The world is made up of billions of people, and 1 countries. Because of this, it is easy to understand that there are so many ideas and customs, there are many different governments that have formed. Now, there are about 8 different countries. Out of all of these, there are 7 major governmental systems and ideas still around today.
Democracy
Overview
A Democracy is where laws and choices are decided from the majority, where everyone has an equal vote and a say in what decisions are made. Unlike a Republic, this form of government does not have representatives who vote for them.
Countries with Democracy
Some of the current Pure Democracies in the world today include Greece and Switzerland. A pure democracy isn't as widely used as others mainly because it is very hard to get all of the votes because everyone has to vote.
Pros/Cons
Although there is a hassle with voting and decision making in Pure Democracies, it is exceptionally fair to everyone, because they all have a say in what ends up happening.
Dictatorship
Overview
Dictatorship is when one person or image takes authority over the government, reaching higher power above the citizens, where the citizens cannot vote on laws and cannot elect new authority.
Countries with Dictatorship
Throughout the world, there are many countries with dictatorship like government. Some of these include Zimbabwe, North Korea, and Nigeria.
Pros/Cons
In a dictatorship, nobody can just elect someone else if they don't like their current leader. The would have to overthrow the current government in order to create a new authority.
Communism
Overview
Communism is an idea and system of government where everyone is supposed to share all wealth no matter job, or lack thereof. Communism usually ends up being a very small amount of people or maybe just one person in charge, and usually can fit into the realm of dictatorship.
Countries with Communism
Cuba is a very good example of what communism was, because it lasted for a while and when it ended it started to gain more ideas like capitalism. From 1959 until around 2008, Cuba was an entirely communist country. This actually helped bring down the illiterate rate, getting rid of racism, and improving public health. However, people could not own businesses and were all payed equally for their jobs. This meant that nobody could make money outside of the government pay check you would get every month. However, all that started to change when the father of communism in Cuba, Fidel Castro, grew ill and gave power to his brother, Raul Castro. In 2011, economic reform took place, allowing people in Cuba to become entrepreneurs. Although the government still controls many of the necessities like power, education, and health care, people can now build farms or businesses and make money, which is really good.
Pros/Cons
One of the major pros is that everyone has fair earnings and has the same things available to them. The downside is usually in a true communist country will not let you make any extra money through a free market.
Republic
Overview
A Democratic Republic, or Republic, is a government where instead of people voting directly for a leader, vote for representatives who then vote for leaders and laws. In america, we vote for the electoral college members who vote for our president.
Countries
One of the main countries with a Democratic Republic is the United States Of America. The US has three branches, the Executive, Legislature, and Judicial, each keeping the others in check. Every four years, people over the age of 18 vote for who they want to be the next president. However, it isn't as simple as that. These votes are counted up in each state, and each state has a set number of electoral votes. Whichever president wins that state has their electoral voters vote. Although these electoral members can vote for anyone, they usually end up voting on who picked them.
Pros/Cons
Republics are very fair to all citizens in a sense that everyone can vote for whoever they want, and even write in a name, and electoral members can vote for whoever they want. However, one president could have completely different views than the other candidate and could win with 50.1% of votes.
Monarchy
Overview
A Monarchy is a type of government where there is one ruler, usually determined from family, who rules over. Sometimes, there is also a constitution or a parliament who makes laws along with the monarch.
Countries with a Monarchy
There are a lot of countries with a monarchy. Some of these include the UK, Malaysia, Norway, and Thailand.
Pros/Cons
With a Parliamentary Monarchy, you still have a legislature like body of people, with the prime minister being like the executive, but in a monarchy, you cannot change the monarch by electing someone else. It always runs in the family.
Oligarchy
Overview
An Oligarchy Government is when very few people are in control, but only those people. Sometimes they are voted for and sometimes they rise into power.
Countries with an Oligarchy Governmental System
There are many countries that are debated as to if they are an Oligarchy, Dictatorship, or Communist Country. One of these is the former Soviet Union, as many people also had power underneath Stalin, who could make decisions as well.
Pros/Cons
Although The former Soviet Union can be considered an Oligarchy, many other forms of it are represented with a hunger games style split between powers, where people are put in power for a specific district or resource. This can be good, but it really depends on how it is executed.
Socialism
Overview
Socialism is the idea that instead of owner of land or companies getting money and deciding what happens, the working class decides what happens with money for the benefit of all. Socialists usually point out that a true socialist country would be a true democracy, because unlike democracies around today, where the people who have the most wealth usually have more say in large decisions, everyone has a say.
Countries with Socialism
Although there are no pure socialist nations, many nations have taken parts and pieces from socialism into their own, like the US, the UK, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and many more.
Pros/Cons
Although with socialism, everyone gets a say, this does not allow for much capitalism or success through hard work, because no matter how hard you work, you will get the same equal say as someone who stays at the bottom level job.
Anarchy
Overview
Anarchy is the lack of a central government governing all citizens in a country. In this form of government, or lack thereof, people have the choice to follow whatever moral rules and regulations they want. It's like a create your own terms and services page. Although I bet they already have those and they are just buried deep inside them so nobody finds them, because nobody reads those.
Countries with Anarchy
Almost all of the time, anarchy isn't a very commonly used governmental system when creating a country. Anarchy can happen after a civil war, but usually after a few years some form takes over. There are currently no countries with an anarchy system right now.
Could Anarchy Work?
This question instigates a lot of different answers from people. Some people feel like anarchy wouldn't work because people will just go out killing and stealing at all times, while some think the total opposite and almost all crime will stop because of anarchy. I decided I wanted to take a deeper look, and I found an actual place in america where anarchy exists.
Slab City, California is about 4 miles from the nearest place with law enforcement, and is in the complete desert. Slab City is pretty much an RV Park, but with no parking fees, bathrooms, electricity, running water, or police. Here, people basically can do whatever they want.
Although Slab City is in the United States, which is a Republic, it does show that there can be a working anarchy system where people can live without rules most of the time and function.
The problem with this is Slab City is not very big. If we scaled this up to the size of America, the RV's would be HUGE, but also, it wouldn't work the same way as a small city. This small city only houses people wanting to be in what is know as the 'Last Free Place In America'. In the US, many people would not want this, especially people in high power, and if the US was an anarchy, people would instantly take it over.
In Conclusion
So, in Conclusion, although Anarchy would be very hard to create in large countries like the US because of the disapproval some would have towards it, small 'experiments', if you want to call them, do show that anarchy could be a possibility.
Credits:
Created with images by Jonas B - "Anarchy" • Hans - "flag switzerland red" • Abode of Chaos - "Kim Jong Un, painted portrait DDC_7877001" • GregMontani - "cuba flag cuban" • Beverly & Pack - "Public Domain, American Flag, Old Glory, Red White Blue, Stars & Stripes, The Star Spangled Banner" • Ivy105 - "british flag uk" • Free Grunge Textures - www.freestock.ca - "USSR Grunge Flag" • Free Grunge Textures - www.freestock.ca - "Anarchy Grunge Flag" • liquene - "Jesus"