Universidad Central de Venezuela

Facultad de Humanidades y Educación

Escuela de Idiomas Modernos
Inglés II – Componente Cultural

Types and
systems of
goverment
Auxiliar docente: Carla Villalba Gil
 Basic ideas about governments

Thomas Hobbes: John Locke:

 State of Nature:
Humans are naturally selfish, so no
government means constant war.
 Social Contract:
People give up their rights and power to the
government in exchange for protection.
 Leviathan (1651) and contractualism
 Tabula Rasa:
The mind is a blank space filled with life
experiences.
 Natural Rights:
All humans share the rights to life, liberty
and property.
 Government’s Role:
Keep order and protect natural rights.
 Social Contract:
Giving up freedom in exchange for protection
of our rights. If the government fails to
deliver, the people have the right to revolt.
 Basic ideas about governments

Having a limited government, but

Common Good: how?
Doing what’s best for the 1) Constitution
community as a whole 2) Rule of Law: Laws are fair,
enforced and nobody’s above the
law.
3) Separation of Powers: Power is
divided among several branches
of government
Civic Virtue: Executive
Putting the common good Legislative
before your own interests. Judicial
4) Consent of the Governed
5) Rights of the Minority
*the people = el pueblo
 Soverign State

Population Sovereignty

Government:
 Make laws
Territory  Protect the state
 Keep order
 Provide services
 TYPES OF GOVERNMENT
 Types (or forms) of
=/=
Government (who
SYSTEMS OF GOVERNMENT
rules?)
How the government
operates, ideology on how
is best to govern.
 Systems of
Government
How power is shared
between the various levels
of government within a
state.
 Types of government
1. Autocracy: One person has all the 3. Oligarchy: A small
power. group has all the power.
 Monarchy: King/queen have rule
the country and power is inherited Junta
through a family line. 4. Theocracy:
 Dictatorship: One leader has Government that
absolute control over citizens’ lives.
recognizes God or a divine
2. Democracy: Citizens hold the being as the ultimate
political power.
 Representative: Citizens elect authority.
leaders to represent their rights 5. Anarchy: No
and interests in the government government is in control. It
 Direct: citizens are directly
involved in the work of is similar to the state of
governing the country. nature.
 Systems of government
1. Unitary system of government:
A constitution places all governmental
power in the central government, but it
gives some power to local cities or towns
to run the day-to-day operations of their
programs (e.g.: education
programs).
 The Parliamentary system of
government is about how you
choose the executive power for a
national government. The voters elect
members of the legislative branch or
Parliament, and the Parliament
chooses the chief executive, often
called the Prime Minister.
2. Confederal system of
government:
In a confederal system of
government, the states have all the
power, therefore, the central
government is very weak. E.g.:
Belgium, which is made up of two
independent states: Flanders in the
north, and Wallonia in the south.
3. Federal system of government:
In a federal system of government,
the national or central government
shares power with the states.
+Extra info
(+)The United Kingdom has a
parliamentary (unitary system)
government, and it is a
constitutional monarchy and a
democracy.
(+)The United States has a
federal system of
government, and it is
democracy and also a
republic.
(+) Socialism: the government takes an active role in
the economy protecting citizens from business. It be a
form of government, an ideology, a cultural system, and
different political parties. It very often means social
welfare programs; and socialism tends to be
associated with Scandinavian countries, such as
Norway, Finland, Denmark, and Sweden, which
provide free education and healthcare to all of its
citizens. Bear in mind that these countries have free
market economies.
(+) Communism takes socialism to an extreme
level. The common ownership of the “means of
production” and share it. For example, the
communism of the former Soviet Union.
 References:
 Tom Driscoll. (2014, September 28). Basic Ideas
About Government (Full Version)
[Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/cxNCLUdllLc
 Mr. Raymond's Civics and Social Studies
Academy. (2016, February 29). Systems of
Government.
[Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/YNWVM3liO
K0
 Mr. Raymond's Civics and Social Studies
Academy. (2016, March 3). Types & Forms of
Government.
[Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/tfz1J7yGOn
Q