Topic 3 - What Is Good Government?
"Different forms of government shape the functionality of communities and bring rise to changes and evolution of the political system."
Lesson 1 - The Political Spectrum - It gives you wings! Click for PowerPoint
Click for powerpoint
Should children be allowed to vote?
Should the government provide healthcare to people?
How far should a government help or control its people?
These are all valid and important questions with no real right answer. What makes this really hard to get to grips with is that you can't really answer any of these questions fully with a "yes" or "no".
This is where the idea of a Political Spectrum becomes useful. A spectrum is a word used to describe a variety of viewpoints.
The political spectrum can be roughly represented as this;
Political Spectrum Diagram
Task A
1. Click on this link.
2. Make a copy of the diagram for yourself (File- Make a Copy). Move the text boxes to where you think they fit best - do they ALL go to the extreme edges? Or are some along the line?
3. Insert your Google Drawing into your LiveDoc.
Task B
Standard
1. Where do you think your views lie on the Political Spectrum?
Explain using a clear example from your Google Drawing and use phrases like, "this is important because."
Challenge
1. How consistent are your political views on the Political Spectrum? E.g. Free healthcare, voting rights, free education, tax rates etc.
Explain where you might have differing views using at least two examples (you don't have to just stick to the ones given above)
Keywords this lesson
Political Spectrum - A phrase used to describe a range of opinions about how a government should function
Rugged Individualism - A society that is theoretically set up so that the harder you work, the richer you get. The government won't help you, or stop you.
Socialism - A society that is set up so that people work for the betterment of everyone, including themselves. The government should help this happen.
Lesson 2 - Should a Democracy be Fair or Efficient?
Click for Lesson PowerPoint
How should a democratic country function? Do you think it's more important to hear everyones view, or choose someone who roughly fits your ideas?
The aim this lesson is to understand the advantages and disadvantages of the two types of democracy.
Task 1
1. Make a copy of either the Standard (click me) or the Challenge (click me) task.
2. Use the information below (and anything else you find on the web!) to move the statements to where you feel they best fit.
3. Insert the GoogleDrawing into your LiveDoc!
We'll use America as an example to understand.
First Past the Post
America uses the First Past The Post system of democracy to choose its Presidents.
The two major parties fight over each individual state (or constituency). If they get a majority of votes in a state, it means they win that state - but it doesn't mean they can elect their Presidential candidate! You can only become President if you win a majority of States.
This works efficiently because there is always a clear majority.
However, this does not necessarily represent all viewpoints across the nation! Some states have more people than others, some states are huge, some are small. None of that is considered here- the only thing that matters is the party that wins that state.
The results of the 2012 election.
The Democrats (in blue) won the Election, even though it looks like a greater areas of red (The Republicans) on the map. However, many of these large states have low levels of population - a clear, efficient majority....but is it far?
Proportional Representation
Now, if America wanted to make its democracy a little fairer, it might consider representing ALL views across the entire nation. This would mean the American would not vote as states (constituencies), but have a single ballot paper for the entire country with EVERY party represented.
This would mean that specific interest parties that would have no hope of ever winning a state might have small amounts of support from the across the entire nation and thus be a part of government. It would mean that more than two parties would have a chance of electing their Presidential choice.
However, it would be hard to show a clear majority in this system - parties would have to join together and make compromises to gain a majority and make a decision!
This system would be extremely fair, but all political decisions might take a long time. This would make it inefficient.
Austria uses Proportional Representation - Look how many views are represented across the nation!
List of Political Parties in Austria;
Social Democratic Party of Austria
Austrian People's Party
Freedom Party of Austria
The Greens – The Green Alternative
Team Stronach
NEOS – The New Austria
Alliance for the Future of Austria
Citizens' Forum Austria
Communist Party of Austria
Forward Tyrol
List Burgenland
Animal Rights Party
Black-Yellow Alliance
Christian Electoral Community
Christian Party of Austria
Enotna Lista
EU Exit Party
Left
Neutral Free Austria Federation
Party of Labour of Austria
Pirate Party of Austria
Save Austria
Socialist Left Party
The Social Liberals
Young Liberals Austria
Lesson 3 - How Can Democratic Nations Avoid Corruption?Click for PowerPointCorruption is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain.
1. What is corruption?
2. Why is this a problem in a democracy?
Baron de Montesquieu
-French philosopher who lived in the 1700s
-Theorised the "separation of powers" in a democratic system to avoid corruption
-Power should be divided between- The Executive, The Legislature and The Judiciary
Task
1. Explain who Baron de Montesquieu was in 2 sentences.
The idea here is that if any one branch of government becomes too powerful, the other two can work together to limit its power and potential for corruption.
Task: Teacher-Learner
1. Choose who will become an “expert” on each of the three branches of government - Executive, Legislative, Judicial
2. You will have 5mins to read and summarise the information in this link (also on web page) in 4-5 explained bullet points.
3. Executive branch will “teach” first. Teachers need to close their laptops! You will have 5 mins to teach the “learners” in your group what you know! Learners should aim to explain in their own words what they are being taught in 4-5 bullet points.
4. We will switch round teachers every 5mins!
Checks and Balances
The idea behind this is that if one branch of government becomes too powerful, the other two can act against them.
1. Explain why Checks and Balances are important in a democratic system
2. What might happen if someone was a member of the executive branch of government and one of the others?
Keywords
Corruption - Corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain.
