How should a government, country, group of people, or humanity be run. This seems to be a difficult thing to figure out. Throughout history we have seen a small group of people swear they have some kind of special gift that enables them to rule over others. Some have taken power by force. However, their greatest power is convincing others to fight for them. From kings & Queens to Holy Men, they all claim to be divinely gifted to live above the rest. Today, the Holy Men have been joined by Holy Women and together they preach "prosperity." The kings and queens have mostly been replaced with what we like to call the 1%. The elite among us. They try their best to convince us we have to fight, that we have to compete, that we have to be afraid of each other. One of the most profound things I have ever heard was in reference to the reason millennials see things so different than boomers. The reason boomers are so aggressive and competitive is they were taught life was a pyramid. you had to fight your way to the top and only the toughest survive. Millennials grew up with the web. They learned that although that monitor looked great, without each component of that monitor working perfectly that monitor was useless. The concept of each component no matter its size is important to the overall quality of the product. The screen and the casing are probably the most looked at part, but their not actually the most important. The most important part is typically hidden. The mother board and all the various circuit boards are the most essential parts of this and all other electronic components. One compliments the other and as one improves so does the other. We are told that competition leads to innovation and better workers. Personally, I don't believe that. Competition leads to bitterness and mistrust. Passionate people are the most innovative and the best workers. When you get multiple passionate people together on the same project, the possibilities are endless. For too long the focus has been on money and power and not on beauty, life betterment for all, and taking care of our planet and everything on it. It's time we put aside our differences, make amends for the harm we've done and work together so our children will have a better future.

Historically, the strongest ruled the weak and bloodlines were important. Someone could simply become a ruler by being born to the right person. Many dynasty's literally had children named king simply because they were of noble birth and only a male of noble birth could be named king. So, how did all this start, how did we get to where we are, & what should our future government look like?

Primitive government-Agricultural society

While humanity's numbers were few, there wasn't any need for a government. The only form of ruler and ruled occurred within a family. The largest social groups were barely more than loose associations of families, in which every elder or family head had an equal voice. There were very few chieftans and the ones that did exist had limited power. Even to this day there are some regions in the world, such as the Amazonian jungle in South America or the upper Nile River Valley in Africa where this pre-political form of social organization can be found.

As agriculture became more prevalent, things began to change. In Sumer or current day Iraq, the invention of irrigation greatly changed things. As people began to control the flow of water down the Tigris and Euphrates rivers there became a need for a central authority. Fields needed to be watered downstream and upstream. A calendar needed to be invented to know when the spring floods were expected. The more these skills evolved, the more society evolved. In early Sumer, the heads of the 1st cities gradually assumed the special attributes of monarchy, or the rule of one, & the village council gradually undertook a division of labor, so that some specialized as priests and others as warriors, farmers, or tax gatherers. As organization grew more complex, so did religion: an elaborate system of worship was developed with an elaborate family of gods who they hoped would protect the city from attack, natural disaster, and from anyone questioning the political arrangements necessary by the ruler group.

Unfortunately, the young cities of Sumer quarreled over the distribution of the rivers' water, and their wealth caught the attention of the nomads outside the cities. War, inevitably reared its ugly head, and military leadership quickly became as important an element of kingship as divine sanction. Throughout the long history of monarchy it was important for kings not to neglect their military duties. The drive for bigger empires led to a need to find more ways to pay for troops and weapons often done through plundering an enemy and the conquest of new lands.

The Spread of Civilization

For 4-5 millennia monarchy's run by the strongest and smartest military minds run civilized societies from Britian to the China Sea. However, there was a continuous risk from the barbarian nomads who roamed the steppe lands of central Eurasia. These nomads had retained the loose and simple institutions of primitive societies, however they did manage to evolve just as rapidly and successfully as the cities themselves. The steppe was horse country and the barbarians of all epochs used their bows and arrows to create a swift and deadly light cavalry. They were constantly battling each other for pasturage and the losers were driven west, south and east. When they met civilization they often overcame the defenses that they had. However, the nomads' military challenge was never enough to overturn civilization entirely. The invaders typically adopted civilized customs and there were even long periods of peace. It was during these times that the ingenuity of humankind was at its greatest. In the end, whether in Europe, the middle East, India, or China war always led to a strengthening of government.

Although war brought great destruction and death, it also required the assertion of authority over long distances, the raising of huge armies, and the gathering of taxes to pay for them. All of these things helped foster literacy and numeracy and helped develop what we now call bureaucracy-government by officials. Although barbarian challenges occasionally destroyed a civilization it never lasted long. With time bureaucratic imperialism always came back. Most of the time when one city or group of people rose to dominate its neighbors, they simply incorporated their bureaucracy into their own. Conquerors came and went, but as long as the battles happened elsewhere, life for their subjects, whether peasants or townspeople, hardly changed at all.

