3 Economic Systems for 7 Political Systems
Understanding your Government
| I want to give a brief description on the types of government. Because so much of our discussion may center on what type of government we want, it is important to collectively understand what we are talking about. While the variations on government are usually a combination of several ideas, here is a list of the most common, basic types. Governments are divided into two parts. Economic and Political. There are three major economic types with shades of gray in between. These are: |
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Capitalism
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Socialism
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Communism
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A free market economy where people own their own businesses
and property. Almost all services must be purchased and basic goods
must be purchased. Individual taxes are low and the government is charged
with providing only the basic protections and needs. The government
is funded primarily by the economy through Tariffs. Individual ownership
of property is absolute.
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Government owns or heavily controls most of the larger
industries. The government sets major limits on free the free market
and citizens are main source of taxation for the government. The government
provides much of the needs of its citizens. All aspect of a person's
life is usually taxed. The government subsidizes its unemployed population
and provided health care.
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The Government virtually owns everything. The collective
good reasoning is so powerful within communism that the government can
commandeer almost anything with little cause. Ownership becomes an abstract
idea. The government is by far the largest employer and provides almost
everything necessary to sustain life for its citizens. Citizens are
often considered conscripts of the government
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| Now for the political side. This is where many people get confused. They often will think of Communism being the opposite of Democracy. In reality, the idea of democracy exists within most forms of modern government. Cold war | Russia was actually a democracy even though they were communist. The type of democracy that existed in Russia was Totalitarian, were there is only one ruling party. The following political brake-down should help: |
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Anarchy
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Theocracy
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Monarchy
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Republic
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Parliamentary
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Totalitarian
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Dictatorship |
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No Government. Usually occurs after civil war and factions
fight for power. Citizens have no rights or protections. True survival
of the fittest.
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Government controlled primarily by a church, religion
or religious sect. Citizen rights are dictated by the religion and control
may be absolute.
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Ruled by a King or Queen that succeeded to their position
by family succession. All property ownership is traditionally held by
a wealth Aristocracy and citizens are considered tenants.
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A system of government where the citizens elect representatives
that vote on their behalf. The citizens usually allow themselves broad
freedoms like speech and property ownership.
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Much like a Republic. Except the people vote different
parties into power and that party then appoints its leaders.
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A government ruled by a single political party. The
party may dictate its own organization and the people often times have
little or no say in party membership. Citizen rights are minimal.
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One individual rules totally. Usually obtaining his/her
position through violent means a dictator will often use violence to
maintain power and order. The citizens have no rights.
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| It is important to understand that most of the political systems may operate under any of the economic systems. A Monarchy for example would have a difficult time operating as a Capitalist society because it would require the Monarchy to give up its absolute control over property. Instead, we usually find certain types of political systems ultimately determining its variation in economy. Rarely will you find in the world, true Capitalism, true Socialism or true Communism. A perfect example is the United States of America. We were established as a Republic and our economic system was almost pure Capitalism. Unfortunately, within any Democratic-Republic the people will eventually figure out that they can vote money right out of the treasure for their own use. As the government becomes depleted of funds it must take more and more control of formerly privately owned property and industry. Eventually, Democratic-Republics becomes Socialist as more and more entitlements are granted to the |
people. If the trend doesn't stop, all ownership of property must eventually be forfeited and the economic system turns to Communism. After years of being a stagnant economy, the people eventually revolt as they seek greater economic advancement. Usually such overthrowing of a government is caused by an ingrained sense of "Survival of the fittest" and can result in a complete political change, and the country will usually become a Dictatorship or Totalitarian base. The three economic system is directly proportionate to the size of Government. The larger the Government the closer to Communism it moves. So the next time you here a polititian say that he is for reducing the Government, he is basically taking a stand for a free market and towards Capitolism. If you here someone say the want to expand social programs and increase the government or expand the 'Role' of government they are usually advocating for Socialism. - Richard Okelberry, Managing Editor |
