Government is a system that organizes the people of a country or state into institutions to accomplish goals and provide benefits that the community as a whole requires. Government is responsible for security, the economy, education, health care, public services and much more. It has the power to collect taxes, impose regulations and force citizens to comply with laws. Government is also responsible for ensuring that the rights of all citizens are protected. There are many different forms of government. Some are democratic, some are totalitarian and others fall somewhere in between. This article will explore the major types of government, and how those systems differ from each other.
A government is made up of multiple agencies and departments that are responsible for developing, implementing and drafting policy. The main body of a government is the Government, which is headed by a Prime Minister and the party that wins the most seats in Parliament at a general election. The Government is primarily accountable to Parliament, and is the branch of government that puts policy into practice.
During times of crisis, governments expand the scope of their operations to protect people and respond to increased demand for public services. This increases the cost of government and raises the question of how this expanded activity can be supported financially. Governments must balance the need for stability with the desire to reduce their costs and prevent wasteful spending and corruption.
One of the primary functions of government is to protect “common goods.” These are goods that everyone can use, but which are of limited supply and which must be protected so that a few individuals do not take all the available resources and leave others with nothing (for example, fish in the sea and clean water). Governments at the local, state and national level are responsible for protecting these common goods by providing essential services that are free of charge.
These services include fire and police protection, education and health care. Governments are also responsible for regulating the economy, maintaining the nation’s borders and defenses.
Governments must be able to collect enough money in order to provide these important services, but often they spend more than they receive in cash revenues. When this happens, government entities must borrow money to cover their expenditures. They do this by selling securities, such as bonds, to the public.
There are a number of characteristics that all forms of government must have in order to function well. These include: majority rule with minority rights: Decisions are based on what the majority wants, while respecting the opinions of the minorities. Economic freedom: Governments allow private ownership of property and business and protect the rights of individual citizens. Accountability: Government officials are held accountable by their elected representatives and/or a supreme court or independent judiciary. Separation of powers: The Framers of the Constitution argued that separation of powers would ensure that politicians could not grab too much power. They wanted checks and balances in place to limit politicians’ ambition and keep them from forming an elite class that could control the government.