Government

A government is a group of people that have the power to rule in a territory, according to the administrative law. This territory may be a country, a state or province within a country, or a region. There are many types of government, such as democratic, parliamentary, presidential, federal or unitary

Works
Governments make laws, rules and regulations, collect taxes and print money. 
Governments have monopolies on the legal use of force.
Governments have systems of judiciary that list the acts or activities that are against the law and describe the punishments for breaking the law. 
Governments have law enforcement forces to make sure people within their jurisdiction follow the laws. 
Governments have diplomats who communicate with the governments of other countries by having meetings. Diplomats try to solve problems or disagreements between two countries, which can help countries to avoid war, make commercial agreements, and exchange cultural or social experiences and knowledge. 
Governments have a military force such as an army that protects the country from enemy countries, terrorists and other major threats that attack or which can be used to attack and invade other countries.
Governments have security guards to protect the leader of a country.
The head of state of a government may have advisors and ministers for various departments. Together they are called the administration.

Australia
Prime Minister
Administrative Services
Arts, Sport, Environment, Tourism & Territories
Attorney General
Community Services & Health
Defence
Employment, Education & Training
Finance
Foreign Affairs & Trade
Immigration, Local Government & Ethnic Affairs
Industrial Relations & Public Service Matters
Industry, Technology & Commerce
Primary Industries & Energy
Social Security
Transport & Communications
Treasury
Canada
Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister
Agriculture
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Canada Mortgage & Housing Corporation
Canada Post Corporation
Canadian Diary Commission
Canadian International Development Agency
Canadian Wheat Board
Communications
Constitutional Affairs
Consumer & Corporate Affairs, & Registrar General
Defence Construction Canada
Employment & Immigration
Energy, Mines & Resources
Environment
External Affairs
External Relations
Federal-Provincal Relations
Finance
Fisheries & Oceans
Fitness & Amateur Sport
Forestry
Grains, Oil & Seeds
Housing
Indian Affairs & Northern Development
International Trade
Justice & Attorney General
la Francophonie
Labour
Leader of the Government of the House of Commons
Deputy Leader of the Government of the House of Commons
Multiculturalism & Citizenship
National Capital Commission
National Defence
National Health & Welfare 
National Revenue
Privy Council
Privatisation & Regulatory Affairs
Public Works
Regional Economic Expansion 
Royal Canadian Mint
Science & Technology
Secretary of State
Seniors
Small Businesses & Tourism
Solicitor General
Standards Council of Canada
Status of Women
Supply & Services, Receiver General
Treasury Board
Veterans Affairs
Western Economic Diversification 
Youth

European Economic Community
President
Agriculture & Rural Development
Audiovisual & Cultural Affairs
Budget
Competitions & Financial Institutions
Cooperation, Development & Fisheries
Economic, Financial Affairs & Coordination of Structural Funds
Employment, Industrial Relations & Social Affairs
Energy, Euratom, Small Business, Staff & Translation
Environment, Nuclear Safety & Civil Protection
External Relations & Trade Policy
Internal Market & Industrial Affairs 
Mediterranean & Latin America Policy
Regional Policy
Science, Research, Development, Telecommunications & Innovation
Taxation & Customs Union
Transport & Consumer Protection
France
President
Prime Minister
Administrative Reforms & Civil Service
Agriculture & Forests
Cooperation & Development
Culture, Communication, Great Works & Bicentennary
Defence
Economy, Finance, Budget & Privatisation
Environment
European Affairs
External Commerce
Foreign Affairs
Industry
the Interior
Justice
Labour & Vocational Training
National Education, Sport, Research & Technology
Overseas Departments & Territories
Posts, Telecommunications & Space
Relations with Parliament
Solidarity, Health & Social Protection
Transport, Sea, Housing & Equipment
Germany
Chancellor
Construction
Defence
Economic Cooperation
Economics
Education & Science
Environment, Nature Conservation & Reactor Security
Finance
Food, Agriculture & Forestry
Foreign Affairs
the Interior
Justice
Posts & Communications
Research & Technology
Special Affairs
Transport
Youth, Family & Health

Japan
Prime Minister
Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries
Cabinet Secretary
Cabinet Legislation Bureau
Construction
Defence Agency
Economic Planning Agency
Education
Environment Agency
Finance
Foreign Affairs
General Affairs
Health
Hokkaido & Okinawa Regional Development Agency
Home Affairs
International Trade & Industry
Justice
Labour
Management & Coordination Agency
National Land Agency
Political Affairs
Posts
Science & Technology Agency
Transport
United Kingdom
Prime Minister
Agriculture, Fisheries & Food
Defence
Education
Employment
Energy
Environment
Foreign Office
Health
Home Office
Justice
Leader of the House of Commons
Leader of the House of Lords
Northern Ireland Office
Scotland Office
Social Security
Trade & Industry
Transport
Treasury
Wales Office
United States
President
Vice President
Agriculture
Attorney General
Commerce
Defence
Education
Energy
Health & Human Services
Housing & Urban Development
Interior
Labour
Management & Budget
Secretary of State
Trade
Transportation
Treasury
Veterans Affairs

 Types of governments 
Plato listed five kinds of government in The Republic:

 Democracy 
The most common type of government in the Western world is called democracy. In democracies, people in a country can vote during elections for representatives or political parties that they prefer. The people in democracies can elect representatives who will sit on legislatures such as the Parliament or Congress. Political parties are organizations of people with similar ideas about how a country or region should be governed. Different political parties have different ideas about how the government should handle different problems. Democracy is the government of the people, by the people and for the people. 

