For the executive of parliamentary systems referred to as the government, see Executive (government).
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Map legend
1 This map was compiled according to the Wikipedia list of countries by system of government. See there for sources.
2 This map presents only the de jure form of government, and not the de facto degree of democracy. Some countries which are de jure republics are de facto authoritarian regimes. For a measure of the degree of democracy in countries around the world, see the Democracy Index or V-Dem Democracy indices.
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A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a means by which organizational policies are enforced, as well as a mechanism for determining policy. In many countries, the government has a kind of constitution, a statement of its governing principles and philosophy.
While all types of organizations have governance, the term government is often used more specifically to refer to the approximately 200 independent national governments and subsidiary organizations.
The major types of political systems in the modern era are democracies, monarchies, authoritarian and totalitarian regimes.[1] Historically prevalent forms of government include monarchy, aristocracy, timocracy, oligarchy, democracy, theocracy, and tyranny. These forms are not always mutually exclusive, and mixed governments are common. The main aspect of any philosophy of government is how political power is obtained, with the two main forms being electoral contest and hereditary succession.
Definitions and etymology
A government is the system to govern a state or community. The Columbia Encyclopedia defines government as «a system of social control under which the right to make laws, and the right to enforce them, is vested in a particular group in society».[2] While all types of organizations have governance, the word government is often used more specifically to refer to the approximately 200 independent national governments on Earth, as well as their subsidiary organizations, such as state and provincial governments as well as local governments.[3]
The word government derives from the Greek verb κυβερνάω [kubernáo] meaning to steer with a gubernaculum (rudder), the metaphorical sense being attested in the literature of classical antiquity, including Plato’s Ship of State.[4] In British English, «government» sometimes refers to what’s also known as a «ministry» or an «administration», i.e., the policies and government officials of a particular executive or governing coalition. Finally, government is also sometimes used in English as a synonym for rule or governance.[5]
In other languages, cognates may have a narrower scope, such as the government of Portugal, which is actually more similar to the concept of «administration».
History
Earliest governments
The moment and place that the phenomenon of human government developed is lost in time; however, history does record the formations of early governments. About 5,000 years ago, the first small city-states appeared.[6] By the third to second millenniums BC, some of these had developed into larger governed areas: Sumer, ancient Egypt, the Indus Valley civilization, and the Yellow River civilization.[7]
The development of agriculture and water control projects were a catalyst for the development of governments.[8] On occasion a chief of a tribe was elected by various rituals or tests of strength to govern his tribe, sometimes with a group of elder tribesmen as a council. The human ability to precisely communicate abstract, learned information allowed humans to become ever more effective at agriculture,[9] and that allowed for ever increasing population densities.[6] David Christian explains how this resulted in states with laws and governments.
As farming populations gathered in larger and denser communities, interactions between different groups increased and the social pressure rose until, in a striking parallel with star formation, new structures suddenly appeared, together with a new level of complexity. Like stars, cities and states reorganize and energize the smaller objects within their gravitational field.[6]
Modern governments
Starting at the end of the 17th century, the prevalence of republican forms of government grew. The English Civil War and Glorious Revolution in England, the American Revolution, and the French Revolution contributed to the growth of representative forms of government. The Soviet Union was the first large country to have a Communist government.[3] Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, liberal democracy has become an even more prevalent form of government.[10]
In the nineteenth and twentieth century, there was a significant increase in the size and scale of government at the national level.[11] This included the regulation of corporations and the development of the welfare state.[10]
Political science
Classification
In political science, it has long been a goal to create a typology or taxonomy of polities, as typologies of political systems are not obvious.[12] It is especially important in the political science fields of comparative politics and international relations. Like all categories discerned within forms of government, the boundaries of government classifications are either fluid or ill-defined.
Superficially, all governments have an official de jure or ideal form. The United States is a federal constitutional republic, while the former Soviet Union was a federal socialist republic. However self-identification is not objective, and as Kopstein and Lichbach argue, defining regimes can be tricky, especially de facto, when both its government and its economy deviate in practice.[13] For example, Voltaire argued that «the Holy Roman Empire is neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire».[14] In practice, the Soviet Union was centralized autocratic one-party state under Joseph Stalin. In practice, the United States is a flawed democracy, since its electoral system has previously negated popular votes; as ruled by the Supreme Court, the winning political party electors must blindly vote for presidential candidate.[15]
Identifying a form of government is also difficult because many political systems originate as socio-economic movements and are then carried into governments by parties naming themselves after those movements; all with competing political-ideologies. Experience with those movements in power, and the strong ties they may have to particular forms of government, can cause them to be considered as forms of government in themselves.
