A government is an institution which is made up of a group of people that manages the state. A state is a human community which (successfully) claims the use of legitimate force over a defined territory. Every government has its own constitution (a set of fundamental principles) that is followed for effective governance.?
The government has the responsibility of fixing the law and order of the country. So basically, it¡¯s the rule making body of the state. The government duties are endless. They include having a police force to ensure security, a judicial system for fair justice for all the citizens, manage the country¡¯s economy tackle inflation, etc. They have the responsibility to look over the health and the development of its citizens. They also have to take steps to protect the environment for the future generations.
There are three forms of government. They are- Monarchy, Aristocracy and Democracy.
In a monarchy, the King/Queen has the absolute power. People and other entities have no say in the decision making because in this system, the King is above the law. Monarchy is where a family or a group of families rule over the people as the supreme authority. They are called as the Royalty. Monarchy is based of hereditary and the King/ leader is not chosen. The royal bloodline decides the heir to the throne.?
In an absolute monarchy, the King or the royal family has the absolute power and is the decision-making body. They get to decide the status of their people and manage everything in the country.
In a constitutional monarchy, the royal family has limited power in comparison to absolute monarchy. In this, the sovereign exercises its power in accordance with the written or unwritten constitution. The royal family is the head of the state only on the paper and the ruling party is the President. For example- In the UK, the royal family has limited power in decision making.?
The merits are that the decision making is very quick and efficient as it does not have to go through any procedures to get approved. The king is the only one who decides. There is also not power struggle and confusion in the power structure. Thus, is seen as the best system as some societies are incapable of ruling themselves and because this system has a lot of experience.
The demerits are that, if the monarch of the state is cruel and brutish, the people will suffer under him. For example- King Louis XIV. Another issue is, if the royal bloodline is killed, there will be a bloody fight over the ruling position which makes it dangerous. Also, just one person having all the wisdom and control over the entire country is just wrong.
In Aristocracy, the power is in the hands of a small class of privileged people or people who have similar or shared interests. This is also known as ¡°the rule of the few¡±. The Feudals that are bounded by the land become Aristocrats. This system of government is based on the ownership of land and doesn¡¯t depend on the bloodline as the next leaders are not decided by that. Aristocrats who become power hungry are known as Oligarchs. Oligarchy is the rule of a few powerful families. Oligarchy has a bad image because in history, it has always been tyrannical.?
The merits are that Aristocracy favours quality over quantity, has quick decision making and is the rule of the educated. This is not based on hierarchy which makes it efficient when a switch of power is needed.?
The demerits are- If Aristocracy becomes corrupt, it becomes troublesome and tyrannical. Also, the survival of Aristocracy depends on the exploitation of masses.
In democracy the people of the country are involved in choosing the leader of the country and the power is divided among many people. The people have the free right to vote for the party they believe should come into power. A democratic government is formed when a majority of people support a certain party as the ruling party of the country.
Merits of democratic form of government is that there is a peaceful shift in power without any conflicts.
Some demerits include- the government manipulates the opinion of the people through social media and free gifts and bribes before election to vote in their favour. Also, the people are divided by religion and the government supports this divide. Example- India.
Many countries exist in the world and they function according to what works for them. The sovereign of each country is different.