Distribution of Power and Authority Types of Government Distribution of Power and Authority

Power by Authority How much power/control does the government have? Governments differ based on Authority How much power/control does the government have? How does the government gain power Power Spectrum Anarchy Totalitarian

Totalitarianism Government and the state manages nearly all aspects of public and private life People do not have personal freedoms No privacy People have no say in government decisions Almost all choices in your life are made by the government Jobs Schools Where you live

Problems w/ Totalitarianism No civil liberties (personal rights) Government makes decisions that are in their best interest The people don’t have a say in decisions that can impact their lives

Anarchy No government body = no powers Individuals make decisions concerning all aspects of life Problems with Anarchy Dealing with major issues Foreign Threats International Trade Domestic Issues (health, poverty)

Governments - Power by Level Some types use different levels of government to divide powers (not branches) Unitary Confederate Federal

Unitary Governments All power belongs to one single agency If that agency wants to give away some powers Power is usually given to other smaller local governments just to make it easier on the central agency

Example of Unitary Government Great Britain Parliament makes up the whole government There are some local governments, but they were just created to make it easier on Parliament Parliament could eliminate these governments at any time

Federal Governments Also known as Federalism Power is divided into levels - one central government and several local governments No one level can gain more power without the consent of the other level Each level has their own powers, and these cannot be changed without the consent of the people Some powers are shared

Example of Federal Governments United States One central government (National) Several local government (States) Constitution divided powers between these two levels and this cannot change unless the citizens want it to

Confederate Government Alliance of several independent states There is a Confederate Government that only gets powers that all states agree upon Usually deals with international trade/ national defense States are allowed to maintain their identities, but they also have the benefit of working with other states on common issues Has one common constitution

Example of a Confederate State Confederate States of America Separated from the United States during the Civil War 11 States wanted to be independent of the U.S. Government and have total control over their state. Created 1 constitution for all of the states They did this because they didn’t like the fact that the federal government had some powers over them