Government is the system by which people organize and allocate authority to accomplish goals and provide benefits that a society as a whole needs. Examples of goals governments around the world seek to accomplish include economic prosperity for the nation, secure national borders, and a high quality of life for citizens through education, health care, public transportation, housing, and food safety. Governments also regulate the use of natural resources like lands and wildlife, and provide services such as firefighting and mail delivery. Governments use taxes to collect money from the citizens they serve, and this money is used to pay for government activities and to provide welfare and other benefits.
While it is difficult to identify a single type of government, many political systems can be classified as either monarchy, republic, or democratic. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, and all are needed for the existence of civilized societies. Governments are necessary for regulating the exchange of goods and services, settling disputes, and preventing wars. Governments are also the best mechanism for preventing crime, and for protecting the lives, property, and liberty of its citizens.
To be effective, a government must have the power to tax and borrow funds to fund its activities. It must have the ability to build armies and create plans for defense and attack, as well as a system of laws that are enforceable. Governments are also needed to make decisions about foreign policy and military action. The most common type of government is a democracy, which gives citizens the right to vote for their representatives and senators, and to elect judges and other officials.
Other types of governments exist, however, including those that are republics, monarchies, and fascist states. In these forms, the central authority is based on the power of the people and the individual States grant it their sovereignty. Another form of government is a federalist republic, which divides sovereignty between the national and State governments.
In the United States, the Constitution established three coequal branches of government: Congress, the president, and the executive branch. Congress has legislative powers, meaning it can make new laws. It also establishes the rules for how the executive branch and the judicial branch work together.
The president oversees the executive branch, which includes departments and offices that carry out the laws Congress passes. The president can veto legislation created by Congress, and the Senate must approve (give its “advice and consent”) to presidential appointments for many important positions, such as department secretaries and heads of independent agencies. The president can also appoint Supreme Court justices and other federal judges.
The judicial branch, under Article III of the Constitution, explains and applies the laws. This is done by hearing and eventually making decisions on legal cases that come to the court’s attention. The executive and judicial branches are not equal in their exclusive powers, but they work together through a system of checks and balances to prevent any one part of the government from becoming too powerful or corrupt.