LESSON 3
Explain the purpose of government and analyze how powers are acquired. Compare different political systems
You've learned about the United States and how our government came to be... now let's look at the other types of government. First we'll answer the question 'how do governments get their power?'.
Well there's not really a concrete answer to that question. But there are theories that attempt to answer that question.
THE FORCE THEORY. This theory, unfortunately, has nothing to do with Star Wars. Basically this people says that governments gained power by force. "one person or a small group claimed control over an area and forced all within it to submit to that person's or group's rule"
Then there's THE EVOLUTIONARY THEORY. This theory says "the state developed naturally out of the early family... the primitive family, of which one person was the head and thus the 'government', was the first stage in political development. Over countless years the original family became a tribe. When the tribe first turned to agriculture and gave up its nomadic ways, tying itself to the land, the state was born."
Now you need to understand that when we talk about the state, we aren't necessarily talking about a state that's in the United States of America. A state is just a group. A nation can be a state. Take a look at this link: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/state under definition #7.
THE DIVINE RIGHT THEORY says that "God created the state and that God had given those of royal birth a 'divine right' to rule". Don't dismiss this theory, even if you don't believe it's true, it's an important theory because tons of people believed it was true. In Ancient China the people did what the Emperor said because they thought he had the 'Divine Right' to rule. MANY civilizations obeyed their King because they believed he had 'divine' power. Egyptian, Aztec, Mayan... and the Japanese emperor (mikado) ruled under the claim that he had a 'divine right' to rule until 1945.
THE SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY -"Philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes, James Harrington, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau ... developed this theory in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Hobbes wrote that in earliest history humans lived in unbridled freedom, 'in a state of nature', in which no government existed and no person was subject to any superior power. That which people could take by force belonged to them. However, all people were similarly free in this state of nature. No authority existed to protect one person from the aggressive actions of another. Thus, individuals were only as safe as their own physical strength and intelligence could make them. Human beings overcame their unpleasant condition... by agreeing with one another to create a state. By contract, people within a given area agreed to give up to the state as much power as was needed to promote the safety and well-being of all... this theory holds that the state exists only to serve the will of the people, that they are the sole source of political power, and that they are free to give or to withhold that power as they choose... The Declaration of Independence justified its revolution through the social contract theory, arguing that King George III and his ministers had violated the contract. Thomas Jefferson called the document 'pure Locke'.
SIDE NOTE, one thing that I've found that a lot of students don't understand is the concept of CENTURIES. When I say "the 19th century" I'm talking about the years 1800-1899. So the year 1645 would be part of the 17th century. Why is this? Well the very first 100 years were the first century. Year 1 AD -99 AD is the 'first 100 years' and therefore the 1st century. So year 100 AD - 199 AD would be the 2nd century.
Well there's not really a concrete answer to that question. But there are theories that attempt to answer that question.
THE FORCE THEORY. This theory, unfortunately, has nothing to do with Star Wars. Basically this people says that governments gained power by force. "one person or a small group claimed control over an area and forced all within it to submit to that person's or group's rule"
Then there's THE EVOLUTIONARY THEORY. This theory says "the state developed naturally out of the early family... the primitive family, of which one person was the head and thus the 'government', was the first stage in political development. Over countless years the original family became a tribe. When the tribe first turned to agriculture and gave up its nomadic ways, tying itself to the land, the state was born."
Now you need to understand that when we talk about the state, we aren't necessarily talking about a state that's in the United States of America. A state is just a group. A nation can be a state. Take a look at this link: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/state under definition #7.
THE DIVINE RIGHT THEORY says that "God created the state and that God had given those of royal birth a 'divine right' to rule". Don't dismiss this theory, even if you don't believe it's true, it's an important theory because tons of people believed it was true. In Ancient China the people did what the Emperor said because they thought he had the 'Divine Right' to rule. MANY civilizations obeyed their King because they believed he had 'divine' power. Egyptian, Aztec, Mayan... and the Japanese emperor (mikado) ruled under the claim that he had a 'divine right' to rule until 1945.
THE SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY -"Philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes, James Harrington, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau ... developed this theory in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Hobbes wrote that in earliest history humans lived in unbridled freedom, 'in a state of nature', in which no government existed and no person was subject to any superior power. That which people could take by force belonged to them. However, all people were similarly free in this state of nature. No authority existed to protect one person from the aggressive actions of another. Thus, individuals were only as safe as their own physical strength and intelligence could make them. Human beings overcame their unpleasant condition... by agreeing with one another to create a state. By contract, people within a given area agreed to give up to the state as much power as was needed to promote the safety and well-being of all... this theory holds that the state exists only to serve the will of the people, that they are the sole source of political power, and that they are free to give or to withhold that power as they choose... The Declaration of Independence justified its revolution through the social contract theory, arguing that King George III and his ministers had violated the contract. Thomas Jefferson called the document 'pure Locke'.
SIDE NOTE, one thing that I've found that a lot of students don't understand is the concept of CENTURIES. When I say "the 19th century" I'm talking about the years 1800-1899. So the year 1645 would be part of the 17th century. Why is this? Well the very first 100 years were the first century. Year 1 AD -99 AD is the 'first 100 years' and therefore the 1st century. So year 100 AD - 199 AD would be the 2nd century.
'King Charles I' being crowned by a hand from the cloud. Depiction of DIVINE RIGHT THEORY
So there are some theories about how and why government came to be, but what is the purpose of government?
"We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America" That should sound familiar to you. That is the preamble to the Constitution. That is what our Founding Fathers thought the purpose of government was. To protect the people by;
#1 Establishing Justice. If one person wrongs another there should be consequences
#2 Insure Domestic Tranquility. Peace within the nation
#3 Provide for the Common Defense. Defending the nation against enemies and threats
#4 Promote the General Welfare. The state/nation should make decisions that benefit the people
#5 Secure the Blessings of Liberty. Protect people's freedoms.
So there are some theories about how and why government came to be, but what is the purpose of government?
"We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America" That should sound familiar to you. That is the preamble to the Constitution. That is what our Founding Fathers thought the purpose of government was. To protect the people by;
#1 Establishing Justice. If one person wrongs another there should be consequences
#2 Insure Domestic Tranquility. Peace within the nation
#3 Provide for the Common Defense. Defending the nation against enemies and threats
#4 Promote the General Welfare. The state/nation should make decisions that benefit the people
#5 Secure the Blessings of Liberty. Protect people's freedoms.
ASSIGNMENT 3
Explain the 'Social Contract Theory' in your own words *
What do you think the purpose of government should be? Why? *
What is an AUTOCRACY and what are the two main types? What are the two types of democracy and what is the difference between them? Define Oligarchy, Theocracy, & Anarchy *
What do you think the purpose of government should be? Why? *
What is an AUTOCRACY and what are the two main types? What are the two types of democracy and what is the difference between them? Define Oligarchy, Theocracy, & Anarchy *