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Society

• A society is a group of people living and working together to look after or safeguard themselves and their interests.

• It is a system that classifies or puts the different people who live in a country into social or communal classes or social divisions.

• They have an organized society

Governments

Administrations

Decentralised Government

Centralised Government

Administrations

• an administration is the people who help to organize and run something.

• a ruler cannot run his kingdom all by himself.

• the people in his administration ensure that orders are carried out, and that the masses obey the ruler.

• the bigger the kingdom or empire, the bigger the administration

Centralised Government

• A centralized government is a system of government whereby the ruler and his administration control the country from one place, namely a capital.

• The ruler makes all the decisions – he gives orders regarding defence, trade, taxes, foreign relations and laws to other parts of the kingdom or empire from the capital city.

• He assigns his top official one area of government for which he has to be responsible.

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Advantages

• The advantages for a ruler that has set up a centralized government are:

• (i) He can do, as he likes, as he is the only decision-maker

• (ii) Therefore, he does not have to share the power with anyone else.

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Disadvantages

• The disadvantages for a ruler that has set up a centralized government are:

• (i) The ruler has to count on many officials to carry out his orders

• (ii) He is dependent on his officials to stay faithful to him, and runs the risk of them turning against him. If that happens, they may have the capacity to take his power away.

• (iii) The ruler is vulnerable or in a weak position because he is not always aware of everything that is going on in his kingdom, especially when it is a huge one.

Decentralised Government

• In a decentralized government, the local officials who rule the various provinces decide on important matters without having to seek the permission of the king or officials in the capital.

• This is the most effective way to govern a huge kingdom or empire.

• The government of the ancient civilizations in Mesopotamia, China, India and Southeast Asia had employed both centralized and decentralized political systems to run their countries.