Government Basics
What is government?
Institutions and people that make and carry out public decisions.
A city maintains its water system to make sure its people have adequate drinking water. What purpose of government is this?
Providing public services.
Citizens elect people to make public decisions for them. What form of government is this?
Representative democracy.
Who makes most economic decisions in a market economy?
Individuals and businesses.
Which ideology most strongly emphasizes private ownership and markets?
Capitalism
Name ONE characteristic of a state?
Courts settle disagreements between people. What purpose of government is this?
Resolving conflicts
Political power is controlled by a small group. What is this called?
Who makes many major economic decisions in a command economy?
The government.
Which ideology generally emphasizes greater public/social ownership or control of parts of the economy or services?
Socialism
What does sovereignty mean?
A state has the authority to govern itself.
Police enforce laws and respond to disturbances. What purpose of government is this?
Maintaining order
Religious authority has a formal and significant role in government. What is this?
Theocracy
What THREE basic questions must every economy answer?
WHAT to produce, HOW to produce, and WHO gets what is produced.
Historically, governments claiming communism have generally operated what type of economy?
Highly centralized command economies.
Name ALL FOUR characteristics of a government?
Population, territory, sovereignty, and government.
After a hurricane, the government clears roads and distributes clean water. Name TWO purposes being performed.
Maintaining order AND providing public services.
A country has a hereditary king, but elected lawmakers make laws and the king is limited by a constitution. What is this?
Why is the United States considered a mixed economy?
Private economic activity exists alongside government taxation, regulation, and services.
What in ONE major difference between capitalism and socialism?
Capitalism emphasizes private ownership and markets; socialism emphasizes greater public/social ownership or control.
What is the difference between a state and a government?
A state is a political unit with population, territory, sovereignty, and government.
Government is the institutions and people that make and carry out public decisions.
A city uses police to keep people away from a dangerous flooded area, while opening emergency shelters. Name TWO purposes being performed.
Maintaining order AND providing public services.
A country holds elections, but opposition parties are banned and only government-approved candidates can run. Democratic or authoritarian? Why?
Authoritarian - meaningful political opposition and competition are restricted.
Private businesses compete and consumers choose what to buy, but government also taxes businesses, regulates them, and funds public services. What system is this? Explain.
Mixed economy - it combines private economic activity with government involvement.
Market: individuals/businesses make most decisions. Mixed: private activity exists alongside government involvement. Command: government makes many major economic decisions.