However, many countries have forms of democracy which limit freedom of choice by the voters. One of the most common ways is to limit which parties can stand for parliament, or limit the parties' access to mass media such as television. Another way is to rig (unfairly manipulate or interfere with) the voting system by removing votes from opposition voters and substituting votes for the party in power. Few countries are textbook (classic, paradigmatic) democracies, and the differences between them has been much studied.Hoppe, Hans-Hermann. 2001. Democracy: the god that failed. Rutgers, N.J: Transaction.  Benoist, Alain de 2011. The problem of democracy. Arktos Media. Graham, Gordon 2002. The case against the democratic state: an essay in cultural criticism. Imprint Academic.

 Monarchy 
A monarchy is a government ruled by a king, queen, emperor or empress who inherits their position from their family, which is often called the "royal family." There are two types of monarchies: absolute monarchies and constitutional monarchies. In an absolute monarchy, the ruler has no limits on their wishes or powers. In a constitutional monarchy a ruler's powers are limited by a document called a constitution. 

In modern times, monarchies still exist in Great Britain and the Commonwealth of Nations, the Netherlands, Spain, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand, along with several other countries. A monarch may have one of several titles: King or Queen, Empress or Empress, or Emir.

 Aristocracy 
An aristocracy is a government run by the people of a ruling class, usually people who come from wealthy families with a particular set of values, or people who come from a particular place. A person who rules in an aristocracy is an aristocrat. Aristocracy is different from nobility, in that nobility means that one bloodline would rule, whereas an aristocracy would mean that a few or many bloodlines would rule, or that rulers be chosen in a different manner.

 Dictatorship 
Under a dictatorship, the government is run by one person who has all the power over the people in a country.  A dictatorship may also be called one-man rule or autocracy. Plato called it tyranny. 

Originally, the Roman Republic made dictators to lead during time of war. The Roman dictators (and Greek tyrants) were not always cruel or unkind, but they did hold power all by themselves, rather than sharing power with the people. Roman dictators only held power for a short period of time.

In modern times, a dictator's rule is not stopped by any laws, constitutions, or other social and political institutions, and can last many years or even decades. After leaving the Spanish Empire, many countries in Latin America were dictatorships. World War II was partly a war between dictators, and later new countries in Asia and Africa also were ruled by dictators.

 Oligarchy 
An oligarchy is a government ruled by a small group of powerful people. These people may spread power equally or not equally. More so a different version of a monarchy, where everyone makes decisions together instead of one person making them all or telling people what to do, such as in a Dictatorship. An oligarchy is different from a true democracy because very few people are given the chance to change things. An oligarchy does not have to be hereditary or passed down from father to son. 

An oligarchy does not have one clear ruler, but several powerful people. Some past examples of oligarchy are the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Apartheid South Africa. A fictional example is the dystopian society of Oceania in the book Nineteen Eighty-Four. Some critics of representative democracy think of the United States as an oligarchy. Robert Michel's Iron Law of Oligarchy says all democratic organizations become oligarchies. This view is shared by anarchists and some libertarians. An oligarchy may have a leader in the ruling group.

 The history and the theory of government 
The simplest idea of government is those who rule over people and land. This may be as small as a community or village or as big as a continent (like Australia). 

The people who rule can allow others to own land. It is a deed by government that gives this right in the way that laws describe. Some think they have the right to hold land without government permission. This view is called libertarianism. Others think they can do without government. This view is called anarchism. 

Almost every place on Earth is connected to one and only one government. Places without government are where people follow traditions instead of government rules, small border disputed areas and the continent of Antarctica, because almost no people live there. For every other place on Earth there is a government that claims 'sovereign control' over it. The word "sovereign" is old and means "control by a King" (sovereign). Governments of villages, cities, counties and other communities are subordinate to the government of the state or province where they exist, and then to that of the country.

It is from Kings and feudalism that modern governments and nation states came. The capital of a country, for instance, is where the King kept his assets. From this we get the modern idea of capital in economics. A government may regulate trade as well as to rule over land.

Governments also control people and decide things about what morality to accept or punish. In  many countries, there are strict rules about sexual intercourse and drugs which are part of law and offenders are punished for disobeying them.

Tax is how government is paid for in most countries. People who buy, sell, import, invest, own a house or land, or earn money are made to pay some of the money to a government.

There are many theories of how to organize government better. These are called theories of civics. Many people think leaders must be elected by some kind of democracy. That way, they can be replaced at election. Many governments are not a democracy but other forms in which only a few people have power.

There are many theories of how to run a government better, and keep people from hurting each other. These theories are part of politics.

Related pages

 Constitution
 Justice system
 Law
 Legal rights
 Local government
 Political economy
 State
 Big Government

 References 

Category:Basic English 850 words