How Does a Government Function?

What exactly is a government? A government is a group or system of individuals governing an organization, usually a nation. In some nations there is a single government, in other nations there are separate governments with differing political systems. The heads of government are elected for a fixed term by the people through elections. It is rare to have one governing the nation for a longer period than a president.

democracy: It is a form of government in which power is decentralized to local as well as central level and consists of different political parties. Major political parties in most nations make laws and set up systems of accountability to government through parliament. A democracy allows freedom of speech and press and most forms of religion are practiced openly. Examples of democracy include France, Italy, Greece, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, India, Singapore, Turkey and the United States.

A democratic government works well when economic policies promote the overall welfare of society as a whole. An economy has the ability to produce goods and services for its people in order for them to live their lives comfortably. When the distribution of goods and services is fair to all citizens then there is less chance of social injustice. When there are no barriers to entry for goods and services and when the people have access to public goods and services then this will help promote economic efficiency.

A successful economy needs the rules to be set in place by the government such as laws regarding taxes, regulation of business, protection of property rights, and protection of consumers. A functioning legal system will be able to make laws for the protection of individual rights and protect businesses from lawsuits that might occur due to negligence. In this way, an economy works better because everyone involved plays their parts.

Monarchy: A monarchy is ruled by a hereditary monarch who rules according to the Constitution and Code of the Kingdom. There is usually a council of regents which are appointed by the King or Queen. The constitution of a monarchy is based on the written Constitution of the country and approved by the electorate in a plebiscite. The head of the state is always a hereditary monarch. A democracy works more towards representative government where the will of a small minority is put into action by a national majority.

The biggest threat to democracy comes from empires or monarchies that control vast regions of various countries or even the world. Since the collapse of the Roman Empire, many ancient civilizations have been destroyed by rulers who used violence to gain power. Most of these empires were destroyed due to the fact that they had no clear governing structure or voting system.