Governments

A government is the system by which a state or community is governed. In

the Commonwealth of Nations, the word government is also used more narrowly to refer
to the collective group of people that exercises executive authority in a state. This usage
is analogous to what is called an "administration" in American English. Furthermore,
especially in American English, the concepts of the state and the government may be
used synonymously to refer to the person or group of people exercising authority over a
politically organized territory. Finally, governmentis also sometimes used in English as
a synonym for governance.

In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists

of legislators, administrators, and arbitrators. Government ls the means by which state
policy is enforced, as well as the mechanism for determining the policy of the state. A
form of government, or form of state governance, refers to the set of political systems and
institutions that make up the organisation of a specific government.

There are 7 types of government:

• Democracy
• Dictatorship
• Monarchy
• Theocracy
• TotaHtarian
• Republic
• Anarchy
DEMOCRACY

Modern governments are complex and are shaped by historical and political events like
wars and colonialism. A democracy ls governed of the people, by the people and for the
people. Here citizens of the country can run for public office. This means the boys in the
street get to decide who ls in charge of what equipment ls in the pile. Of course, each boy
wlll nominate the person who best represents his interests.

Democratic elections could be city-wide for municipal governance, state-wide for state
governance or nation-wide for central governance. When the population goes to vote,
they vote for a candidate in their area. When the candidate wins, the political party he
belongs to also wins. The party with maximum votes forms the government.

DICTATORSHIP

In contrast, a dictatorship where a single individual has gained power through force and
everyone has to follow his policies. He's the big bulJy. The boys have little to no voice in
such a system. Oftentimes the advisors who control the equipment kit are his close
friends. Examples of dictators are Adolf Hitler in Germany and Fidel Castro of Cuba.

Sometimes you have what is known as a ' benevolent dictatorship.' This is when the
dictator maintains his position as the head of the country for the sake of the country
instead of self interest. Most dictatorships like to portray themselves in the international
community as benevolent but it is not always so.

MONARCHY

A monarchy ls another form of government where there is one head of state. In this
system a king or queen rules the country for as long as they are alive. The crown is
inherited, usually by the first born of the family.

In earlier days, monarchs used to have absolute powers and owned all the public land.
Pharaohs for example, claimed to be representatives of the Gods on earth. But nowadays,

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even democracies llke Great Britain, Sweden, and Spain have kings who are nominal
heads of state. StiJI it is their signature that turns a bill into a law.

THEOCRACY

In countries where any religious institution holds power over the king, the form of
government ls called a theocracy. Several Islamic nations fall into this category.

TOTALITARIAN

There are totalitarian governments where a single group of friends have had control of the
pile of equipment for decades. It is like dktatorshJp by a party instead of an individual.
The regime maintains complete control of the country by not allowing any other people
to form a political party.

They control all aspects of a citizen's public and private life through art, science, and
educational propaganda. The former Soviet Union and Vietnam are examples of
totalitarian governments.
REPUBLIC

Some nations are repubUcs, such as the USA. It ls a democratic model - people are
elected to government office by voters. It ls however, headed by a single individual
whose office ls also elected by the people - the President.

ANARCHY

And finally, a country that ls usua11y In the throes of a war or civil unrest and no
functioning government is said to be in a state of anarchy.

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Democracy and Dictatorship Government

In theory, democracy is the best form of government. It is the government of the people
as distinguished from the government of an individual or of a class of people. It makes all
the citizens Interested In their country by giving them a voice ln legislation. It gives them
a feeling of importance and a sense of responsibility. It thus g.lves a meaning to their
personality. Another merit of democracy Is that it ls less liable to revolution than other
forms of government. Since people themselves elect the members of government the
need of a revolution does not arise. In additions to this, a democratic government usually
guarantees freedom of thought and speech. This twofold freedom Is a very great
advantage as it enables the individual to grow freely. Democracy thus offers the most
favorable atmosphere for the development of the human personality.

Democracy literally means the rule of the people. It has been defined as government of
the people, by the people for the people. Modem democracy rests on the principle of
representation. The people elect their representatives by vote. These representatives
attend the legislature and act on behalf other citizens. lf the citizens are not satisfied with
their representatives, they may not re-elect them ln the next elections.

But democracy has its danger. The greatest of which is that it may be the rule of
ignorance. ''Nine peoel out of every ten", says Carlyle, "are fools" and citizens who are
not sufficiently Intelligent or educated are likely to commit errors of judgment in the
casting of votes. The best men may this fail to get elected. Elections are usually matters
of propaganda. However, the voters In countries like Britain and America have not
proved so lacking ln judgment as many of the opponents of democracy would have us
believe, though it is true that our own country the people, being illiterate, rarely give
evidence of sound or independent judgment. Another critic of democracy is that it is

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wanting in efficiency. For prompt and effective actions, unity of action is essential.

"One bad general", said Napoleon "is better than two good ones". In a multitude of
minds , much unprofitable discussion takes place, whereas unity of control is needed for a
vigorous national life. According to Newman, for example, the British government
cannot cope with the emergencies created by war as effectively as a dictator can. This
criticism, however, is not very convincing because in times of war the British prime
minter usually wields the powers of a dictator. During world wars, for examples, Sir
Winston Churchill faced few real difficulties as a result of the system of democracy in
England. A sounder criticism of democracy in times of war would be to say that secrecy
in military affairs becomes difficult, if not impossible, and that the oppositions usably
lowers the morale of people by its loud condemnations of the actions of the Cablnet.

It was thought that the two world wars had made the world safe for democracy, but this
forecast proved to be wrong. While democracy worked quite well in France and the
English speaking countries, most other countries swung towards dictatorship. So
successful and powerful did their dictatorships become, that the days of democracy
seemed to be almost over.

Unfortunately, the methods of dictatorship are, and have to be, ruthless.

Dictatorship employed force and violence OT ma.lntain itself. It resorts to physical
compulsion, person, concentrations camps censored, intimidation purges and execution.
Both n Russia and Germany countless execution was ordered for the sanity of
dictatorship. A dictatorship cannot brook slightest oppositions.

Dictatorshlp is certainly not without its merits. As carry all points, our society is an
organism, and not a machine. Now mechanical system like the ballot-box can, therefore,
prove satisfactory. The safer course is OT gives all power to a dictator. The dictator must,
of course, be once who has exception amity to organize, direct and admltter.
Parliamentary rule usably means by clues of politicians whose purviews dictator on. the
other hand, can concentrate all his emerges towards the upl1ftment and improvement of
his country.

Thus, there can be no freedom of thought or speech under such system. Intensive
propaganda is employed, as was den s germy, to retain the sport of the
people. Dictatorship, therefore by its very nature hampers the free development of the
human personality. It does not awe for divest of political option and belief, but tends
towards political regimentations or standardizations of human beings. The greatest
danger of dictatorship, however, is its partiality for war as an instrument of national
aggrandizement. Practically very dictate preaches war, partly because he is actuated by
person amnion and partly because he suffers from an exaggerated nationalism.