Other complications include general non-consensus or deliberate «distortion or bias» of reasonable technical definitions to political ideologies and associated forms of governing, due to the nature of politics in the modern era. For example: The meaning of «conservatism» in the United States has little in common with the way the word’s definition is used elsewhere. As Ribuffo notes, «what Americans now call conservatism much of the world calls liberalism or neoliberalism»; a «conservative» in Finland would be labeled a «socialist» in the United States.[16] Since the 1950s conservatism in the United States has been chiefly associated with right-wing politics and the Republican Party. However, during the era of segregation many Southern Democrats were conservatives, and they played a key role in the conservative coalition that controlled Congress from 1937 to 1963.[17][a]
Opinions vary by individuals concerning the types and properties of governments that exist. «Shades of gray» are commonplace in any government and its corresponding classification. Even the most liberal democracies limit rival political activity to one extent or another while the most tyrannical dictatorships must organize a broad base of support thereby creating difficulties for «pigeonholing» governments into narrow categories. Examples include the claims of the United States as being a plutocracy rather than a democracy since some American voters believe elections are being manipulated by wealthy Super PACs.[18]
Forms
Plato in his book The Republic divided governments into five basic types (four being existing forms and one being Plato’s ideal form, which exists «only in speech»):[19]
- Aristocracy (rule by law and order, like ideal traditional «benevolent» kingdoms that aren’t tyrannical)
- Timocracy (rule by honor and duty, like a «benevolent» military; Sparta as an example)
- Oligarchy (rule by wealth and market-based-ethics, like a free-trading capitalist state)
- Democracy (rule by pure liberty and equality, like a free citizen)
- Tyranny (rule by fear, like a despot)
These five regimes progressively degenerate starting with aristocracy at the top and tyranny at the bottom.[20]
In his Politics, Aristotle elaborates on Plato’s five regimes discussing them in relation to the government of one, of the few, and of the many.[21] From this follows the classification of forms of government according to which people have the authority to rule: either one person (an autocracy, such as monarchy), a select group of people (an aristocracy), or the people as a whole (a democracy, such as a republic).
Thomas Hobbes stated on their classification:
The difference of Commonwealths consisteth in the difference of the sovereign, or the person representative of all and every one of the multitude. And because the sovereignty is either in one man, or in an assembly of more than one; and into that assembly either every man hath right to enter, or not every one, but certain men distinguished from the rest; it is manifest there can be but three kinds of Commonwealth. For the representative must needs be one man, or more; and if more, then it is the assembly of all, or but of a part. When the representative is one man, then is the Commonwealth a monarchy; when an assembly of all that will come together, then it is a democracy, or popular Commonwealth; when an assembly of a part only, then it is called an aristocracy. Other kind of Commonwealth there can be none: for either one, or more, or all, must have the sovereign power (which I have shown to be indivisible) entire.[22]
Basic political systems
According to Yale professor Juan José Linz there a three main types of political systems today: democracies,
totalitarian regimes and, sitting between these two, authoritarian regimes with hybrid regimes.[23][24] Another modern classification system includes monarchies as a standalone entity or as a hybrid system of the main three.[25] Scholars generally refer to a dictatorship as either a form of authoritarianism or totalitarianism.[26][23][27]
Autocracy
An autocracy is a system of government in which supreme power is concentrated in the hands of one person, whose decisions are subject to neither external legal restraints nor regularized mechanisms of popular control (except perhaps for the implicit threat of a coup d’état or mass insurrection).[28] Absolute monarchy is a historically prevalent form of autocracy, wherein a monarch governs as a singular sovereign with no limitation on royal prerogative. Most absolute monarchies are hereditary, however some, notably the Holy See, are elected by an electoral college (such as the college of cardinals, or prince-electors). Other forms of autocracy include tyranny, despotism, and dictatorship.
Aristocracy
Aristocracy[b] is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, elite ruling class,[29] such as a hereditary nobility or privileged caste. This class exercises minority rule, often as a landed timocracy, wealthy plutocracy, or oligarchy.
Many monarchies were aristocracies, although in modern constitutional monarchies the monarch may have little effective power. The term aristocracy could also refer to the non-peasant, non-servant, and non-city classes in the feudal system.[citation needed]
Democracy
-
National governments which self-identify as democracies
-
National governments which do not self-identify as democracies
Democracy is a system of government where citizens exercise power by voting and deliberation. In a direct democracy, the citizenry as a whole directly forms a participatory governing body and vote directly on each issue. In indirect democracy, the citizenry governs indirectly through the selection of representatives or delegates from among themselves, typically by election or, less commonly, by sortition. These select citizens then meet to form a governing body, such as a legislature or jury.
