Am. Government - Power

Am. Government - Power
 A. Economics - the study of how people
allocate their limited resources, with their
unlimited wants.
 B. Resources:

1. land- all natural resources
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2. labor- any human effort

3. capital- tools of production
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4. time
Power (cont…)
 C. The power of an economic system lies with
who controls their sources.
 D. Political systems run economic systems.
 E. Every law that is passed discriminates
against someone.
 F. Those without power are the most
discriminated against groups.
 G. politics - any interaction between two or
more people
State
 A. Levels of government

1. federal /national
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2. state

3. local (city/county)
 B. 3 branches

1. legislative- makes laws

2. executive- enforce the law

3. judicial- interprets laws
State
 C. state - The dominant political unit in the
world.
 D. Characteristics of a state

1. territory

2. population

3. government - the vehicle or institution
through which a state maintains social order,
provides public services and enforces binding
decisions.
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4. sovereignty- absolute power.
*Social Contract Theory - (John Locke, Jean Jacque Rousseau)
 A. State of Nature

1. all mankind were born in the state of
nature.

2. mankind had absolute freedom in the state of
nature.

3. absolute freedom leads to chaos in
anarchy.
 B. Social Contract

1. Mankind voluntarily chose to have
government in their lives.

2. The government was created to serve
the people

3. there are certain inalienable rights that
no government can take away.
How does the Preamble of the
Constitution reflect the ideas of the
Social Contract Theory?
 We the people of the United States in order to
form a more perfect union establish justice,
ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the
common defense, promote the general
welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to
ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and
establish this Constitution.
Geographic Distribution of Power
 A. unitary system - all the power lies in one
central location.


1. Most common form used in the world.
2. used by small territories and all dictatorship.
federal system - the power of government is
divided between a central authority and several
local units.
 B.


1. this is the form the United States use.
2. the central authority is the supreme power.
confederate system - an alliance of
independent states with a central authority to
work on common problems and goals.
 C.

1. United States originally started as a confederate
government under the Articles of Confederation.
Relationships Between Legislative &
Executive Branches
 A. presidential system - legislative and executive
powers are independent and separate from one
another.

form used by the United States
Relationships Between Legislative &
Executive Branches (cont. …)
 B. parliamentary system- legislative branch is
chosen by the people and the executive branch
is chosen by that group and from that group.
 1. most commonly used form in the world
 2. the leader - Prime Minister
 3. The Prime Minister and Cabinet members
serve at the will of the elected legislature.
Number Of People who participate
 A. Dictatorship- when the power to govern is

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held to one person or a small group.
1. autocracy- one person.
2. monarchy- King or Queen.
3. oligarchy- group.
4. Primary Characteristics:
a. All dictatorships are authoritarian.
b. Some dictatorships are Totalitariandictatorships that control all aspects of
citizens lives.
Number Of People who participate
(cont. …)
 5. Other characteristics

a. militaristic.

b. control all education and media

c. gives the appearance of the people
having control

d. massive propaganda
 6. Dictators are not limited by the people and
not responsible to the people.
Number Of People who
participate (cont. …)
 B. Democracy - people have sovereignty and
participate in the decision making process.
 1. Types of Democracy

a. direct democracy

b. representative democracy

c. republic
 2. 5 Concepts of Democracy:

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a. fundamental worth of the individuals.
b. Majority rules, but minority rights.
c. Equality of all persons.
d. Necessity of compromise.
e. greatest amount of individual rights possible
3. Citizenship Responsibilities
a. obeying the law
b. military service
c. voting
d. jury duty
e. paying taxes
Compare Democracies and
Dictatorships
 Write one paragraph comparing the two.
Which is more efficient and why?
Economic Ideologies
 A. Government is the means for running a
nation’s economic systems
 B. Economic Continuum
Socialism
Capitalism
Communism
 B. Economic Continuum
Capitalism

Socialism
Communism
1. capitalism- the private ownership of the
means of production, distribution, and exchange
of goods and services.

2. socialism- Public Ownership of the major
means of production, distribution, and exchange
of goods and service.

3. communism- Public ownership of all the
major means of production, distribution and
exchange of goods and services.
 C. Capitalism

1. It is also known as a free market
system because buyers and sellers are
free to make unlimited economic
decisions.

2. the basic characteristic is private
ownership.

3. Modern ideas of Capitalism was
developed by Adam Smith in 1776 when he
wrote “The Wealth of Nations”.
 4. Smith developed capitalism around 3 basic
concepts:

a. profit: the money you earned above
the cost of the product- it is what motivates us
to work harder and improve ourselves.

b. Competition: the rivalry between
business for consumers purchases- it gives
us lower prices, the products we want and
efficiency with resources.

c. laissez- faire - hands off, in relation to
government interference in the peoples
economic affairs.
 5. Role of Government

a. to make and enforce laws.

b. provide defense and foreign relations

c. to provide those goods and services
that capitalism cannot and will not provide.
 6. modified capitalism, United States
combines capital to a certain amount of
Government regulation.