Government has been around for a long time. From patriarchal leadership within family to the democratic system America has now, government has changed and evolved throughout history, sometimes better, and sometimes for the worst.
Beginnings of Government
Government had a very early start, being one of the earliest inventions of man. There are many different theories about the true origin of government, but President Woodrow Wilson had a very interesting and valid hypothesis for this.
"The patriarchal family is that in which descent is traced to a common male ancestor, through a direct male line, and in which the authority of rule vests in the eldest living male ascendant." (Woodrow Wilson, history-world.org)
Eventually, these small families grouped together and had one leader, becoming tribes. These tribes eventually grouped together to create larger states as these tribes began t0 settle down, which started the forms of government we have now.
Controlling The Assets
One of the main reasons government was formed was because leaders wanted to control the prices of certain things. At this time, people were finally starting to use currency to buy things. The government that was created rewarded crops they could control, in order to make more money and control the poor and commoners.
“Modern states also claim to be the sole source of law. But Historically, states mainly replaced customary law with imposed law. There is a great deal of law all around us that is not a product of the state,for law is a byproduct of voluntary interaction.” (Tom G. Palmer, cato.org)
"For The People"
In 507 BC, The Athenian leader Cleisthenes introduced a type of government he called demokratia, or “rule by the people”. This system had three main bodies: one for making laws, one for representing the people, and one for justifying laws. Each system kept each other in check.
Around 460 B.C., The democracy slowly evolved into aristocracy, which is when the best or highest ruled, instead of those the people. Democracy wouldn't be re-introduced until The United States of America, in 1776.
Not Built In a Day
One of the next great governments was the roman empire. The roman empire spanned so large, it could conquer just by brute force. Roman Law also influenced a lot of legal systems in the western world today, like the democratic republic governmental system seen in America today.
"The Romans displayed the awesome ability to conquer and hold large swathes of territory for hundreds or even thousands of years, if the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) is accounted for. But it was not held together by brute force alone; once conquered, people aspired to become Roman, which meant participating in a sophisticated, urbane, classical culture.” (Akhilesh Pillalamarri, nationalinterest.org)
Mahatma Gandhi
One of the most well known and politically influential person was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, otherwise known as Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi lived in South Africa for 21 years, battling the racial segregation and apartheid there.
"He founded a political movement, known as the Natal Indian Congress, and developed his theoretical belief in non-violent civil protest into a tangible political stance, when he opposed the introduction of registration for all Indians, within South Africa, via non-cooperation with the relevant civic authorities.”(History Staff, History.com)
Although Mahatma Gandhi was eventually assassinated, his legacy goes on, and many other famous and influential people used his teachings to better fight against certain injustices in their governments, like Martin Luther King Jr.
Marxism
In the late 1900's, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels create the Communist Manifesto. This was a 45 page pamphlet about their ideas of a new governmental and economical system, that would take away the exploitation of workers in the normal capitalist system of economy used by modern western societies.
"In a communist society, all private ownership would be abolished, and the means of production would belong to the entire community. In the communist movement, a popular slogan stated that everyone gave according to their abilities and received according to their needs. Thus, the needs of a society would be put above and beyond the specific needs of an individual." (E. Roberts, cs.Sanford.edu)
Bibliography
The State, The Earliest Forms Of Government. (n.d.). Retrieved December 06, 2016, from http://history-world.org/govori1.htm
Palmer, T. G. (2012). The Origins of State and Government. Retrieved December 6, 2016, from https://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/catosletterv10n4.pdf
History.com Staff. (2010). Ancient Greek Democracy. Retrieved December 06, 2016, from http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/ancient-greece-democracy
Pillalamarri, A., Grigas, A., Prahladan, V., & Chang, G. G. (2015, February 22). The 5 Most Powerful Empires in History. Retrieved December 06, 2016, from http://nationalinterest.org/feature/the-5-most-powerful-empires-history-12296
History Staff. (2015). Mahatma Gandhi. Retrieved December 06, 2016, from http://www.history.co.uk/biographies/mahatma-gandhi
Roberts, E. (2007). Communism: History and Background. Retrieved December 06, 2016, from https://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/cs181/projects/2007-08/communism-computing-china/
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