Types of political system
Date: 2015-10-07; view: 528.
There are four types of political system that are
1. Monarchy
2. Democracy
3. Authoritarianism
4. Totalitarianism
Ø Monarchy:
“A monarchy is a form of government in which all political power is absolutely or nominally lodged with an individual, known as a monarch ("single ruler"), or king (male), queen (female)”.
(John .J Macionis, Kenyon College)
Monarchy is commonly found in the ancient agrarian societies; the Bible tells great kings such as David and Solomon.
Historically, the notion of monarchy may emerge under different circumstances. It may grow out of tribal kingship, and the office of monarch (kings) becoming typically hereditary, resulting in successive dynasties or "houses", especially when the leader is wise and able enough to lead the tribal's. It may also be a consequent emergence after an act of violence is committed upon local communities by an invading group, which usurps the communities' rights over their resources and then gradually releases such rights under controlled conditions. The leader of the usurping group often establishes himself as a monarch. A state of monarchy is said to result that reveals the relationships between resources, communities, monarch and his office. Even in antiquity, the strict hereditary succession could be tempered by systems of elective monarchy, where an assembly elects a new monarch out of a pool of eligible candidates. The concept has also been modernized and constitutional monarchies where the title of monarch remains mostly ceremonial, without or with very limited political power.
Currently, 44 nations in the world have monarchs as heads of state, 16 of which are Commonwealth realms that recognize Queen Elizabeth II as their head of state. The historical form of absolute monarchy is retained only in Brunei, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Swaziland and Vatican City.
Ø Democracy:
“Democracy is a political form of government in which governing power is derived from the people, by consensus (consensus democracy), by direct referendum (direct democracy), or by means of elected representatives of the people.”
( John .J Macionis, Kenyon College)
There are several varieties of democracy, some of which provide better representation and more freedoms for their citizens than others. However, if any democracy is not carefully legislated – through the use of balances – to avoid an uneven distribution of political power, such as the separation of powers, then a branch of the system of rule could accumulate power, thus become undemocratic.
The "majority rule" is often described as a characteristic feature of democracy, but without governmental or constitutional protections of individual liberties, it is possible for a minority of individuals to be oppressed by the "tyranny of the majority". An essential process in representative democracies is competitive elections that are fair both substantively and procedurally. Furthermore, freedom of political expression, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press are essential so that citizens are informed and able to vote in their personal interests.]
Popular sovereignty is common but not a universal motivating subject for establishing a democracy. In some countries, democracy is based on the philosophical principle of equal rights. Many people use the term "democracy" as shorthand for liberal democracy, which may include additional elements such as political pluralism; equality before the law; the right to petition elected officials for redress of grievances; due process; civil liberties; human rights; and elements of civil society outside the government.
In the United States, separation of powers is often cited as a supporting attribute, but in other countries, such as the United Kingdom, the dominant philosophy is parliamentary sovereignty (though in practice judicial independence is generally maintained). In other cases, "democracy" is used to mean direct democracy. Though the term "democracy" is typically used in the context of a political state, the principles are applicable to private organizations and other groups also.
Ø Authoritarianism:
“It's a political system that denies the people participation in government”.
( John .J Macionis, Kenyon College)
Authoritarianism is a form of social organization characterized by submission to authority. It is opposed to individualism and democracy. In politics, an authoritarian government is one in which political power is concentrated in a leader or leaders, typically unelected by the people, who possess exclusive, unaccountable, and arbitrary power. The absolute monarchies in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are authoritarian, as is the military junta in Ethiopia. Usually people resist heavy handed government but not always, the thinking globally works looks at the soft authoritarianism that thrives in the small Asian nation of Singapore.
Ø Totalitarianism:
“A highly centralized political system that extensively regulates people's lives.”
( John .J Macionis, Kenyon College)
Totalitarianism emerged in the twentieth century as technological advances gave governments the ability to rigidly control their populations.
Totalitarianism (or totalitarian rule) is a political system where the state, usually under the control of a single political person, faction, or class, recognizes no limits to its authority and strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life wherever feasible. Totalitarianism is generally characterized by the coincidence of authoritarianism (where ordinary citizens have less significant share in state decision-making) and ideology (a pervasive scheme of values promulgated by institutional means to direct most if not all aspects of public and private life).
Totalitarian regimes or movements stay in political power through an all-encompassing propaganda disseminated through the state-controlled mass media, a single party that is often marked by personality cultism, control over the economy, regulation and restriction of speech, mass surveillance, and widespread use of state terrorism.
For example Vietnamese closely monitors the activities of just visitors but all its citizens .similarly, the government of north Korea uses surveillance equipment and powerful computers to control its people by collecting and storing information about them.
Political spectrum
Political spectrum ranges from liberal on the left to extremely conservative on the right.
(John .J Macionis, Kenyon College)
A political spectrum is a way of modeling different political positions by placing them upon one or more geometric axes symbolizing independent political dimensions.
Most long-standing spectra include a right wing and left wing, which originally referred to seating arrangements in the 18th century French parliament. According to the simplest left-right axis, communism and socialism are usually regarded internationally as being on the left, opposite fascism and conservatism on the right. Liberalism can mean different things in different contexts, sometimes on the left, sometimes on the right.
However, researchers have frequently noted that a single left-right axis is insufficient in describing the existing variation in political beliefs, and often include other axes. Though the descriptive words at polar opposites may vary, often in popular biaxial spectra the axes are split between cultural issues and economic issues, each scaling from some form of individualism (or government for the freedom of the individual) to some form of communitarians (or government for the welfare of the community). In this context, the left is often considered individualist (or libertarian) on social/cultural issues and communitarian (or populist) on economic issues, while the right is often considered communitarian (or populist) on social/cultural issues and individualist (or libertarian) on economic issues. The political spectrum helps us understanding two types of issues.
Ø Economic issues
Ø Social issues
Ø Economic issues:
It focuses on economic inequality. Economic liberals support both extensive government regulations of the economy and a larger welfare state in order to reduce income inequality, the government can reduce inequality by taxing the rich more heavily and providing more benefits to the poor. Economics conservatives want to limit the hand of government in the economy and allow market forces more freedom, claiming that this produces more jobs and makes the economy more productive.
Ø Social issues:
Social Issues are matters which directly or indirectly affect a person or many members of a society and are considered to be problems, controversies related to moral values, or both. Under certain models of political issues, they are seen as distinct from economic issues. Some of the major social issues include:
· Abortion
· Age of consent
· Ageism
· Affirmative action
· Assimilation
· Bullying
· Capital punishment
· Civil rights
· Corporal punishment
· Crime
· Disability rights
· Discrimination
· Divorce
· Drug laws
· Education and school leaving age
· Family values
Social liberals support equal rights and opportunities for all categories of people, view abortion as a matter of individual choice, and oppose the death penalty because it has been unfairly applied to minorities. The family values agenda of social conservative supports traditional gander roles and opposes gay marriages, affirmative actions, and other special programs for minorities. Social conservative condemn abortion as morally wrong and support the death penalty.
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