Government is an organized system of people who rule over a community. Generally, this community is a state. However, there are many types of governments. Each one has different duties and responsibilities. The main goal of a government is to keep a community safe and free. While each government is different, there are many common characteristics.
Governments form laws, rules, and regulations that govern society. They provide citizens with guidelines for everyday behavior, protect them from outside interference, and generally promote a sense of well-being and happiness for their people. Governments have multiple levels, from the federal level to state and local levels. The federal government has the highest level of authority, but there are also many different types of local governments that ensure the central government’s policies are implemented.
The government also provides a variety of goods and services. Some of these goods are free and are considered “public goods”. For example, the government provides public education and mail services. It also provides food and health care to the poor. The police and fire departments do not ask for payment before putting out a fire or arresting an intruder.
The responsibility of government to provide social programs is a controversial issue. The New Deal and other programs provided financial relief to the poor and disabled. Then, in the 1960s, President Lyndon Johnson introduced the “Great Society” programs. These were intended to eliminate poverty and inequality in the United States. Many other countries have similar welfare systems and national medical insurance programs. However, many Americans consider such programs to be unproductive and expensive.
The role of the government is largely dependent on the type of society it is operating in. Whether a country is a representative democracy or a dictatorship, the government oversees the lives of its citizens. While government concerns most about the public realm, there are numerous laws that regulate private lives as well. A government must ensure the safety of its citizens, provide for basic civic amenities, build infrastructure, and foster foreign investment.
Governments are often divided into separate institutions with different powers and structures. They are often divided into executive, legislative, and judicial branches. A federal system is a political structure in which the powers of the government are divided among several branches. However, this distribution of power is not always uniform across the country. This makes it difficult to classify countries into different types of governments.
The different types of government can be categorized based on their purpose. In a representative democracy, the power is exercised by the people, rather than by a select few. Aristocracy, in contrast, places the power in the hands of the rich and powerful. It can also be a monarchy.
The executive branch is the body that carries out the laws that are drafted by the legislature. It consists of the president, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. The Senate has the power to confirm or reject nominations for Federal officials, such as the president and the Supreme Court.