Government and Politics in Sociology

A government is an institution entrusted with making and enforcing the rules of a society as
well as with regulating relations with other societies. In order to be considered a government, a
ruling body must be recognized as such by the people it purports to govern. A person or group
that considers itself the leading body of a society has no power if the members of the society do
not recognize the person or group as such.

Most people generally agree that anarchy, or the absence of organized government, does not
facilitate a desirable living environment for society, but it is much harder for individuals to agree
upon the particulars of how a population should be governed. Throughout history, various forms
of government have evolved to suit the needs of changing populations and mindsets, each with
pros and cons. Today, members of Western society hold that democracy is the most just and
stable form of government, although former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once
declared to the House of Commons, “Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of
government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time” (Shapiro
2006).
Monarchy
Even though people in the United States tend to be most aware of Great Britain’s royals, many
other nations also recognize kings, queens, princes, princesses, and other figures with official
royal titles. The power held by these positions varies from one country to another. Strictly
speaking, a monarchy is a government in which a single person (a monarch) rules until he or she
dies or abdicates the throne. Usually, a monarch claims the rights to the title by way of hereditary
succession or as a result of some sort of divine appointment or calling. As mentioned above, the
monarchies of most modern nations are ceremonial remnants of tradition, and individuals who
hold titles in such sovereignties are often aristocratic figureheads.
A few nations today, however, are run by governments wherein a monarch has absolute or
unmitigated power. Such nations are called absolute monarchies. Although governments and
regimes are constantly changing across the global landscape, it is generally safe to say that most
modern absolute monarchies are concentrated in the Middle East and Africa. The small, oil-rich
nation of Oman, for instance, is an example of an absolute monarchy. In this nation, Sultan
Qaboos bin Said ruled from the 1970s until his death in 2020, when his cousin, Haitham bin
Tariq, became Sultan. The Sultan creates all laws, appoints all judges, and has no formal check
on their power. Living conditions and opportunities for Oman’s citizens have improved to the
point that the UN ranked the nation as the most improved in the world in the past (UNDP 2010),
but many citizens who live under the reign of an absolute ruler must contend with oppressive or
unfair policies that are installed based on the unchecked whims or political agendas of that
leader.
In today’s global political climate, monarchies far more often take the form of constitutional
monarchies, governments of nations that recognize monarchs but require these figures to abide
by the laws of a greater constitution. Many countries that are now constitutional monarchies
evolved from governments that were once considered absolute monarchies. In most cases,
constitutional monarchies, such as Great Britain and Canada, feature elected prime ministers
whose leadership role is far more involved and significant than that of its titled monarchs. In
spite of their limited authority, monarchs endure in such governments because people enjoy their
ceremonial significance and the pageantry of their rites.
Oligarchy
The power in an oligarchy is held by a small, elite group. Unlike in a monarchy, members of an
oligarchy do not necessarily achieve their statuses based on ties to noble ancestry. Rather, they
may ascend to positions of power because of military might, economic power, or similar
circumstances.
The concept of oligarchy is somewhat elusive; rarely does a society openly define itself as an
oligarchy. Generally, the word carries negative connotations and conjures notions of a corrupt
group whose members make unfair policy decisions in order to maintain their privileged
positions. Many modern nations that claim to be democracies are really oligarchies. In fact, some
prominent journalists, such as Paul Krugman, who won a Nobele laureate prize in economics,
have labeled the United States an oligarchy, pointing to the influence of large corporations and
Wall Street executives on U.S. policy (Krugman 2011). Other political analysts assert that all
democracies are really just “elected oligarchies,” or systems in which citizens must vote for an
individual who is part of a pool of candidates who come from the society’s elite ruling class
(Winters 2011).
Oligarchies have existed throughout history, and today many consider Russia an example of
oligarchic political structure. After the fall of communism, groups of business owners captured
control of this nation’s natural resources and have used the opportunity to expand their wealth
and political influence. Once an oligarchic power structure has been established, it can be very
difficult for middle- and lower-class citizens to advance their socioeconomic status.
Is the United States an Oligarchy?
The American Gilded Age saw the rise and dominance of ultra-rich families such as the
Vanderbilts, Rockefellers, and Carnegies, and the wealthy often indulged in absurd luxuries. One
example is a lavish dinner party hosted for a pampered pet dog who attended wearing a $15,000
diamond collar (PBS Online 1999). At the same time, most Americans barely scraped by, living
below what was considered the poverty level.
Some scholars believe that the United States has now embarked on a second gilded age, pointing
out that the 400 wealthiest American families now own more than the ‘lower’ 150 million
Americans put together (Zucman 2019), and that the top 1% own more than the bottom 50%.
