Purposes and Origins of Government

Foundations of Government

Purposes and Origins of Government

What is the
purpose of
Government?

Functions of
Government

What is government, and what are its basic functions?

●Providing Leadership

●Maintaining Order

●Providing Public Services

●National Security

●Providing Economic Security
and Economic Assistance

Multiple Choice

Which of these is an example of a government maintaining order?

• A community constructs a municipal water treatment plant.

• Firefighters hold infant car seat clinics in fire stations.

• Officers screen visitors for weapons at the entrance of a courthouse.

• The Marines hold drives to collect toys during the holidays.

●Riot police maintain order during
disturbances outside the 2008
Republican National Convention in St.
Paul, Minnesota.

●Abraham Lincoln believed that the
purpose of government is to do for
people what they cannot do for
themselves.

●A public service is a service which is
provided by government to people
living within its jurisdiction, either
directly (through the public sector) or
by financing private provision of
services.

Nation, State,
and Country

What is the difference between a nation and a state or a country?

●Nation- a group of people united by bonds of race, language, custom, tradition, and sometimes,
religion

●State- a political community that occupies a definite territory and
has an organized government

●Country- a political community
that occupies a definite territory
and has an organized government

●Sovereignty- the supreme and
absolute authority within
territorial boundaries

Multiple Choice

Which of these defines Switzerland as a sovereign state?

• It has a central government that creates laws for the entire nation.

• It has a strict policy of separation of church and state.

• It has different regions defined by different languages.

• It is located in an area that includes some of the Alps.

Use your books to open this interactive map.

Origins of the State

Why and how are governments created?

●Evolutionary Theory

●Force Theory

●Divine Right Theory

●Social Contract Theory

What are the major
theories of the
origins of the state?
Which do you find
most convincing and
why?