What Kind of Government Would You Want Ruling You?
In
our world, many people have different visions of how people should be
governed. In early
civilizations, a monarchy was the way groups of people were ruled. In a monarchy, a monarch, a king or
queen, would rule over the people of a state or country. This leader was born into this position
and held the position for life or until the next of kin was ready to assume the
throne. The monarch would make the
decisions he or she thought was best for the people or even primarily for the
monarchy. The king or queen would
not listen to, and some didn’t care about the people they led. Some countries do have groups of men
and women who will help the monarch make laws and other decisions that will be
in favor of the people. Ultimately
though, the monarch makes the absolute decisions.
There
were some citizens who abided under the rule of a monarch, did not appreciate
being told what to do and how to live.
Sometimes these citizens would rise up and revolt. The fighting might result in a change
in the government to a democracy.
Others would just up and leave their home country to find a new land to
begin a democracy, a type of government where the people have an active role in
voting for those taking part in the government. Ancient Greece was one of the first countries to have a
democracy. Their form of democracy
was called a direct democracy.
This meant that each person was able to have a voice as to what going to
happen and the rules that would be put in place. The majority of countries with a democracy now have a
representative form of democracy.
This allows the citizens to vote for those they want representing, or
speaking for, them. The candidates,
men and women wanting to run for a place in the government, tell the citizens
the ideas they have for the state or country. Then, the citizens are encouraged to vote for the candidate
they feel would do the best job.
While they are some stipulations to holding an office in a democracy,
most any citizen can hold some kind of office in the government unlike a
monarchy. Time limits called,
terms, were also set so one person is not always in an office.
While
some citizens fought the monarchy for a democracy, some citizens wanted to be
in complete control or to dictate what happened in the government. In this form of government, a dictator
would come in with force and use their armies to wipe out the leaders that were
presiding. When the dictator would
gain complete control, they would make all decisions without consulting the
citizens of that country. He or
she would not listen to the citizens of the country when making decisions that
would affect them. What made a
dictatorship different from a monarchy was the laws made by the dictator were
usually very unfair to the citizens.
Plus, the dictator rarely followed the rules himself even though
punishment was given to citizens who broke the laws. A dictator was usually in office until another person or
group of people were able to take back control.
Each
of these kinds of governments is found all over the world. While some of these are better than
others, no type is perfect. Which
do you believe is best?
STUDENTS: After reading the text and viewing the diagram above, which
government would you like to have where you live?
Why would you choose this form of government for your life? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.