Some governments combine both direct and indirect democratic governance, wherein the citizenry selects representatives to administer day-to-day governance, while also reserving the right govern directly through popular initiatives, referendums (plebiscites), and the right of recall. In a constitutional democracy the powers of the majority are exercised within the framework of a representative democracy, but the constitution limits majority rule, usually through the provision by all of certain universal rights, e.g. freedom of speech, or freedom of association.[30][31]
Republics
A republic is a form of government in which the country is considered a «public matter» (Latin: res publica), not the private concern or property of the rulers, and where offices of states are subsequently directly or indirectly elected or appointed rather than inherited. The people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people.[32][33]
A common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of state is not a monarch.[34][35] Montesquieu included both democracies, where all the people have a share in rule, and aristocracies or oligarchies, where only some of the people rule, as republican forms of government.[36]
Other terms used to describe different republics include democratic republic, parliamentary republic, semi-presidential republic, presidential republic, federal republic, people’s republic, and Islamic republic.
Federalism
Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term «federalism» is also used to describe a system of government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and constituent political units, variously called states, provinces or otherwise. Federalism is a system based upon democratic principles and institutions in which the power to govern is shared between national and provincial/state governments, creating what is often called a federation.[citation needed] Proponents are often called federalists.
Branches
Separation of powers in the US government, demonstrating the trias politica model
Governments are typically organised into distinct institutions constituting branches of government each with particular powers, functions, duties, and responsibilities. The distribution of powers between these institutions differs between governments, as do the functions and number of branches. An independent, parallel distribution of powers between branches of government is the separation of powers. A shared, intersecting, or overlapping distribution of powers is the fusion of powers.
Governments are often organised into three branches with separate powers: a legislature, an executive, and a judiciary; this is sometimes called the trias politica model. However, in parliamentary and semi-presidential systems, branches of government often intersect, having shared membership and overlapping functions. Many governments have fewer or additional branches, such as an independent electoral commission or auditory branch.[37]
Party system
Presently, most governments are administered by members of an explicitly constituted political party which coordinates the activities of associated government officials and candidates for office. In a multiparty system of government, multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government offices, typically by competing in elections, although the effective number of parties may be limited.
A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties together holding an absolute majority of seats in the parliament, in contrast to a minority government in which they have only a plurality of seats and often depend on a confidence-and-supply arrangement with other parties. A coalition government is one in which multiple parties cooperate to form a government as part of a coalition agreement. In a single-party government a single party forms a government without the support of a coalition, as is typically the case with majority governments,[38][39] but even a minority government may consist of just one party unable to find a willing coalition partner at the moment.[40]
A state that continuously maintains a single-party government within a (nominally) multiparty system possesses a dominant-party system. In a (nondemocratic) one-party system a single ruling party has the (more-or-less) exclusive right to form the government, and the formation of other parties may be obstructed or illegal. In some cases, a government may have a non-partisan system, as is the case with absolute monarchy or non-partisan democracy.
Maps
Democracy is the most popular form of government with more than half of the nations in the world being democracies-97 of 167 nations as of 2021.[41] However the world is becoming more authoritarian with a quarter of the world’s population under democratically backsliding governments.[41]
World first-and-second degree administrative levels
A world map distinguishing countries of the world as federations (green) from unitary states (blue).
See also
- List of forms of government
- Central government
- Civics
- Comparative government
- Constitutional economics
- Deep state
- Digital democracy
- E-Government
- Government effectiveness index
- History of politics
- Legal rights
- List of countries by system of government
- List of European Union member states by political system
- Local government
- Ministry
- Political economy
- Political history
- Prime ministerial government
- State (polity)
- Voting system
- World government
Notes
- ^ Frederickson 2000, p. 12, quote:»…conservative southern Democrats viewed warily the potential of New Deal programs to threaten the region’s economic dependence on cheap labor while stirring the democratic ambitions of the disfranchised and undermining white supremacy.»
- ^ Ancient Greek: ἀριστοκρατία aristokratía, from ἄριστος aristos «excellent», and κράτος kratos «power».
- ^ Conducted by American think tank Freedom House, which is largely funded by the US government.
References
- ^ «14.2 Types of Political Systems». 8 April 2016. Archived from the original on 22 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
- ^ Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th edition. Columbia University Press. 2000.[full citation needed]
- ^ a b Smelser & Baltes 2001, p. [page needed].
- ^ Brock 2013, p. 53–62.
- ^ «Government English Definition and Meaning». Lexico. Archived from the original on 17 July 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
- ^ a b c Christian 2004, p. 245.
- ^ Christian 2004, p. 294.
- ^ The New Encyclopædia Britannica (15th edition)[full citation needed]
- ^ Christian 2004, pp. 146–147.
- ^ a b Kuper & Kuper 2008, p. [page needed].
- ^ Haider-Markel 2014, p. [page needed].
- ^ Lewellen 2003, p. [page needed].
- ^ Kopstein & Lichbach 2005, p. 4.
- ^ Renna 2015.
- ^ Chiafalo et al. v. Washington (3d 807 October 2019).Text
- ^ Ribuffo 2011, pp. 2–6, quote on p. 6.
