The Taxonomy of Government
Government is a system that uses customs, laws and institutions to exercise political, executive and sovereign power with the intent of managing a state of wellbeing that benefits all aspects of a unit or community. A variety of governments exist and, despite their differences, they share the same goal of providing a stable society for all citizens. Governments set policies, provide services and regulate activities and commerce.
Governments can be found in every culture around the world and come in many forms. While a number of factors dictate the form of government, most systems fall into one of the following categories:
Democracy is a type of government in which people decide how their governments are run by voting for representatives to represent them. The idea behind democracy is that the people are more powerful than their rulers. Other types of government include republics, autocracies and monarchies.
Various forms of government are often compared against each other. This comparison is referred to as a “taxonomy of government” and has a place in the study of politics and international relations. The classification of a government’s structure is a complex process, and the differences between different political systems are sometimes unclear.
A government’s main functions are to provide goods and services to its citizens, maintain public safety and ensure that the economic and social fabric of a country remains intact. The way a government is structured determines its effectiveness in these areas. Government bodies are constantly looking for ways to harness ideas and resources to make the most positive impact on the lives of its citizens.
To ensure that policies are carried out in an effective manner, procedures and protocols have to be established. These rules dictate the “how,” “where” and “when” of how a policy will be executed. Governments also have to be able to balance competing priorities. For example, if national security is important, a government may allow law enforcement agencies to tap people’s phones and restrict what newspapers can publish. If protecting individual liberty is more important, however, a government may put stricter limits on the surveillance it conducts.
The business community has long been a critic of the government’s role in regulating industry and creating taxes and levies that it thinks impede business. The same business community, though, has also supported regulations that protect consumers and enforce worker-safety and antitrust laws.
A federal budget is created by each year by the Office of Management and Budget, which receives requests from individual agencies. The president then submits a proposal to Congress early the next year. The House and Senate create their own funding bills, which are merged by a committee that holds hearings on the proposed spending. The bill is then sent to the president, who signs it into law or vetoes it. Congress can override the president’s veto by passing the bill again, with or without the president’s signature. The bill becomes law if both houses pass it by a majority.