How does government differ from politics? Generally, government is the word used to describe the formal institutions through which a land and its people are ruled. (To govern means "to rule." ) The term politics, however, refers to conflicts over the character, leadership, membership, and policies of a government. The goal of politics is to have a voice or representation in the government's leadership, organization, and policy-making, because this representation leads to political power or influence. Political activities include things like raising funds for candidates, lobbying, or attempting to influence public opinion. Americans are given access to their government through political participation, whereby they can debate and remedy the issues of leadership, structure, and policy of the government that arise. What is the difference between politics and political science? Politics refers to the conduct of government, especially the making of government policies and government organization. Political science is the academic study of political systems and theories. How is the government involved in my daily life? Although you can ignore politics, it is impossible to ignore government. Step outside your home, for example, and you almost immediately walk down a government-owned street or drive on a government-owned highway. The water you drink and the air you breathe are beholden to government pollution standards. The government records your birth. Your public school is a government-funded and -regulated educational institution; home schools and private schools must meet government educational standards, all the way through college. Later in life, your driver's license will be issued by the government, and if you start earning money at any job, you will becgin paying payroll and income taxes to the government. And when you spend money--currency issued by the federal government--you will pay sales tax on those goods. And if you need assistance from the government, there are government programs to help, including the federal health-care program, Medicare. When you die, the county government will record your death and a government judge oversees of the distribution of your estate to your heirs. What does government do? Since the government is the institution through which a land or a society is ruled, the government is the institution that enforces the land's public policies. In it simplest sense, public policies are all the things that the government decides to do, such as impose an income tax, service its armed forces, protect the environment, and hold businesses to certain standards. In a democratic United States, the people elect representatives to the government to enact the popular will. The people who exercise the powers of the government include: legislators, who make the law; executives and administrators, who administer and enforce those laws; and judges, who interpret the law. Why do we need government? People need government for many reasons. A thread that is common to all governments is the desire to provide a sense of order to the land. All governments tax, penalize, restrict, and regulate their people. A democracy exists to give voice to the people and to protect their inalienable rights, as English philosopher John Locke (1632-1704) suggested it should. In contrast, a totalitarian government exists to benefit the state or those in charge, and this type of government empowers its leaders to rule in any way they see fit. In this type of government, the people's personal freedom is not recognized. What is the purpose of government in the United States? In the United States, the purpose of the government is outlined in the preamble of the Constitution: to form a more perfect union; to establish justice; to insure domestic tranquility; to provide for the common defense; to promote the general welfare; and to secure the blessings of liberty. In sum, our government provides us with an organized system by which we can live as a nation in peace. Democracy & Other Forms of Government What role do authority and legitimacy plan in different forms of government? In order for a government to function, it must have authority--the right and power to enforce its decisions. A government's authority ultimately rests on its control of the armed forces and police. In a healthy society, the government's authority has broad popular support; that is, people accept the government's riht to establish laws. When this is the case, a government has legitimacy. Authority without legitimacy is often a trait of oppressive regimes, such as dictatorships in Egypt, libya and Tunisia in the early 2010s. How are various governments classified? There are several basic features that are used to classify governments. They include: the geographic distribution of power, which divides the definitions of government between unitary, federal, or confederate; the relationship between the legislative and executive branches, which defines government as presidential or parliamentary; and the number of people who take part in the governing process, which yields the definitions of autocracy, oligarchy, and democracy. What are the different forms a government can take? The three general forms of government, based upon who rules, are divided between (1) those in which the authority is vested in one single person; (2) those dominated by several people; and (3) those controlled by many. In some nations, governing is done by a single individual, such as a king, queen, or dictator. This form of government is known as an autocracy. A government is called an oligarchy if a small group, such as landowners, military officers, or wealthy merchants, make up the government. If the country's people make up the government and contribute to its decision-making process, that nation's government is known as a democracy. Excerpted from The Handy American Government Answer Book: How Washington, Politics and Elections Work by Gina Misiroglu All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
