Purposes of Government
This institution makes and enforces laws for the people under its control.
What is government?
This term describes a group of people united by a shared culture, language, religion, customs, or identity.
What is a nation?
In this system, the central government holds the most important powers.
What is a unitary system?
This form of government means “rule by the people.”
What is democracy?
The condition in which resources are limited but people’s wants are unlimited.
What is scarcity?
Schools, roads, sewer systems, and fire departments are examples of this government function.
What is providing public services?
Population, territory, sovereignty, and this organized institution are the four essential features of a state.
What is government?
The United States uses this system, which divides power between national and state governments.
What is a federal system?
In this type of democracy, citizens vote directly on laws and government decisions.
What is direct democracy?
This economic system emphasizes private ownership, competition, freedom of choice, and profit.
What is capitalism?
This condition occurs when a society has no government or effective legal order.
What is anarchy?
This is a state’s supreme authority to make and enforce laws without control from another country.
What is sovereignty?
This system forms a loose union in which independent states retain most of the power.
What is a confederate system?
The United States qualifies as this because citizens elect officials and the country has no monarch.
What is a republic?
Adam Smith supported this approach, which calls for limited government involvement in the economy.
What is laissez-faire?
Courts and law enforcement help government perform this function by resolving conflicts and keeping the peace.
What is maintaining order?
According to this theory, governments gradually developed from families and extended family groups.
What is the evolutionary theory?
In this form of government, one person holds unlimited power.
What is an autocracy?
This democratic principle requires everyone, including government officials, to obey the law.
What is the rule of law?
The United States has this type of economy because it combines private markets with government regulations and programs.
What is a mixed economy?
Government regulations, assistance programs, and responses to recessions support this function.
What is providing economic security and assistance?
This theory says people give government certain powers in exchange for protection, order, and security.
What is the social contract theory?
Unlike a dictatorship, this type of government places power in the hands of a small group.
What is an oligarchy?
This principle allows the largest group to make decisions while still protecting smaller groups.
What is majority rule with minority rights?
In this economic system, the government makes major decisions about production and distribution.
What is a command economy?