- ^ Frederickson 2000, p. 12.
- ^ Freeland 2012.
- ^ Abjorensen, Norman (15 June 2019). Historical Dictionary of Democracy. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 288–. ISBN 978-1-5381-2074-3. OCLC 1081354236.
- ^ Brill 2016.
- ^ Jordović, Ivan (2019). Taming Politics: Plato and the Democratic Roots of Tyrannical Man. Franz Steiner Verlag. p. intro. ISBN 978-3-515-12457-7. OCLC 1107421360.
- ^ Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan – via Wikisource.
- ^ a b Juan José Linz (2000). Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes. Lynne Rienner Publisher. p. 143. ISBN 978-1-55587-890-0. OCLC 1172052725.
- ^ Jonathan Michie, ed. (3 February 2014). Reader’s Guide to the Social Sciences. Routledge. p. 95. ISBN 978-1-135-93226-8.
- ^ Ginny Garcia-Alexander; Hyeyoung Woo; Matthew J. Carlson (3 November 2017). Social Foundations of Behavior for the Health Sciences. Springer. pp. 137–. ISBN 978-3-319-64950-4. OCLC 1013825392.
- ^ Allan Todd; Sally Waller (10 September 2015). Allan Todd; Sally Waller (eds.). History for the IB Diploma Paper 2 AuthoritariaAuthoritarian States (20th Century). Cambridge University Press. pp. 10–. ISBN 978-1-107-55889-2.
- ^ Sondrol, P. C. (2009). «Totalitarian and Authoritarian Dictators: A Comparison of Fidel Castro and Alfredo Stroessner». Journal of Latin American Studies. 23 (3): 599–620. doi:10.1017/S0022216X00015868. JSTOR 157386. S2CID 144333167.
- ^ Johnson, Paul M. «Autocracy: A Glossary of Political Economy Terms». Auburn.edu. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
- ^ «aristocracy». Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary: «democracy».
- ^ Watkins, Frederick (1970). «Democracy». Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (Expo ’70 hardcover ed.). William Benton. pp. 215–23. ISBN 978-0-85229-135-1.
- ^ Montesquieu 1748, book 2, chapters 1.
- ^ «Republic». Encyclopædia Britannica.[full citation needed]
- ^ «republic». WordNet 3.0. Archived from the original on 12 March 2009. Retrieved 20 March 2009.
- ^ «Republic». Merriam-Webster. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
- ^ Montesquieu 1748, book 2, chapters 2–3.
- ^ Needler 1991, pp. 116–118.
- ^ Gallagher, Laver & Mair 2006.
- ^ Kettle 2015.
- ^ Duxbury 2021.
- ^ a b The Global State of Democracy 2021, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance
- ^ «Democracy Index 2017 – Economist Intelligence Unit» (PDF). EIU.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 December 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
Bibliography
- Brill, Sara (2016). «Political Pathology in Plato’s Republic». Apeiron. 49 (2): 127–161. doi:10.1515/apeiron-2015-0003. ISSN 2156-7093. S2CID 148505083.
- Brock, Roger (2013). Greek Political Imagery from Homer to Aristotle. London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-4725-0218-6. OCLC 1040413173. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
- Christian, David (2004). Maps of Time: an Introduction to Big History. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-24476-4. OCLC 966003275.
- Duxbury, Charlie (29 November 2021). «Magdalena Andersson named Swedish prime minister (again)». Politico. Archived from the original on 15 April 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
- Frederickson, Kari (2000). The Dixiecrat Revolt and the End of the Solid South, 1932–1968. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-4910-1. OCLC 475254808.
- Freeland, Chrystia (2012). Plutocrats: the Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else. London: Allen Lane. ISBN 978-1-84614-252-9. OCLC 795857028.
- Gallagher, Michael; Laver, M.; Mair, P. (2006). Representative Government in Western Europe (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 9780070366848. OCLC 906939909.
- Haider-Markel, Donald P. (2014). The Oxford Handbook of State and Local Government. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-957967-9. OCLC 904484428.
- Kettle, Martin (17 April 2015). «Coalition and minority governments are not so unusual in UK elections; The first-past-the-post system has led to fewer one-party majority governments in Britain than might be expected — only half of all those in the 20th century». Guardian. Archived from the original on 30 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022 – via Gale General OneFile.
- Kopstein, Jeffrey; Lichbach, Mark, eds. (2005). Comparative politics: interests, identities, and institutions in a changing global order (2nd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521708400. OCLC 1293165230.
- Kuper, Adam; Kuper, Jessica, eds. (2008). The Social Science Encyclopedia. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-47635-5. OCLC 789658928.
- Lewellen, Ted C. (2003). Political Anthropology: An Introduction (3rd ed.). Westport, CT: Praeger. ISBN 978-0-89789-891-1. OCLC 936497371. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- Montesquieu (1748). The Spirit of the Laws.