Due to all monarchy's lacking the resources to rule all their subjects directly, from time to time experiments happened. As long as local rulers and local communities paid their tribute on time, they were left to govern themselves. The effort required to mount a military operation at a distance from the imperial center was so great that even if they did not pay, only in exceptional circumstances would anything be done about it. Even when something is done they were not always successful. This coupled with primitive communications led many people in borderlands to have extensive freedom to do as they pleased.

Greece The city-state
The Greeks built on the achievements of earlier people and even took over the first bureaucratic monarchy to appear on European soil, the Minoan civilization of the island of Crete. The dark ages of Greece lasted from about 1200BCE to the 8th century BCE, by this time the Greeks had adopted the Phoenician alphabet and began funding overseas colonies. They also brought forth the city-state (polis in Greek, this is where the term politics comes from.) These city-states were the community structure of ancient Greece. Every city-state had an urban center and the surrounding countryside. A typical city consisted of outer walls for protection and a public space that included temples and government buildings. These temples and government buildings were typically built on top or a hill or acropolis. Most of the city-states population lived in the city. There were over 1,000 city-states in ancient Greece and each city-state ruled itself. Each polis had its own governing philosophy and interests. A good example of this is to look at the two most well known city-states Sparta and Athens. Sparta was ruled by two kings and a council of elders and their main focus was maintaining a strong military. Athens was ruled by a democracy where every male citizen had the right to vote. Athens maintained a strong army and they valued education and art. There were a couple reasons why the Greeks kept to their city-states rather than have one big monarchy like many others. One major issue was the landscape that featured rocky, mountainous land and many islands. These physical barriers isolated population centers and the sea was often the easiest way to get from one place to another. The second reason was the Greek aristocracy fought to maintain each city-states' independence and prevent any potential tyrants.

Monarchy, oligarchy, democracy

The Athenians believed the bureaucratic monarchies of the East had nothing to teach them. If self-defense was required then the citizens that fought for their polis were expected to be given some measure of respect and autonomy. In order to protect that freedom, government was necessary. Therefore, the central question of politics was, how to distribute power amongst the citizens. Should they be ruled by the few or the many? Most favored aristocracy or the rule of the best. For example; Plato believed that politics was a virtue that only few could every thoroughly understand and obtain. He believed only those trained few should rule as "philosopher kings." Aristotle believed that the fruit of civilization could only be gathered among a leisure class supported by the labors of the many. In return for their leisure, the gentry would agree to sacrifice some of their time to the tedious business of governing. Neither of these types of oligarchy worked out for the citizens of Athens and its allies. In return for playing their parts as soldiers or sailors, ordinary Athenians insisted on controlling the government. This resulted in an imperfect but impressive government. The people were often mislead by demagogues. They were convinced they were the greatest and their society was based largely on slave labor, wanton imperial adventure abroad, and denying Athenian citizenship to anyone not born into it no mater how much they contributed to the city's greatness. The Athenian democracy foundations were narrow, shallow and fragile. However, seldom since has civilized humanity surpassed democratic Athens, and until the end the city was satisfactorily governed by law and by popular decision. Its fall wasn't due to any flaw, but to an overwhelming force that was mounted against it.

Etruscan Decline
There's an old Roman myth that says Romulus Found Rome in 753 BCE and became its 1st king. The 3 kings that followed him were all Roman. Instead of the crown being passed down within the family, when a Roman king died, the Senate- who were a group of wealthy landowners- would choose their next king. They were even allowed to choose someone outside of Rome, and unfortunately after the 3rd Roman king died that's exactly what they did. However, Etruscan rule, was short lived. The Roman natives grew tired of their mistreatment. Although it's true that the Etruscans used theri engineers and artists to beautify Rome, Rman natives were taxed to pay for it and they were being asked to abandon their farms to serve in the Etruscan/Roman army. By 509 BCE, Greek opposition to Roman expansion in the south and resentment at home led to the overthrow of the Etruscan kings of Rome.

After taking Rome back they instituted a form of government known as a republic. A republic is a type of government in which the citizens vote for their leaders. How the Romans defined a citizen evolved over time within the Roman Republic and changed significantly near its end. In the beginning all males over 15 who were descended from the original tribes or Rome were citizens. These citizens distinguished themselves from everyone else by wearing a toga, usually white. During the Empire, the emperors wore purple togas to establish themselves as 'first citizen.' Citizenship varied greatly. For instance, a full citizen was able to vote, marry freeborn people, and practice commerce. Some citizens couldn't vote or hild public office, but maintained other rights, and a 3rd type could vote and practice commerce, but could not hold office or marry freeborn women. During its late stage, male slaves who were granted freedom could become full citizens. Around 90 B.C.E., non-Roman allies could gain the rights of citizenship and by 212 C.E, under the Edict of Caracalla, all free people of the Roman Empire could become citizens.

