Social Studies (Civics) class 6 What is government and types of government
What is Government?
The government is a political system by which a country or a state is administered.
Its functions are to :-
- Build the infrastructure of the country.
- Look after the welfare of the people.
- Maintain law and order in the county.
The functions of the government are carried out by its three organs the legislature (law-making organ),the executive (implement these laws) and the judiciary (sees to it that these laws are carried out).
Forms of Government
A form of government is a system by which a state or country is governed. The constitution forms the basis on which a country or state will be governed.
Government are classified on basis of objectives, policies, the way power is exercised, and the nature of the constitution.
Democracy and authoritarianism
Democratic government and non-democratic or authoritarian governments are classified on the basis of answerability to people.
Democracy = demos + kratos (meaning - authority of the people)
Universal Adult Franchise - means that all adult citizens have the right to vote.
(Through this, representatives are elected and government is formed. The organization and functioning of the government is controlled by the people. While governmental authority is recognized, individual rights and liberty are also important.)
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Authoritarian - means absolute obedience to authority. A small group of people, a particular social class or a strong political party controls all the decision-making in the government.
(Citizens are not allowed to raise any questions about political institutions and their methods of functioning. Countries like Libya and Sudan were under military rule.)
Parliyamentary and Presidential
The Parliamentary and Presidential forms of government are based on the extent to which the executive and the legislature, are dependent or independent of each other.
Presidential System :- The legislature and the executive are separate. There is separation of powers.
- The head of the state is separate from the head of the government.
- The head of the government is elected on the basis of the number of members the political parties in the legislature.
- If a party has a clear majority in the legislature, the leader of the party become the Prime Minister. (If no pary has a clear majority, a number of parties may form a coalition to form the government.)
- The executive in the Parliamentary form is based on the support of the party in the legislature. (controled by the political pary or a coalition of the parties)
- The Prime Minister and the Cabinate in Great Britain are good examples of theis form of government.
Parliamentary System :- The executive is a part of the legislature and there is fusion of powers.
- The executive and the legislature are separate.
- The real power is in the hands of an elected President who is not a member of the Parliament.
- He/She is also not responsible to the Parliament
Unitary :-
When there is only one government for the whole country it is known as a unitary form of government.
This form of government makes and also executes the laws.
Great Britain, China an d Chile are example of such a government.
Federal :-
When the power is distributed between teh central and the state governments it is known as federal form of government.
Most of the laws that the central government makes, apply all over the country.
Laws passed by the state government apply only in the state.
India, USA, Switzerland, Nigeria and Brazil are example of such a government.
A constitution is a set of laws which define how a state or country is governed. These rules states the distribution of power and authoritty within the country and also states the limit to this power and authority. All the institutions of the government work within the provisions of the constitution.
There are different types of constitutions - Written and Unwritten, Rigid and Flexible.
Written and Unwritten Constitutions
- The fundamental principles of the government are formally written.
- The constitutions of India was prepared between 9 December 1946 and 26 November 1949 by the members of the Constitutent Assembly.
- The fundamental principles are contained and protected in the constitution.
- The British Constitution is an unwritten constitution and contains no sigle document. It consists of constitutional conventions and practices that have created precedents for the working of institutions, together with documents such as Statutes and Acts of Parliament.
Rigid and Flexible Constitutions:-
A rigid constitution cannot be changed or amended easily. To make amendments in the constitution, specific procedures have to be followed.
The central as well as the state majority is required to make changes or amendments in the constitution.
The American and the Indian constitution are examples of a igid constitution.
A constitution that can be changed or amended easily without breaking its framework is called a flexible constitution.
It can be amended by normal law-making procedures in the parliament.
The British constitution is an exmple of a flexible constitution.
Frenchise - when applied to elections means the right of a citizen to vote. (Frenchise was once limited to citizens who could satisfy certain conditions such as education, possession of wealth and income.
Avote enables citizens to choose the people who will represent them in the state assemblies and who will govern the country. (If the citizens are not satisfied with these people, they can replace them at the next election.)
In most democracies, today the right to vote is universal. It is granted as fundamental right, irrespective of race, thnicity, class or gender. This is also known as universal suffrage.
The first step towards universal suffrage was taken in the early 19th century by on removing property requirements for voting purposes. In the late 19th and early 20th century, the focus of universal suffrage was on giving voting rights to women. In fact, for a long time in many developed countries, women were not fiven the right to vote.Many societies in the past have denied people the right to vote on the basis of race or ethnicity.
Science Notes Class 6
Most universal sufrage systems still exclude some voters. For example, many countries deny the right to vote toconvicted criminals or the mentally ill. Also, almost all countried deny the right to vote to non-citizen residents and citizens below the age of 18.
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- The government looks after the administration of a country.
- The form of government refers to the system by which a country is governed.
- Governments are democratic and authoritarian; parliamentary and presidential; unitary and federal.
- A constitution defiens the framework theat the country will be governed by. The different types of constitutions are written and unwritten;rigid and flexible.
- The right to vote or franchise enables people to elect their representatives.
- Universal suffrage grants the right to vote as a fundamental right without being discriminated against.
What is government class 6 notes, types of government class 6, Define government
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