- Needler, Martin C. (1991). The Concepts of Comparative Politics. New York: Praeger. ISBN 978-0-275-93653-2. OCLC 925042067.
- Renna, Thomas (September 2015). «The Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire». Michigan Academician. 42 (1): 60–75. doi:10.7245/0026-2005-42.1.60.
- Ribuffo, Leo P. (2011). «20 Suggestions for Studying the Right now that Studying the Right is Trendy». Historically Speaking. 12 (1): 2–6. doi:10.1353/hsp.2011.0013. S2CID 144367661.
- Smelser, Neil J.; Baltes, Paul B. (2001). International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences. New York: Elsevier Science. ISBN 978-0-08-043076-8. OCLC 43548228.
Further reading
- de Mesquita, Bruce Bueno; Smith, Alastair (2012). The Dictator’s Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics. New York: PublicAffairs. ISBN 9781610390446. OCLC 1026803822.
- de Mesquita, Bruce Bueno; Smith, Alastair; Siverson, Randolph M.; Morrow, James D. (2003). The Logic of Political Survival. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. ISBN 9780262025461. OCLC 475265120.
- Dobson, William J. (2013). The Dictator’s Learning Curve: Inside the Global Battle for Democracy. New York: Anchor. ISBN 978-0307477552. OCLC 849820048.
- Friedrich, Carl J.; Brzezinski, Zbigniew K. (1966) [1965]. Totalitarian Dictatorship and Autocracy (2nd ed.). New York: Frederick A. Praeger. ISBN 9780674895652. OCLC 826626632.
- Krader, Lawrence (1968). Formation of the State. Foundations of Modern Anthropology. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0133294900. OCLC 266086412.
Where does the word government originated from?
A government is the system to govern a state or community. The word government derives, ultimately, from the Greek verb κυβερνάω [kubernáo] (meaning to steer with gubernaculum (rudder), the metaphorical sense being attested in Plato’s Ship of State).
Why is Latin used in government?
The legal system of the current United States has its history in ancient Rome. Simply because, ancient Romans, at one time, conquered most of what is currently Europe. Since our legal system comes from the first European colonists, the Latin terms used in Common Law of Rome have been adapted to our legal system.
What does the word government actually mean?
noun. the political direction and control exercised over the actions of the members, citizens, or inhabitants of communities, societies, and states; direction of the affairs of a state, community, etc.; political administration: Government is necessary to the existence of civilized society.
When was the word government first used?
The word “government” is simply a body that… governs. The word “govern” appears in English in the 13th century, adapted from the French governer.
Which country is a dependent territory?
A subnational entity typically represents a division of the country proper, while a dependent territory is a legally separate territory that enjoys a greater degree of autonomy. As an example, Greenland is a dependent territory of Denmark, and Saint Helena is a dependent territory of the United Kingdom.
How many Territory are there?
India has a total of 8 Union Territories and 28 states. The 8 Union territories in India include Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Puducherry, Chandigarh, And (Read More)
What are the 9 union territory?
Union Territories are: Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, National Capital Territory of Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep, Ladakh and Puducherry.
What are the 29 states name?
States and Union Territories
- Andhra Pradesh(Amaravati)
- Arunachal Pradesh(Itanagar)
- Assam(Dispur)
- Bihar(Patna)
- Chhattisgarh(Raipur)
- Goa(Panaji)
- Gujarat(Gandhinagar)
What are the 28 states in India?
Here is the list of 28 States in India and Their Capitals
- Andhra Pradesh (Hyderabad)
- Arunachal Pradesh (Itanagar)
- Assam (Dispur)
- Bihar (Patna)
- Chhattisgarh (Raipur)
- Gujarat (Gandhinagar)
- Haryana – Chandigarh (Shared with Punjab)
- Himachal Pradesh (Shimla)
Is J and K State or UT?
The act re-constituted the former state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, with effect from 31 October 2019….Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)
Jammu and Kashmir | |
---|---|
Union territory | 31 October 2019 |
Capital | Srinagar (May–October) Jammu (Nov-April) |
Districts | 20 |
Government |
How is Kashmir divided?
The region is divided amongst three countries in a territorial dispute: Pakistan controls the northwest portion (Northern Areas and Kashmir), India controls the central and southern portion (Jammu and Kashmir) and Ladakh, and the People’s Republic of China controls the northeastern portion (Aksai Chin and the Trans- …
Detailed word origin of government
Dictionary entry | Language | Definition |
---|---|---|
governer | Old French (842-ca. 1400) (fro) | To govern. To guide; to steer. |
-ment | Old French (842-ca. 1400) (fro) | Used to form nouns from verbs, usually of action or state resulting of them. Equivalent to the English -ment. Used to form adverbs, most of the time equivalent to the English -wise, -ly. |
governement | Old French (842-ca. 1400) (fro) | Government. |
governement | Middle English (1100-1500) (enm) | |
government | English (eng) | (grammar, linguistics) The relationship between a word and its dependents. (uncountable) The management or control of a system.. A group of people who hold a monopoly on the legitimate use of force in a given territory.. The body with the power to make and/or enforce laws to control a country, land area, people or organization.. The state and its administration viewed as the ruling political […] |
The root word for “government” causes an interesting discussion when you get into the origins. We can take it back to Latin to find out what it means. In this article, we’ll take a look at what “government” means and how it came to be what it is today.
