Splash Screen

Chapter Focus

Section 1 Principles of Government

Section 2 The Formation of Governments

Section 3 Types of Government

Section 4 Economic Theories

Chapter Assessment

In the last 50 years the number of countries in the world has more than doubled. In 2011, there are 197 independent countries, each with its own people and government. New country from this summer is South Sudan.

A. Population, the most obvious essential feature of a state.

I. 4 Necessary Features of a Country (pages 6–8)

B. An area with fixed boundaries.

C. Sovereignty, or absolute authority, within its territorial boundaries.

D. A government which maintains order, provides public services, and enforces decisions that its people must obey.

II. Theories of the Origin of the State (page 8)

D. The people gave the government its power to rule them, and in return the government had to respect the people’s rights.

1. Main Idea In a graphic organizer similar to the one below, identify four major purposes of government and give an example of each.

Checking for Understanding

Answers might include: maintain social order—police and courts; provide public services—highways and firefighters; provide national security—army and navy; establish and regulate an economic system—banks and currency.

A. Governments are needed to maintain social order by making and enforcing laws.

III. The Purpose of Government (pages 9–11)

B. Governments provide essential services for people, such as promoting public health and safety.

C. Governments protect people from attack by other states and from internal threats such as terrorism.

D. Governments pass laws that shape and control the nation’s economy in various ways.

3. Identify Aristotle, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke.

Checking for Understanding

Aristotle, a scholar in ancient Greece, was one of the first students of government. He studied the polis, the ancient Greek city-state.

Thomas Hobbes was one of the first to theorize on the social contract.

John Locke wrote that people were naturally endowed with the right to life, liberty, and property. Locke believed that people had the right to break the contract when the government failed to preserve the rights of the people.

4. Summarize the divine right and social contract theories.

Checking for Understanding

The divine right theory holds that the state comes from a god and that rulers are descended from or chosen by a god. The social contract theory says people give power to the state so the state may preserve order and rights.

Force Rule Theory: He who is toughest and strongest ruled. Example: Man and Wife in the home.

Understanding Concepts

Global Perspectives The United States Constitution is the oldest written constitution still in use. What does this imply about the stability of government in the world?

The Formation of Governments

A. A constitution is a plan that provides the rules for government.

II. Constitutions and Government (pages 13–14)

B. Whether written or unwritten, a constitution organizes the structure of government and the way it operates.

C. Constitutions set out the goals and purposes of government as well as the ideals shared by the people.

D. Constitutions provide the supreme law for states and their governments.

A. Politics is the effort to control or influence the policies and actions of government.

III. Politics and Government (pages 14–15)

B. Individuals and groups use politics to seek benefits from government.

C. Preamble: summary in the constitution that sets forth the goals and purposes of a government.

Global Perspectives Choose two foreign nations and find out about each nation’s basic structure of government. When was its constitution adopted? Is the government democratic? Obtain information from a local library or on the Internet.

Over 100 million Americans voted in the presidential election of 2000.Yet nearly twice that number were eligible to vote. George W. Bush was elected president with less than 50 percent of the popular vote.

A. Governments may be classified according to who governs the state.

I. Major Types of Government (pages 18–20)

B. In an autocracy, such as a dictatorship or absolute monarchy, power and authority reside in a single individual.

C. In an oligarchy, such as a communist country, a small group holds power in the government.

D. In a democracy, such as the United States, the people hold the sovereign power of government.

I. Major Types of Government (pages 18–20)

II. Characteristics of Democracy (pages 20–23)

B. Government is based on majority rule through the people’s elected representatives, but respects the rights of minorities.

C. Government is based on free and open elections in which every citizen has the right to vote, every vote has equal weight, and candidates for office can freely express their views.

D. Political parties choose candidates for office, respect the voters’ decisions in elections, and act as loyal opposition.

1. Main Idea In a graphic organizer similar to the one below, show who rules the state in each of Aristotle’s three classifications of government.

Checking for Understanding

autocracy—one person

oligarchy—few people

democracy—many people

A. Economics-Attempt to Satisfy unlimited wants through the use of limited resources.

B. 3 Major Economic Decisions

a. What and how much to produce?

b. How goods and services should be produced?

c. Who gets the goods and services?

Capitalism-Free choice and individual incentives for buyers and sellers.

