Political system
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Chapter 2 - Society
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Welcome to the Political system page
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Political systems are the formal and informal political processes by which decisions are made concerning the use, production and distribution of resources in any given society. Formal political institutions can determine the process for electing leaders; the roles and responsibilities of the executive and legislature; the organisation of political representation (through political parties); and the accountability and oversight of the state. Informal and customary political systems, norms and rules can operate within or alongside these formal political institutions. The development of democratic political systems that provide opportunities for all, including the poor, to influence decision-making, is a critical concern.
| Content source |
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| Scott, Z. and Mcloughlin, C., (2014). Political Systems: Topic Guide, Birmingham: GSDRC, University of Birmingham, UK |
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Core ideas
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Main current political systems
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| Democracy | Socialism | Communism | Dictatorship |
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| In a democracy, the community of people are considered to hold power over how they are governed. Kings and tyrants are seen as threats to the innate rights of the people. As such, all eligible citizens get equal say in decisions. | From each according to his ability, to each according to his contribution. Emphasis on profit being distributed among the society or workforce to complement individual wages/salaries. | From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs. Free-access to the articles of consumption is made possible by advances in technology that allow for super-abundance. | A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual: a dictator. |
| Free elections. Suffrage. Majority Rule. | Calculation in kind, Collective ownership, Cooperative common ownership, Economic democracy Economic planning, Equal opportunity, Free association, Industrial democracy, Input–output model, Internationalism, Labour voucher, Material balancing. | Centralized government, planned economy, dictatorship of the "proletariat", common ownership of the tools of production, no private property. equality between genders and all people, international focus. Usually anti-democratic with a 1-party system. | One leader, makes all of the peoples choices. |
| Democracies are meant to resist separation by class, politically or economically. Class distinctions can become pronounced, however, due to capitalist society. Varies from state to state. | Class distinctions are diminished. Status derived more from political distinctions than class distinctions. Some mobility. | All class distinctions are eliminated. A society in which everyone is both the owners of the means of production and their own employees. | |
| Democracies tend to be free-market economies. Policies that govern economics are chosen by the voters (or their elected representatives in a representative democracy). | The means of production are owned by public enterprises or cooperatives, and individuals are compensated based on the principle of individual contribution. Production may variously be coordinated through either economic planning or markets. | The means of production are held in common, negating the concept of ownership in capital goods. Production is organized to provide for human needs directly without any use for money. Communism is predicated upon a condition of material abundance. | Government control everything. |
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Political systems by 'power'
| Definition | Link to Wikipedia | Link to SEP | ||
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| Theocracy | God is ruling | Theocracy is a form of society in which one or more deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries, with executive and legislative power, who manage the government's daily affairs. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theocracy | |
| Autocracy | One person is ruling | Autocracy is a form of government in which absolute power is held by the head of state and government, known as an autocrat. It includes some forms of monarchy and all forms of dictatorship, while it is contrasted with democracy and feudalism. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autocracy | |
| Dictatorship | One person is ruling because of an emergency | The Latin word dictator originated in the early Roman Republic to refer to a constitutional office with "a temporary grant of absolute power to a leader to handle some emergency. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictatorship | |
| Oligarchy | A small group of people are ruling | Oligarchy (from Ancient Greek ὀλιγαρχία (oligarkhía) 'rule by few'; from ὀλίγος (olígos) 'few' and ἄρχω (árkhō) 'to rule, command') is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, religious, political, or military control. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligarchy | |
| Aristocracy | A specific small group of people are ruling | Aristocracy (from Ancient Greek ἀριστοκρατίᾱ (aristokratíā) 'rule of the best'; from ἄριστος (áristos) 'best' and κράτος (krátos) 'power, strength') is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristocracy | |
| Plutocracy | Wealth is ruling | A plutocracy (from Ancient Greek πλοῦτος (ploûtos) 'wealth' and κράτος (krátos) 'power') or plutarchy is a society that is ruled or controlled by people of great wealth or income. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutocracy | |
| Stratocracy | Military is ruling | Stratocracy is a form of government headed by military chiefs. The branches of government are administered by military forces, the government is legal under the laws of the jurisdiction at issue, and is usually carried out by military workers. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratocracy | |
| Feudalism | Who holds land is ruling | Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structuring society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feudalism | |
| Democracy | The population has the power in the state | Democracy (from Ancient Greek: δημοκρατία, romanized: dēmokratía, dēmos 'people' and kratos 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy | https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/democracy/ |
| Representative democracy | A diverse group of repesentatives of the people form government | Representative democracy places power in the hands of representatives who are elected by the people. Political parties often become central to this form of democracy if electoral systems require or encourage voters to vote for political parties or for candidates associated with political parties (as opposed to voting for individual representatives). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representative_democracy | |
| Communism | The people are the state (eventually no state is needed) | Communism (from Latin communis 'common, universal') is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange that allocates products in society based on need. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communism | |
| Military dictatorship | A military dictatorship, or a military regime, is a type of dictatorship in which power is held by one or more military officers. Military dictatorships are led by either a single military dictator, known as a strongman, or by a council of military officers known as a military junta. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_dictatorship |
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| Description | |
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| Kakistocracy | The Economist has chosen its word of the year 2024: "kakistocracy," the rule of bad or incompetent people. It's an old word that comes from the Greek "kakos", which means bad, and "kratein" which means to rule. The rule of bad people is not a new thing. History is filled with incompetent monarchs and leaders who made bad choices. |
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Political systems by 'ideology'
| Definition | Link to Wikipedia | Link to SEP | ||
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| Conservatism | Continuity of the social order | Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in which it appears. In Western culture, depending on the particular nation, conservatives seek to promote and preserve a range of institutions, such as the nuclear family, organized religion, the military, the nation-state, property rights, rule of law, aristocracy, and monarchy. Conservatives tend to favor institutions and practices that enhance social order and historical continuity. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservatism | https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/conservatism/ |
| Liberalism | Freedom of the individual | Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalism | https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/liberalism/ |
| Meritocracy | Power is coupled to acheivement | Meritocracy (merit, from Latin mereō, and -cracy, from Ancient Greek κράτος kratos 'strength, power') is the notion of a political system in which economic goods or political power are vested in individual people based on ability and talent, rather than wealth or social class. Advancement in such a system is based on performance, as measured through examination or demonstrated achievement. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meritocracy | https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/meritocracy/ |
| Socialism | Ownership of means of of production | Socialism is an economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes the economic, political, and social theories and movements associated with the implementation of such systems. Social ownership can take various forms, including public, community, collective, cooperative, or employee. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism | https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/socialism/ |
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