“Government” does not mean “mind control,” but that is a common etymological myth. “Govern” comes from the Latin “gubernate,” meaning “to direct or rule.” The suffix “-ment” comes from the Latin “mentum,” meaning “instrument.” “Government” means “an instrument to rule.”
According to The Cambridge Dictionary, the definition of “government” is “the group of people who officially control a country.”
We can combine the original Latin meaning and the current meaning to show that the “instrument” in question is “the group of people.” The “ruling” is linked to “officially controlling a country.”
Origin Of The Word “Government”
So, “government” doesn’t mean “mind control” in Latin. However, we can take a further look at the Latin origins to try and work out exactly what it does mean and where the word came from.
Language evolution is an incredibly interesting topic. It helps non-native speakers learn a lot about root words and other variations of words based on what we know about the origin.
What Is The Latin Word For “Government”?
First, let’s talk about the Latin word for “government.” As we’ve stated previously, we’re able to break the Latin down into two main parts.
“Gubernate” is the Latin word meaning “to direct” or “to rule.” It is the first portion of the word and evolved to “govern” in modern-day English. “-Ment” is the suffix at the end of the word, and in Latin, it means “instrument.”
Many people think that the “-ment” suffix has a lot more to do with the mind. However, this is a common confusion that people make. It makes sense since it allows people to have a go at the government, but no matter how hard you want that to be the case, the “government” isn’t capable of “mind control.”
Old French Development
Old French is where the language developed next. We started to get a little more familiar with “government” as we know it today.
In Old French, “gubernate” turned into “governer,” which meant “to direct or rule” in the same way. This is much closer to our English counterpart today. Old French also used “-mentum” as a suffix to mean instrument.
However, Old French also explains a little more about why so many people were confused about the relationship between “-ment” and “mind.”
In Old French, they have two main suffixes that could have been applied to the final meaning of government:
- “-ment” means “mind,” meaning that anything with the suffix “-ment” means it was connected to the mind.
- “-mentum” means “instrument,” meaning that anything with the suffix “-mentum” means it is an instrument of some kind.
In this case, it doesn’t have to be a musical instrument. It’s referring to using the government in a way to be able to direct and rule a country (which incidentally is precisely what the government is used for today).
Modern Meaning
As you can see from the development of the word, we now have “governer” and “mentum,” meaning “an instrument to direct.” Both of those phrases are Old French, though, so we need to modernize them.
“Governer” in Old French became “govern” in English, meaning “to direct or rule.” “Mentum” as a suffix became “-ment,” though it is still used to mean “instrument.”
We simply combined “govern” and “-ment” to end up with the result we have today. Now “government” still means “an instrument to direct or rule;” it’s just more streamlined and localized for English speakers to understand.
Why Do People Ask If “Government” Means “Mind Control”?
So, what exactly was it that made people believe “mind control” and “government” were synonymous?
“-Ment” as a suffix means “mind” in both Latin and Old French. People believed that was the suffix we used to develop “government.” However, we actually used the suffix “-mentum,” meaning instrument, and simply shortened it to suit our needs.
Of course, some people will never accept that explanation, but it is the truth.
Martin holds a Master’s degree in Finance and International Business. He has six years of experience in professional communication with clients, executives, and colleagues. Furthermore, he has teaching experience from Aarhus University. Martin has been featured as an expert in communication and teaching on Forbes and Shopify. Read more about Martin here.
I’ve heard some conspiracy theorists say that government, when broken down into its root Latin words, means «to control the mind».
I’m wondering if this is really true or not. Is it?
Edit: My own research.
Regarding the -ment suffix, Wiktionary says «from -mentum via Old French -ment«.
-mentum doesn’t support this claim, but -ment might: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/-ment#French
Only etymology 1 supports this claim. Etymology 2 links back to -mentum. I am unsure whether this morpheme, as used in government, draws from etymology 1 or 2.
RegDwigнt
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asked Mar 26, 2014 at 17:55
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Government comes from the term govern. From Old French governer, derived from Latin gubernare «to direct, rule, guide, govern», which is derived from the Greek kybernan (to pilot a ship).
