Have a genetic code, perhaps, or be the result of a process of evolution. But there are grave problems with all of these concepts. All these things can be done today by machines or programs. And the concepts themselves are weak and subject to contradiction and paradox. It can be just as dormant as a dormant virus, and certainly can't survive without a host, but it can become a living human being.
Bacteria are simple, as living things go.
A government can grow and adapt and evolve. It's certainly a very powerful entity that consumes resources and affects its environment and uses enormous amounts of information. After all, one may think, people can easily tell the difference between something living and dead just by having a good long look at it. A gigantic wheeling flock of cranes or flamingos is one of the most impressive sights that the living world has to offer. Try to move at the same speed as the other local birds.