSTEMS: –Capitalism –Socialism –Communism

12 CommunismSocialism Capitalism

13 Chapter 1 Section 4 Free Enterprise 5 main characteristics –Private ownership and control of property and economic resources –Free enterprise –Competition among businesses –Freedom of choice –Possibility of profits Adam Smith (Wealth of Nations) and Laissez- faire, French for “to let alone” The market decides the 3 questions.

14 Chapter 1 Section 4 Capitalism in the US –US has a mixed market economy It is an economy in which free enterprise is combined with and supported by government decisions in the marketplace The stimulus bill Regulating railroads, roads, bridges, air travel

15 Chapter 1 Section 4 Socialism The government owns everything (basic means of production, use of resources, wages, and social services) Three goals: –The distribution of wealth and economic opportunity equally among people –Society’s control, through its government, of all major decisions about production –Public ownership of most land, of factories, and of other means of production

16 Chapter 1 Section 4 Socialism cont. Democratic Socialism –People have basic human rights and have some control over government officials through free elections and multiparty systems. –However, the government owns the basic means of production and makes most economic decisions. –Great Britain, Tanzania, Sweden use this system…government controls steel mills, shipyards, railroads, and airlines. Also, provide healthcare and other social services.

17 Chapter 1 Section 4 Communism Base of the writings of Karl Marx (1818-1883) Believed the population is divided in industrialized nations. –Capitalists (bourgeoisie) owned the means of production –Workers (proletariat) worked to produce the goods He theorized that capitalists were the ruling class b/c they used their economic power to rule and forced their will on the workers. He also believed that wages would stay at a subsistence level…enough for the workers to survive but not prosper like the capitalists.

18 Chapter 1 Section 4 Communism cont. Communism is also known as a Command Economy –Government planners decide how much to produce, what to produce, and how to distribute the goods and services produced. –The state (country) owns everything –Hurts people because some cases, they are told where to live and where to work. –China is a good example of a communist state. However, they have begun to loosen its control and decentralize some business decisions.


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