Don’t believe the nonsense you read online. There is precedent that the suffix -ment is derived from the latin mente meaning mind in some languages, particularly Old French. Words deriving from the mente sense generally have the suffix -wise or -ly, and are adverbial in nature.
But, it is also from mentum — (instrument or medium). It is this second sense that was imported into English.
In English, -ment means: the means or result of an action. Per multiple sources -ment is derived from the Latin mentum via Old French. For example, the Online Etymological Dictionary is quite clear on this subject.
answered Mar 26, 2014 at 18:00
David MDavid M
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In French there are two etymologically separate suffixes –ment. First there is –ment from Latin mente, the ablative of mēns “mind”. This is used in French to form adverbs from adjectives, like lentement “slowly”. Then there is –ment from Latin –mentum, which forms abstract nouns from verbs. This is not connected with the words for “mind” but derives from the Indo-European noun suffix *-men- with -t- extension, as in testamentum. French gouvernement (whence English government) belongs to the latter.
answered Apr 14, 2014 at 17:29
fdbfdb
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The idea to explain the English word government or the French word gouvernement with Latin/Greek gubernare to govern and Latin mens/mentis mind is ridiculous. In Latin we have a lot of words with the suffix -men: flu-ere to flow and flu-men river.
And we have a lot more words with the suffix -mentum as in funda-mentum. Nobody would dare to maintain that -mentum has something to do with mind.
answered Apr 14, 2014 at 18:07
rogermuerogermue
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The term ‘government’ may refer to the manner or process of governing a country or a specific system we use for controlling a country. Government also means the group of people who control a country and make national decisions. In other words, the term may refer to a process, the system that is in place, or a group of people.
When Americans hear the word ‘government’ they usually think of the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. Britons, on the other hand, think of the Houses of Parliament in London.
According to the Oxford Living Dictionaries, the term has the following meanings:
1. The group of people with the authority to govern a country or state; a particular ministry in office.”
“2. The system by which a state or community is governed. 3. The action or manner of controlling or regulating a state, organization, or people.”
Etymology of government
Etymology is the study of the origin of words and how their meanings have evolved.
In the English language, the term has existed since the late fourteenth century with the meaning ‘act of government or ruling.’ In the 1550s, it acquired the meaning ‘system by which a thing, especially a state, is governed.’
The term comes from Old French Governement, which meant ‘control, direction, administration.’ In 1702, the English word also acquired the meaning ‘governing power in a given place.’
Government – group of people governing
When it means a group of people governing a country, the term is similar to ‘a clan.’ It aims to govern the whole family or nation with powers of military, financial, and civil laws.
Its main purpose is to protect and improve the welfare of its citizens. It also seeks to fulfill citizens’ needs for the betterment of the country.
Most governments consist of a legislature, executive, and judiciary.
Legislature
The legislature is a body of people who make, change, or repeal the country’s or state’s laws.
People often, especially Americans, refer to those who work in this the legislature as ‘lawmakers.’ Britons refer to them as MPs (Members of Parliament).
In a democracy, there are elections in which the people vote for their lawmakers. We refer to those who vote as the ‘electorate.’
Executive
The executive is the government organ that exercises authority in and holds responsibility for the governance of the country.
In the US, for example, the executive is the President, Vice President, and his or her Cabinet. In the UK, Canada, or Australia, it is the Prime Minister and his or her Cabinet.
Government Ministers also make up the executive.
The Australian Parliamentary Education Office says the following regarding the roles of the executive:
“Leaders of the executive governments of Australia and the US – the Prime Minister and the President – share their responsibilities with members of their respective Cabinets.”
“Each Cabinet member is a high-ranking member of the government and is responsible for the leadership of a government department.”
Judiciary
The judiciary or judicial system is the system of courts that interprets and applies legislation. In other words, the courts, judges, magistrates, etc. who interpret and apply the law in the name of the state. A magistrate is a volunteer judge who works in a magistrate court.
We also call this part of government the ‘court system‘ or ‘judicial branch.’
BusinessDictionary.com has the following meaning of judicial branch:
“One of the three primary branches of a government in most democratic countries the other two being executive and Legislative branches.”
“It includes the Chief Justice and all courts and agencies under his or her direct control to protect citizens.”
Capital ‘G’ or lower case ‘g’?
When we are talking about the specific Government of a nation, we use a capital ‘G.’ In other words, the body that decides a specific country’s policy.
If, on the other hand, we are referring to the government in general, we use a ‘g‘ in lower case form.
Look at these two examples:
– ‘The Government has just announced that it will raise the retirement age from 65 to 70 years.’ In this case, we are specific. So, we use a capital ‘G.’
– ‘In most countries, national and local government taxes are collected separately.’ Here, we use a lower case ‘g‘ because the term has a general meaning.
Civil servants and bureaucracy
Bureaucrats or civil servants are government workers too. However, they have not been elected.