The Republic’s Government
The Early Roman Republic government was complicated and primarily dominated by the aristocrats (wealthy people). These people were known as patricians. Lower-class citizens were known as plebeians. Tradition dictated that these two groups should not be married. Men and women were citizens in the Republic, but only men were allowed to vote.

The Republic established a tripartite government or a three part government in order to establish a system of check s and balances that was designed to stop any one part of the government from establishing too much power. The head of the Roman government was two leaders called consuls. These two people were patricians who shared control of the government. They only served for a year and one consul headed the army and the other headed the rest of the government. Each consul could veto, or reject, the other consul's decision. This was done to prevent one of them from becoming too much like a king or dictator. The republic also had two legislative bodies that worked to make laws. The 1st was the Senate. The Senate was made of 300 patrician men who were not elected. Instead, they were appointed by the consuls. Once someone was a member of the senate they had that position for life. Senators advised the consuls, passed laws, and approved building projects. The 2nd legislative body was the Assembly. Plebeians made up the Assembly. The Assembly voted on laws, however the Senate could block their votes. Even though the Assembly had limited power, every year they were allowed to vote on which two Roman senators would serve as consuls. The plepeians had all the duties of citizens from paying taxes to serving in the army, but they felt misrepresented in the government. In 494 BCE the plebeians threatened to go on strike. For the next 200 years, this threat was a common bargaining tool for them. If they went on strike this meant they would quit working and refuse to serve in the army. They even threatened to leave the city and set up their own republic. This scared the Roman senate so much that over time they abolished slavery as a punishment for unpaid debts, changed marriage laws to allow patricians and plebeians to wed, set up tribunes, and created a written record of the laws. The Tribune's job was to advise the Senate on the interests of the plebeians and to protect their rights. The Tribune was able to stop the Roman Senate from making a law by simply shouting 'Veto.' However, the real power in Rome remained in the hands of a few wealthy families.

The Rule of Law
As a result of the wealthy Roman's still maintaining more privilege, plebeians demanded that Rome's laws be written down. As a result, One of the Roman Republics most innovative things was established, the notion or equality under the law. In 449 B.C.E. government leaders wrote down their laws onto 12 tablets. They were quite harsh by today's standards, but they did guarantee every citizen equal treatment under the law. and ensured that the judges followed them
When Rome took over other countries, they developed a new set of laws called the Law of Nations. This new set of laws listed principles, or ideas, for justice. Rome's legal system treated everyone equally and many wealthy Romans who were not used to obeying law at all didn't like the 'rule of law.' Romans took a unique approach to the lands they conquered. Instead of ruling them, they invited them to become citizens. Once citizens they received the same legal rights as everyone else.
Overtime Julius Caesar took over and was eventually assassinated and Rome never quite recovered. After the fall of Rome, Europe fell into what we now call the dark ages where Castles ruled and eventually we see the emergence of Feudalism which is the pre-cursor to what we call Capitalism.

Today, there are 10 common types of government.

Monarchy

This is probably one of the oldest and most well known types of government. This is a power system that appoints a person as head of state for life or until abdication. Traditionally the authority will be passed down trough a succession line that is related to bloodline and birth order within the ruling royal family. There are 2 types of monarchies: constitutional and absolute. Constitutional limits the monarch's power to what's in their constitution. Absolute gives a monarch unlimited power.

Real-world Example

Today we see 45 nations with a form of monarchy although the concept has become increasingly diluted with the evolution of democratic principles. Monarchs in countries like Morocco, Oman, & Saudi Arabia, still have far-reaching public autiority. However, In the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth II's role as monarch is symbolic.

Aristocracy

This is a form of government where a small, elite ruling class often referred to as aristocrats, have power over those in lower socioeconomic strata. Members of this group were typically chosen based on their education, upbringing, and genetic or family history. Aristocracies typically connected wealth and ethnicity with the ability and right to rule.

Real-World Example

Aristocracy originated in ancient Greece. Aristocracies were the dominant governments during most medieval and modern periods across Europe. Aristocrats led major countries, including Britain, Germany, and Russia, until World War I.

Oligarchy

This is a form of government where a collection of individuals rules over a nation. A specific set of qualities, such as wealth, heredity, and race are used to give small groups of people power. Oligarchies often have authoritative rulers and an absence of democratic practices or individual rights.

Real-World Example

The government that ruled South Africa from 1948-1991 was a racially constructed oligarchy. The minority white population ruled the majority Black population and imposed segregation by controlling policy, public administration, and law enforcement.

