Forms and Systems of Government

Forms and Systems of Government

By Mary Corrigan

​FORM	​DESCRIPTION
Direct Democracy	Citizens vote on and make laws directly; power stays with people
Representative Democracy	Citizens elect representatives to make laws and decisions; power stays with people through their elected representatives
Absolute Monarchy	Right to rule passed through bloodline; ruler is all powerful
Constitutional Monarchy	Right to rule passed through bloodline; power limited by Constitution and lawmakers
Dictatorship	One strong leader, often military; people have no power; usually rises to power through force
Autocracy	Any form of government where all power is with one individual; people have no power
Oligarchy	A small (usually wealthy) group runs the country; people have no power
Theocracy	Laws are based off religion; can be an autocracy or an oligarchy as well
Communism	Government controls all resources; no private property; people work collectively; government SHOULD disappear; often dictator emerges
Socialism	Government owns some utilities; people still own property; higher taxes pay for government programs
Anarchy	No government; chaos and no laws; no one in control

Multiple Choice

Which of the following are NOT something that a Constitutional Monarchy and a Representative Democracy have in common?

• They allow citizens to be represented in government

• They allow citizens to elect the leader

• They are examples of limited government

• Neither is a form of autocracy

Multiple Choice

Which of the following forms of government encourages citizen participation?

• Dictatorship

• Theocracy

• Communism

• Oligarchy

SYSTEM	​DESCRIPTION
Unitary	System of government with all the power at the top; national government controls power
Federal	System of government where power is shared between a central, national and state levels; citizens elect representatives
Confederal	System of government where power is located in independent states with little or no power in central government; citizens elect lawmakers
Parliamentary	Systems of government where elected lawmakers control government and leader of country is part of legislature

Multiple Choice

What is a benefit of a federal system over a confederal system of government?

• In a federal system, the central government controls all situations inside the country and dictates how the states will function

• In a federal system, the states share some of the responsibility which allows the federal government to focus on issues for the whole country

• In a confederal system, the states share some of the responsibility which allows the federal government to focus on issues for the whole country

• In a federal system, the state government controls all situations and dictates how the country will function

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is NOT a difference between the Parliamentary system and our Federal system of government?

• Both systems allow for a limited government

• Both systems allow the citizens to elect the leader

• Both systems allow citizens to elect representatives

• Both systems have a large legislative body