Wealthy individuals and corporations are major political donors. Based on campaign finance
reform legislation in 1971 and 2002, political campaign contributions were regulated and
limited; however, the 2012 Supreme Court decision in the case of Citizens United versus the
Federal Election Commission repealed many of those restrictions. The Court ruled that
contributions of corporations and unions to Political Action Committees (PACs) are a form of
free speech that cannot be abridged and so cannot be limited or disclosed. Opponents believe this
is potentially a step in promoting oligarchy in the United States; the ultra-wealthy and those who
control the purse strings of large corporations and unions will, in effect, be able to elect their
candidate of choice through their unlimited spending power, as well as influence policy
decisions, appointments to nonelected government jobs, and other forms of political power.
Krugman (2011) says, “We have a society in which money is increasingly concentrated in the
hands of a few people, and in which that concentration of income and wealth threatens to make
us a democracy in name only.”
How will that threat be fully assessed? And just because a small group of people can exert
influence, do they? And does that influence work?
Wealthy people, and the companies and or industries they represent, use lobbying groups, think
tanks, and legislative consulting group to directly influence policy. Investigations have compiled
the widespread use and promotion of "model legislation," in which a lobbyist or industry group
writes a bill that lawmakers then promote on their own. USA Today/Arizona Republic found that
from 2010-18, over 10,000 bills were pushed through legislatures after being written and
promoted by outside groups. These laws often thwart the will of the voters, or place the interests
of a very small group of people above those of everyone else. For example, the interestingly
titled Asbestos Transparency Bill was written by the asbestos industry to help protect it from
lawsuits (O'Dell 2019). The same organizations also identify, train, manage, and compensate
expert witnesses to testify on their behalf in front of various legislative and regulatory bodies.
Does it work? Political scientists studied who benefits from laws and policies, and found that 78
percent of Congress's decisions benefit the top 10 percent of Americans. Note that those same
laws sometimes benefit other Americans as well. But only 5 percent of laws and policies have
been shown to benefit the larger 90 percent of people while not benefiting the wealthiest
Americans (Represent.US 2014).
Dictatorship
Power in a dictatorship is held by a single person (or a very small group) that wields complete
and absolute authority over a government and population. Like some absolute monarchies,
dictatorships may be corrupt and seek to limit or even eradicate the liberties of the general
population. Dictators use a variety of means to perpetuate their authority. Economic and military
might, as well as intimidation and brutality are often foremost among their tactics; individuals
are less likely to rebel when they are starving and fearful. Many dictators start out as military
leaders and are conditioned to the use of violence against opposition.
Some dictators also possess the personal appeal that Max Weber identified with a charismatic
leader. Subjects of such a dictator may believe that the leader has special ability or authority and
may be willing to submit to his or her authority. The late Kim Jong-Il, North Korean dictator,
and his successor, Kim Jong-Un, exemplify this type of charismatic dictatorship.
Some dictatorships do not align themselves with any particular belief system or ideology; the
goal of this type of regime is usually limited to preserving the authority of the dictator. A
totalitarian dictatorship is even more oppressive and attempts to control all aspects of its
subjects’ lives; including occupation, religious beliefs, and number of children permitted in each
family. Citizens may be forced to publicly demonstrate their faith in the regime by participating
in marches and demonstrations.
Some “benevolent” dictators, such as Napoleon and Anwar Sadat, are credited with advancing
their people’s standard of living or exercising a moderate amount of evenhandedness. Others
grossly abuse their power. Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Cambodia’s Pol Pot,
and Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, for instance, are heads of state who earned a reputation for
leading through fear and intimidation.
Democracy
A democracy is a form of government that strives to provide all citizens with an equal voice, or
vote, in determining state policy, regardless of their level of socioeconomic status. Another
important fundamental of the democratic state is the establishment and governance of a just and
comprehensive constitution that delineates the roles and responsibilities of leaders and citizens
alike.
Democracies, in general, ensure certain basic rights for their citizens. First and foremost, citizens
are free to organize political parties and hold elections. Leaders, once elected, must abide by the
terms of the given nation’s constitution and are limited in the powers they can exercise, as well
as in the length of the duration of their terms. Most democratic societies also champion freedom
of individual speech, the press, and assembly, and they prohibit unlawful imprisonment. Of
course, even in a democratic society, the government constrains citizens' total freedom to act
however they wish. A democratically elected government does this by passing laws and writing
regulations that, at least ideally, reflect the will of the majority of its people.
Although the United States champions the democratic ideology, it is not a “pure” democracy. In
a purely democratic society, all citizens would vote on all proposed legislation, and this is not
how laws are passed in the United States. There is a practical reason for this: a pure democracy
would be hard to implement. Thus, the United States is a constitution-based federal republic in
which citizens elect representatives to make policy decisions on their behalf. The term
representative democracy, which is virtually synonymous with republic, can also be used to
describe a government in which citizens elect representatives to promote policies that favor their
interests. In the United States, representatives are elected at local and state levels, and the votes
of the Electoral College determine who will hold the office of president. Each of the three
branches of the U.S. government—the executive, judicial, and legislative—is held in check by
the other branches.