Eventually an anti-apartheid movement led the country to adopt a liberal democracy and gave all ethnic and linguistic groups in South Africa political representation.

Theocracy

This is a form of government where a specific religious ideoligy determins the leadership, laws, and customs. In most situations there are little to no distinction between scriptural laws and legal code. Religious clergy are typically the ones found in leadership roles often including the highest office in the nation.

Real-World Example

Iran is the most powerful theocratic state in the world today. The Ayatollahs or Shiite religious leaders, rule the country. There is a 'supreme leader' who serves as head of state, delegates authority to other religious leaders, and presides over the elected president. The Sharia is the Islamic faith's primary legal doctrine and dictates the country's legal, judiciary, and administrative codes.

Colonialism

This is a form of government where a nation extends its sovereignty over other territories. This typically involved a nation's rule beyond its borders and ruling over indigenous populations while exploiting their resources. The colonizer would install its economy, culture, religious order, diseases, and government form to strengthen its authority.

Real-World Example

During the 15th century, European monarchies launched an age of nautical exploration that led to several notable colonial governments. The British, French, Spanish, and Dutch colonists all spread their influence and authority throughout the new world. They proceeded to dismantle and eradicate entire cultures in their fight for new land.

Totalitarianism

This is a form of government in which the ruling party recognizes no limitations on its power. Often a single figure holds power and maintains authority through widespread surveillance, control over mass media, intimidating demonstrations of paramilitary or police power, and suppression of protest, activism, or political opposition.

Real-World Example

North Korea may label itself as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, in reality its actions are that of a totalitarian state. Kim Jong-un rules with singular and unchallenged authority, commanding his public without political opposition. Anyone who criticizes or tries to protest against his public policies are crimes punishable by death.

Military Dictatorship

This is a form of government in which a nation is ruled by a single authority with absolute power and no democratic process. The head of state usually leads the nation's armed forces and typically comes to power in a time of upheaval. They use their armed forces to establish their brand of law and order and suppress the people's rights.

Real-World Example

There are around 50 nations in the world with a dictator. One exaple would be Thailand. Here, General Prayut Chan-o-cha took power in 2014 following widespread protests against the government. Chan-o-cha declared martial law, dissolved the nation's senate, and placed himself in control. Thailand has maintained a dictatorial military rule. There is a military junta, called the National Council for Peace and Order, that is everything but peaceful. They impose nationwide curfews, forbid political gatherings, threatens arrest for political opponents or activists, controls the media, and enforces widespread internet censorship.

Communism

This is a form of government in which a centralized form of government led by a single party that is often authoritarian in its rule. This was inspired by German philosopher Karl Marx. Communist states replace private prperty and a profit-based economy with public ownership and communal control of economic production, such as labor, capital goods, and natural resources. All citizens are considered classless and their only use is to distribute goods and services as needed.

Real-World Example

One of the most well known former Communist countries was the Soviet Union from 1922-1991. Most of today's communist states embrace Marxism-Leninism, a communist ideology based on Marx and Russian revolutionary and politician Vladimir Lenin's doctrines. Countries that retain single-party Marxist-Leninist rulership include Cuba, Laos, Vietnam, and the People's Republic of China.

Democracy

This is a form of government in which the people choose leadership. The main goal of this government is to govern through fair representation and prevent abuses of power. This system requires discourse, debate, and compromise to satisfy the broadest possible number of public interests, leading to majority rule.

Real-World Example

The United States has was established as a democracy and still is to this day. However, capitalism has helped to show some major flaws in the system. When companies and rich individuals are allowed to buy politicians and sell unlimited amounts of propaganda the illusion of choice is what you get or as I have heard it said 2 sides of the same coin.

Socialism

This is a form of government in which cooperation is encouraged over competition among citizens. Citizens communally own the means of production and distribution of goods and services, while a centralized government manages it. Everyone benefits from and contributes to the system according to their needs and ability.

Real-Life Example

The Scandinavian nations of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. They all adhere to socialist policies that combine free-market capitalism with extensive public works, including free healthcare, free education, a comprehensive welfare state, and high percentages of unionized workers. This approach combines the collective nature of communism with the private ownership and competitiveness of capitalism.

Now, what kind of Government is best has been and is still being heavily debated to this day. Naturally the country I currently reside in, the United States, believes it's current form that it adopted and enhanced from the Romans is the best. However, records show that the Scandinavian countries that utilize a more socialistic democracy instead of a capitalistic democracy are a lot happier. Democracy by itself is a good thing. The problem we tend to face is greed. When you allow a small amount of people to gain power and enable them to rule over others then bad things tend to happen. In order to better understand what's wrong with the United States compared to the Scandinavian countries we need to break down how our government is run and more importantly how Politics & Money work together to enrich the rich and destroy the poor!