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Forms of Government Essay

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Many different forms of government have existed throughout civilization. Theocracy, dictatorships, democracy, and many others have all had periods of time where they reigned as the government of choice. Arguments could be made in favor of each form of government. The key to finding the most viable form of government is to consider this: which form of government provides the most stability for the state? The stability of the state is based upon the foundation of the government. Shaky foundations lead to short-lived or miserable nations. Governments based upon religion, birthrights, or one man generally do not have solid foundations. The greatest foundation a government can have is the support of its citizens. Governments which cater to …show more content…

The two dominant forms of government are democracy and authoritarianism. The two socio-economic policies are capitalism and communism. Democracy is a form of government which dominates the western world. In democracy, every person is given equal input into matters of the state, although this does happen to varying degrees. There exist many different types of democracy. Absolute or direct democracy occurs when each citizen personally participates in all decision-making processes. This system is difficult to maintain due to the vast number of people and the necessity for all people to be informed, logical, and educated when making many decisions. This form of democracy has not existed in significant sized populations. Representative democracy is a type of government in which the people elect government officials to make decisions concerning the state. The two most prevalent types of representative democracy are democratic republics and parliamentary democracies. In a democratic republic, such as the United States or Canada, the people elect both their representatives in government and their head of state. In a parliamentary democracy, such as the United Kingdom or Australia, the people elect their representatives and their representatives elect their head of state. Authoritarianism is a form of government in which the leader or leaders have exclusive power concerning matters of the state. Although these

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