Lesson 4 - How Much Power Should a King Have?
-Theorised the "separation of powers" in a democratic system to avoid corruption
-Power should be divided between- The Executive, The Legislature and The Judiciary
Task
1. Explain who Baron de Montesquieu was in 2 sentences.
The idea here is that if any one branch of government becomes too powerful, the other two can work together to limit its power and potential for corruption.
Task: Teacher-Learner
1. Choose who will become an “expert” on each of the three branches of government - Executive, Legislative, Judicial
2. You will have 5mins to read and summarise the information in this link (also on web page) in 4-5 explained bullet points.
3. Executive branch will “teach” first. Teachers need to close their laptops! You will have 5 mins to teach the “learners” in your group what you know! Learners should aim to explain in their own words what they are being taught in 4-5 bullet points.
4. We will switch round teachers every 5mins!
Checks and Balances
The idea behind this is that if one branch of government becomes too powerful, the other two can act against them.
1. Explain why Checks and Balances are important in a democratic system
2. What might happen if someone was a member of the executive branch of government and one of the others?
Keywords
Corruption - Corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain.
Lesson 4 - How Much Power Should a King Have?
Lesson 5 - Gross National Happiness: Is a Monarch necessarily corrupt?
Click for news article
Why may a monarchy not be necessarily corrupt?
This is King Charles I of Britain. He ruled Britain from 1625 to 1649
Big questions were considered under Charles' rule, the biggest one being how much power a King should really hold. Charles himself, as well as many in Britain, believed in the Divine Right of Kings.
Let's see what issues this caused and whether you could do a better job!
Rules for decision game
- You will be asked to decide upon some of the same issues that Charles did in his reign as King.
- You MUST make a decision for each one, skipping questions is not allowed!
- The decision you take is up to you, but it must try to do as many of the following things as possible;
1. Keep control of your Kingdom
2. Keep the Kingdom calm and peaceful
3. Keep the Kingdom rich!
Click for Questions (also being displayed on the board!)
Click for answer sheet - please make a copy for yourself!
Keywords
Divine Right - The source of a King or Queen's power is often stated to come from God. The word "Divine" means "God" here.
Lesson 5 - Gross National Happiness: Is a Monarch necessarily corrupt?Click for news article
Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein
The small European nation of Liechtenstein voted in 2003 to restore absolute power to their King - seems odd right?
Is a monarchy necessarily a bad thing? There are many that argue that, perhaps, monarchy is the best form of government.
Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck - King of Bhutan (Below). Moved the nation to a democracy...which they didn't like and asked for him to be absolute King again! He said no...
Poster Task
With reference to the two case studies above or any other examples, explain whether a monarchy is necessarily a bad thing. Use pictures, examples, and make sure you put together your explanations in an analytical way. You may put your arguments in any way you want but a recommended structure is this one.
Links
List of current Monarchies on the world
Advantages of monarchies to get you started
Lesson 6 - How involved should religion be in running a nation?Click for PowerPoint
We learned in a previous lesson the importance of separating power in a government between the Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislature. This, theoretically, reduces the chance of corruption and the mismanagement of power.
However, there is one force that extends beyond National borders and often wields global power; religion.
Then religion effectively commands a country, we call that nation a Theocracy.
Many European nations in the Medieval period had to contend with the power of the Catholic Church acting as their legislature, as well as their judiciary. The bible was interpreted by Church leaders and people were tried according to methods dictated by the Church.
With reference to the two case studies above or any other examples, explain whether a monarchy is necessarily a bad thing. Use pictures, examples, and make sure you put together your explanations in an analytical way. You may put your arguments in any way you want but a recommended structure is this one.
Links
List of current Monarchies on the world
Advantages of monarchies to get you started
Lesson 6 - How involved should religion be in running a nation?Click for PowerPoint
We learned in a previous lesson the importance of separating power in a government between the Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislature. This, theoretically, reduces the chance of corruption and the mismanagement of power.
However, there is one force that extends beyond National borders and often wields global power; religion.
Then religion effectively commands a country, we call that nation a Theocracy.
Many European nations in the Medieval period had to contend with the power of the Catholic Church acting as their legislature, as well as their judiciary. The bible was interpreted by Church leaders and people were tried according to methods dictated by the Church.
Task - Trial by Ordeal: God decides!
The idea here was that the accused would undergo some kind of ordeal. God would be expected to intervene if the accused were innocent and ensure that they made it through the ordeal.
Use the following link to complete the table;
Ordeal What did this involve?
Ordeal by Fire
Ordeal by Water
Ordeal of the Cross
Ordeal of Ingestion
Ordeal of Poison
Task - Executive orders from Religious leaders
1. Given the belief most religions have in some form of afterlife, why might a law or rule from a religious leader carry extra significance to a population living in a theocracy?
2. What might the consequences be of protest and dissent in a theocracy? How would that be justified?
Keywords
Theocracy - A government consisting of religious leaders ruling in the name of God.
Lesson 7 - Do Political Extremes work? Case Study - CommunismClick for PowerPoint
How do you feel about sharing?
On the plus side, if you someone has something really great, it's great to have them share that with you - totally fair right?
On the other side, if you own something really great that you worked hard for and were forced to share it...less great?
On a very basic level, Communism works in a similar way.
Assessment is found HERE