Class Notes NCERT Solutions for CBSE Students
Question: What is a government? What are its functions?
Answer: The government is the body that governs or administers a political unit like a country or state.
- The government has the authority to make laws, settle disputes, maintain security and enforce public order and discipline.
- It also provides and maintains public facilities like roads, supply of water and electricity and public transport.
Question: What are the different types of government? Explain each, with example.
Answer: Different types of government are:
- Monarchy: It is a hereditary form of government in which a single ruler (king/ queen, emperor) rules the country. It was the most common form of government during the medieval period. Today there are few monarchies left in the world. Example: Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
- Oligarchy: It is a form of government in which a small group of people holds all the power. Example: Ancient Rome, South Africa when it was ruled only the whites.
- Theocracy: It is a form of government in which a group of religious leaders rule in the name of God and where governance is based on the tenets of that religion. For example: Iran, Vatican City.
- Dictatorship: It is a form of government where a person or group of people, who have seized power by force, rule (often military dictatorship). Example: Germany under Hitler, Pakistan under the rule of General Zia ul Haq.
- Democracy: It is a form of government in which the people govern the country, sometimes directly and sometimes indirectly through their elected representatives. Example: Brazil, United States of America.
Question: Differentiate between totalitarian and democratic governments.
Answer: Difference is as follows:
Totalitarian Government
Democratic Government
1. Monarchies, oligarchies, theocracies and dictatorships are usually totalitarian regimes.
1. The term democracy comes from the Greek word demokratos meaning rule by common people./one_half_last]
2. In totalitarian governments, the state or the monarch exercises absolute control and regulates every aspect of citizen’s lives.
2. The Us president Abrahim Lincoln (1809 – 1865)defined democracy as a “government of the people, by the people, for the people.3. People have no participation in the making and implementation of laws.
3. It is a form of government where the people elect their representatives, who in turn govern the nation.
4. Monarchies, though much reduced in power and influence, still exist in around 28 countries around the world like in Japan, Morocco, Lesotho, Britain, Denmark, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Muscut.
4. In a democracy, people have all the power in their hands, which they express through elections and public opinion.
5. Most of the Monarchies today are constitutional monarchies, i.e., the monarchs are just figureheads, and the actual running of the country is done by an elected parliament, like in Britain.
5. They have a constitution which guarantees basic personal and political rights, free and fair elections, and independent courts of laws. Democracies can be of two types- Direct and indirect.
Please also tell about political democracy.