What is Government?

Defining Government Government is the system by which people and society makes and enforces policies and laws. Gov. ’ t can and does take many forms Why Government matters- It is essential to the existence of humans in a civilized culture, what a government ’ s public policies are like, and how it treats its people impacts the lives of those people.

How does the Gov. affect YOU! The Public policies of the government cover a huge range of areas From- Taxes, National Defense, education, crime, working conditions, transportation, and the list goes on Three powers/Branches of Gov. Legislative- Power to Create laws (Federal/Congress) Executive Power to enforce laws (State/Governor) Judicial- Power to determine the meaning of laws (Local/Traffic Court)

Is a Government Necessary? Thomas Hobbes once said government is necessary to avoid “the war of every man vs. every man” W/O government we would live in continual fear of danger and violent death, life would be lonely, nasty and short The four theories on the creation of government “Force Theory”- one person or a small group of people claimed control over an area, and forced all within that area to submit “Evolutionary Theory” “Divine Right Theory”- God Creates all including the state and chooses those who will be the rulers (Kings/Queens) “Social Contract Theory” - The Gov. exists only to serve the people, and the people are the source of the governments power

Purpose of Government What does the Gov. do? The purpose of Gov. is outlined in the constitution and broken up in to Six basic principles 1st Forming a More Perfect Union- The Constitution was built on the idea that “United we stand divided we fall” 2nd Establish Justice- The law in how it is written and applied must be reasonable, fair and impartial 3rd Insure domestic Tranquility Keep the peace at home, w/o government, law and order we would live in Anarchy

Purpose Cont. 4th Provide for common Defense- Defend the nation against foreign enemies. 5th Promote general Welfare- Governments create and run Public Schools, make sure the food and water you consume is safe 6th Secure the Blessings of Liberty- The Federal Constitution was designed to preserve and protect our rights and liberties –No one can be free to do whatever he or she pleases for that behavior would interfere with the freedoms of others

Early Contributors to Government A man named Hammurabi's was king of the Babylonians from 1792 B.C.E to He wrote one of the 1st sets of laws called Hammurabi’s code, which had over 282 laws that were designed to protect the weak, established fair taxes and wages for workers and one of the earliest cultures to give rights to women.

Early religious Contributors Hebrews Beliefs Heavily influenced Democratic thinking –These beliefs include, Majority Rule, Equality in the eyes of God, freedom of religion BCE Moses presents the 10 commandments, which told the Jews how to live their lives –Thou shalt not Kill –Thou Shalt not Steal –Thou Shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor –ETC.

Philosophers Contributions “One who loves wisdom” Interested in discovering the truth Greek philosophers assumed the universe was orderly They also assumed the laws of the universe could be understood through reason Hundreds contributed, but the most famous and influential were Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle

Socrates 469 – 399 B.C. Believed that questioning everything could lead to the truth. This is known as “The Socratic Method” He believed no one would do a bad thing purposefully. Knowledge was important, because it resulted in good behavior. He convicted of “corrupting the youth of Athens” Socrates was forced to execute himself.

PLATO 427 – 347 B.C. Student of Socrates The physical world is only a shadow of the real world of ideas Wrote “The Republic” In an ideal community, all citizens would find their natural place – the commoners, the gifted, and the most gifted The wisest and most qualified would be members of the ruling class Believed in the idea of the “Philosopher King”

Aristotle 384 – 322 B.C Student of Plato Called the “Founder of Modern Science” Aristotle is considered by many to be the most influential philosopher of all time Taught Alexander the Great and helped develop the Scientific Method Believed that inductive reasoning (observing as many examples of an event as possible) Brought Knowledge