I. The Role of Economic Systems (page 26)

• 5 Characteristics of Capitalism

• 1. Private Ownership

• 2. Free Enterprise

• 3. Competition

• 4. Freedom of Choice

• 5. Chance for Profits.

• Origins of Capitalism

• 18th century Europe

• Adam Smith- The Wealth of Nations 1776

• TWO MAIN CONCEPTS OF CAPITALISM

• 1. People could work for economic gain.

• 2. Wealth should be used aggressively

• French Word Laissez-faire-Government “Hands Off” “To let alone”

• America today has Mixed Market Economy

• Due to human greed and desire of late 1800’s and early 1900’s.

• Fraud/Monopolies/Great Depression/Wages/Abuse of Workers

• Meat Inspection Act/FDA/Minimum Wage/Workmen’s Compensation/ Price Gouging/ Wal-Mart

• Foreign Trade/Tariffs

II. Capitalism (pages 26–28)

C. The United States has a capitalist economy, but government plays a role.

D. Government’s role in the U.S. economy has increased since the early 1900s.

E. Today the United States has a mixed market economy, incorporating both free enterprise and government regulation of business and industry.

II. Capitalism (pages 26–28)

A. Under socialism, government owns the basic means of production, plans the use of resources, distributes many products and wages, and provides basic social services.

III. Socialism (page 28)

B. Socialism developed in Europe during the nineteenth century.

C. Some socialists favored taking over the government by means of revolution, while other socialists believed in democratic socialism, in which economic conditions change peacefully and people have some freedoms and rights.

III. Socialism (page 28)

D. Socialist governments have taken power in several countries; however, critics argue that this economic system fails to solve most economic problems.

III. Socialism (page 28)

What groups benefit most from socialism?

Those who use more government services, such as health care and public transportation, benefit most from socialism.

• Difference Between Socialism and Communism

• Socialism-Peaceful Change; Government owns basic industries and provide social services; Freedom of Choice

• Communism- Violent Revolution, No Private Property.

A. Communism is based on the nineteenth-century ideas of Karl Marx, who argued that capitalism exploited workers to benefit a small group of capitalists who controlled the economy.

IV.Communism (pages 29–30)

B. Marx predicted workers would eventually rise in a violent revolution, which would result in government ownership of all means of production and distribution; when all property was held in common, there would be no need for government.

C. In communist nations, government makes all economic decisions; owns the land, natural resources, industry, banks, and transportation system; and controls all mass communication.

IV.Communism (pages 29–30)

3. Identify Adam Smith, Karl Marx.

Checking for Understanding

Adam Smith was a Scottish philosopher and economist who provided the basic idea of laissez-faire economics, as it applied to a free market system.

Karl Marx, a German thinker and writer, was a socialist who advocated violent revolution and wrote The Communist Manifesto.

5. Making Inferences What ideas presented by Karl Marx appealed to people in nations where wealth was unevenly distributed?

Critical Thinking

Workers would revolt against capitalists, property would be held in common, and one class would evolve.

2. Making Comparisons In a Venn diagram like the one below, show how capitalism, democratic socialism, and communism are alike and different.

Critical Thinking

Capitalism: private property; business competition; profit motive; freedom of choice Socialism: peaceful change; government owns basic industries and provides social services; freedom of choice Communism: violent revolution; no private property

1) capitalism with a mixed-market economy 2) socialism and communism 3) capitalism

The Role of Government  Many people in the United States agree with Abraham Lincoln that the government ought not to interfere in people’s lives unnecessarily. These people think that government has become too large and too controlling. Have students present examples that they feel show an overabundance of government control, and explain how we could get along without such control. Allow students who disagree time to prepare a rebuttal.

Safety versus Freedom  Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian economy has often teetered on the brink of disaster. People have lost their jobs, a large homeless population exists, and organized crime has rapidly increased. Faced with this situation, some people long for the “good old days” of communism. Others point to hopeful signs in the economy and the growth of private enterprise, saying that this is a transitional period, and that conditions will improve. Choose a side and prepare an argument in support of your choice. Present your argument to the class.

Literature  In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies a group of schoolboys have crashed on a deserted island. Their attempts to set up a democratic society fail, and one boy, Jack, seizes power. Golding’s premise that humans are basically savage is revealed in Jack’s brutal reign of terror.