Forms of government: Difference between revisions

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== Greek word origins of forms of government ==
== Greek word origins of forms of government ==
* monarchy
* monarchy
** rule of one ("mono")
* aristocracy:
* aristocracy:
**rule of the best ("aristo")
*** is most easily understood as a social class as opposed to a form of government
*** is most easily understood as a social class as opposed to a form of government
*** as a form of government is a type of oligarchy
*** as a form of government is a type of oligarchy
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** in other oligarchies, the elites will rule to protect commercial or other interests
** in other oligarchies, the elites will rule to protect commercial or other interests
* oligarchy
* oligarchy
** rule by many ("oli")
** rule by elites
** rule by elites
* oligarchy v. aristocracy
* oligarchy v. aristocracy
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*** oli = "many" but only in the sense of more than rule by pure Aristocratic birth
*** oli = "many" but only in the sense of more than rule by pure Aristocratic birth
*** oli refers to spread of power to non-landed, non-hereditary elites
*** oli refers to spread of power to non-landed, non-hereditary elites
* tryanny
* tyranny
** rule by one but not a monarch
** power seized not inherited
* democracy
* democracy
** rule by the people ("demos")
* republic
** "res publica" = for the people
** rule by representatives selected by the people


=== Modern variations of Greek terms ===
=== Modern variations of Greek terms ===

Revision as of 21:06, 3 February 2022


Distribution of Power[edit | edit source]

  • open v. closed societies

questions to ask about "distribution of power" > do you have to share power? / decision making/ > who do you have to please/ pay off? > who can you cut off? > how do you maintain legitimacy?


Forms of Government[edit | edit source]

>> to do Jared Diamond outline of social organization


Greek word origins of forms of government[edit | edit source]

  • monarchy
    • rule of one ("mono")
  • aristocracy:
    • rule of the best ("aristo")
      • is most easily understood as a social class as opposed to a form of government
      • as a form of government is a type of oligarchy
      • will rule to protect landed interests and family lineages
    • in other oligarchies, the elites will rule to protect commercial or other interests
  • oligarchy
    • rule by many ("oli")
    • rule by elites
  • oligarchy v. aristocracy
    • students can become confused by the distinction between the two
      • oli = "many" but only in the sense of more than rule by pure Aristocratic birth
      • oli refers to spread of power to non-landed, non-hereditary elites
  • tyranny
    • rule by one but not a monarch
    • power seized not inherited
  • democracy
    • rule by the people ("demos")
  • republic
    • "res publica" = for the people
    • rule by representatives selected by the people

Modern variations of Greek terms[edit | edit source]

  • Kleptocracy = rule by the corrupt
    • from the Greek "kléptō" for "I steal"
    • ex. "kelptomaiac" = one who steals impulsively
  • Kakistocracy = rule by the worst
    • from the Greek "kakistos" for "the worst"

click EXPAND for 1877 use of the term:

American poet James Russell Lowell, 1877:

"What fills me with doubt and dismay is the degradation of the moral tone. Is it or is it not a result of Democracy? Is ours a 'government of the people by the people for the people,' or a Kakistocracy rather, for the benefit of knaves at the cost of fools?"

from [Wikipedia]

  • Corporatocracy = rule by corporations
  • Idiocracy = rule by idiots


Monarchy[edit | edit source]

Absolute monarchy in Europe[edit | edit source]

  • as states were formed in Europe at the end of the feudal period (see Feudalism entry)
    • monarchs who had governed through alliances and confederations with local or lesser princes or lords
      • centralized state power around themselves
  • some monarchs were able to almost completely centralize power around themselves
    • as opposed to sharing with a legislature or a church
    • others were unable to completely take power
    • example, in the Republic of Poland, the king was elected by and subject to the local lords

Louis XIV[edit | edit source]

  • "l'etat c'est moi" = "I am the state"
  • "Versailles"
    • outside of Paris = detached from the city
      • the traditional palace of French monarchs was the "Louvre", which is inside Paris
  • "J'ai failli d'attendre" = "I almost had to wait"
    • Louis XIV was purported to have said this when he stepped out of his palace door and his carriage was only just then arriving
    • i.e., that he "almost" had to wait was an affront (insult) to him

Henry VIII England[edit | edit source]

> declared himself head of the Church of England >> transposes himself for the pope > selcting bishops > church taxes (tithes) > taking church property

other Eureopean absolute monarchs[edit | edit source]

  • Peter the Great of Russia
  • Frederick the Great of Prussia (Germany)

=== why / how do absolute monarch lose power? > they screw things up .... lose legitimacy > they tax too much to pay for excesses > they don't allow dissent >> can't force agreement so in Europe .. the solution is parliaments >> allows dissent, allows debate... shares power w/ the king