If I need a new birth certificate, for example, I will communicate with civil servants rather than lawmakers.
Civil servants or bureaucrats make up the bureaucracy.
Pao L. Chang, Guest
Waking Times
The word government is a word that we hear all the time, so we are well aware of what this word implies. However, at deeper levels, most of us have no clue as to what the word government truly means. To find the deeper meanings of the word government, we need to research its origins and use the art of anagram to split it into two words.
The Occult Definition of the Word Government
The common and overt definition of the word government is “the form or system of rule by which a state, community, etc., is governed”.
Here is one of the legal definitions of the word government:
The system of polity in a state; that form of fundamental rules and principles by which a nation or state is governed, or by which individual members of a body politicare to regulate their social actions; a constitution, either written or unwritten, by which the rights and duties of citizens and public officers are prescribed and defined, as amonarchical government, a republican government, etc.
The word government originated from the Old French word governement, meaning “control, direction, administration”. To find the occult definition of the word government, you need to split it into two words, transforming the word government into “govern-ment” or “govern ment“.
One of the origins of the word govern is the Latin word gubernare, which translates to English as “to direct, rule, guide, govern”. The suffix ment has a few different origins. One of them comes from the Latin word ment, meaning “mind”.
Based on these occult definitions, the word government means “to rule the mind” or “govern the mind“. Throughout history, governments across the world have always used “mind control” techniques, such as subliminal messages and propaganda to condition us how to think. The purpose of this is to control how we think, so that they can rule our minds.
One of the most popular and effective mind control techniques that the government likes to use to rule our minds is mnemonic. For an informative article about mnemonic, read this article titled How Mnemonic is Used to Program and Control Your Mind.
One very important thing you need to know about the government is that it is a corporation. According to Black’s Law Dictionary 6th edition, a corporation is “an artificial person or legal entity created by or under the authority of the laws of a state.” Because the government is a corporation (artificial person), it is a fictitious entity that has no natural rights and power. Its main source of power comes from feeding on the energy of the people.
The Government Has No Power Without the People’s Support
Since the government needs the energy of the people to have power, it has no power without the support of the people. Unfortunately, most people have been brainwashed to think that the government has power over them. Whenever the government becomes tyrannical, all we need to do is remove our support and it will collapse on its own. This is how we can stop tyrannical governments without violent revolutions.
Because the government is an artificial person, it can not directly deal with a natural person (living, breathing person). To overcome this problem, the people who control the government, which are the leaders of the New World Order (NWO), created another artificial person. This artificial person is known as the legal name, which is the name on your birth certificate, driver’s license, etc.
To rule our minds and control us, the leaders of the NWO used their government to trick us to consent to play the legal name game. By participating in the legal name game, we unknowingly agree to be a corporation (artificial person). This allows the government to do business with us and have jurisdiction over us. Do you understand now why the word government means “to rule the mind”?
To learn more about the legal name game, read this empowering article titled The Legal Name Game to Enslave Your Soul.
Here are some great quotes from the article titled The U.S. Constitution Con: Why Freedom in the USA is an Illusion about the dangers of a corrupt government:
Criminals are a small minority in any age or community. And the harm they have dome to mankind is infinitesimal when compared to the horrors – the bloodshed, the wars, the persecution, the famines, the enslavements, the wholesale destruction – perpetrated by mankind’s governments. Potentially, a government is the most dangerous threat to man’s rights – When unlimited and unrestricted by individual rights, a government is men’s deadliest enemy.
… What, then, do they (Humans) want a government for? Not to regulate commerce; not to educate the people; not to teach religion; not to administer charity; not to make roads and railways; but simply to defend the natural rights of man – to protect person and property – to prevent the aggressions of the powerful upon the weak – in a word, to administer justice. This is the natural, the original, office of a government. It was not intended to do less: it ought not to be allowed to do more – (The Man Versus the State)
… It is unfortunately none too well understood that, just as the State has no money of its own, so it has no power of its own. All power it has is what society gives it, plus what it confiscates from time to time on one pretext or another; there is no other source from which State power can be drawn. Therefore every assumption of State power, whether by gift or seizure, leaves society with so much less power; there is never, nor can be, any strengthening of State power without a corresponding and roughly equivalent depletion of social power.
… Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience. Our problem is that numbers of people all over the world have obeyed the dictates of the leaders of their government and have gone to war, and millions have been killed because of this obedience…Our problem is that people are obedient all over the world in the face of poverty and starvation and stupidity, and war, and cruelty. Our problem is that people are obedient while the jails are full of petty thieves, and all the while the grand thieves are running the country. That’s our problem – Howard Zinn
About the Author
Pao L. Chang is the author and founder of OmniThought.org and EnergyFanatics.com. His main goal is to empower you with knowledge that is beyond the conventional paradigm to help free your mind and increase your spiritual well-being to a whole new level.
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