NATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN POLITICAL ECONOMY (CHAPTER # 02)

Submitted by Hira Iqtedar

Submitted to Sir Danish
Assignment #02
Semester BBA (8)
Reg No. BBA07163032

hirajunjuaah@gmail.com
University of Lahore Sargodha Campus
 NATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN POLITICAL ECONOMY (CHAPTER # 02)

POLITICAL SYSTEM (INTRODUCTION) :

The political system in any country is that part of the state apparatus that is in charge of the
legislature and the executive. It is the practice in democracies to appoint politicians in the
legislature and executive to administer the country.

The political system is one of the pillars of modern democracies and without it, there can be no
mechanism through decisions affecting the lives of the citizenry can be taken. In other words,
without an effective political system, the modern democracies cannot function. Further, the
politicians are usually elected by the people directly or indirectly and hence, the political system
is representative of the will of the people. This means that the politicians derive their power
from popular support and draw their legitimacy from the people. This is the reason elections
are held periodically in democracies so that the will of the people prevails and a representative
political system takes shape.

COLLECTIVISM AND INDIVIDUALISM:

Our first cultural value dimension is individualism versus collectivism. Individualism stresses
individual goals and the rights of the individual person. Collectivism focuses on group goals,
what is best for the collective group, and personal relationships.

An individualist is motivated by personal rewards and benefits. Individualist persons set

personal goals and objectives based on self. Individualistic workers are very comfortable
working with autonomy and not part of a team.

The collectivist is motivated by group goals. Long-term relationships are very important.
Collectivistic persons easily sacrifice individual benefit or praise to recognize and honor the
team’s success. In fact, being singled out and honored as an individual from the rest of the
team may be embarrassing to the collectivistic person.

The generalized geographic clusters of individualism may be found in Anglo countries, Germanic
Europe, and Nordic Europe. Geographic clusters for collectivism are often located in Arab
countries, Latin America, Confucian Asia, Southern Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa.

An example of how individualism versus collectivism may play out at a university is related to
academic integrity. At a university in the United States where individualism is considered the
norm, each individual student is expected and generally required to do their own individual
work. Sometimes this is confusing to international students from a collectivistic society who
come to a university in the United States. The collectivistic expectation is that if another
student with whom you have a personal relationship needs your help, then you provide that
help. A collectivistic student has a mandatory social obligation to help the other student

hirajunjuaah@gmail.com
University of Lahore Sargodha Campus
 NATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN POLITICAL ECONOMY (CHAPTER # 02)

succeed. This higher collectivistic social obligation can be in direct violation of academic
integrity in an individualistic academic setting.

DEMOCRACY AND TOTALITARIANISM:

Question: What is the difference between a democracy and totalitarianism?
 Democracy is a political system in which government is by the people, exercised either
directly or through elected representatives
 Totalitarianism is a form of government in which one person or political party exercises
absolute control over all spheres of human life, and opposing political parties are
prohibited
There are four major forms of totalitarianism today:
1. communist totalitarianism: advocates achieving socialism through totalitarian
dictatorship
2. theocratic totalitarianism: political power is monopolized by a party, group, or individual
that governs according to religious principles
3. tribal totalitarianism: a political party that represents the interests of a particular tribe
monopolizes power
4. right wing totalitarianism: individual economic freedom is allowed but individual
political freedom is restricted in the belief that it could lead to communism

ECONOMIC SYSTEM:
 There are three types of economic systems: the market economy, the command
economy, and the mixed economy
 A free market system is likely in countries where individual goals are given primacy over
collective goals
 State-owned enterprises and restricted markets are common in countries where
collective goals are dominant.
MARKET ECONOMY:
 In a pure market economy the goods and services that a country produces, and the
quantity in which they are produced is determined by supply and demand
 Consumers, through their purchases, determine what we produced and in what quantity

hirajunjuaah@gmail.com
University of Lahore Sargodha Campus
 NATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN POLITICAL ECONOMY (CHAPTER # 02)

 The role of government is to encourage free and fair competition between private
producers
COMMAND ECONOMY:
 In a pure command economy the goods and services that a country produces, the
quantity in which they are produced, and the price at which they are sold are all
planned by the government
 All businesses are state owned, and so have little incentive to control costs and be
efficient
 Because there is no private ownership, there is little incentive to better serve consumer
needs
 MIXED ECONOMY:
A mixed economy includes some elements of a market economy and some elements of
a command economy
 Governments tend to take over troubled firms that are considered to be vital to national
interests
 The number of mixed economies in the world today is falling
LEGAL SYSTEM:
 The legal system of a country refers to the rules, or laws, that regulate behavior, along
with the processes by which the laws of a country are enforced and through which
redress for grievances is obtained
 A country’s legal system is important because
– regulates business practice
– defines the manner in which business transactions are to be executed
– sets down the rights and obligations of those involved in business transactions
DIFFERENT LEGAL SYSTEM:
There are three main types of legal systems:
1. Common law (based on tradition, precedent, and custom) - found in most of Great
Britain’s former colonies, including the United States
2. Civil law (based on a very detailed set of laws organized into codes) - found in over 80
countries, including Germany, France, Japan, and Russia
3. Theocratic law (based on religious teachings) - Islamic law is the most widely practiced

hirajunjuaah@gmail.com
University of Lahore Sargodha Campus
 NATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN POLITICAL ECONOMY (CHAPTER # 02)

DIFFERENCES IN CONTRACT LAW:

Question: How do common law and civil differ?
 The two systems approach contract law (the body of law that governs contract
enforcement) in different ways
 A contract is a document that specifies the conditions under which an exchange is to
occur and details the rights and obligations of the parties involved
 In a common law state, contracts are very detailed will all contingencies spelled out
 In a civil law state, contracts are shorter and much less specific

hirajunjuaah@gmail.com
University of Lahore Sargodha Campus