Government

Government. The word "Government" denotes (1) the regulation of a political society; (2) those to whom this regulation is entrusted, or, in a more limited sense, those who take the chief part in the conduct of public affairs.

A political community, as Austin pointed out, is analysable into - on the one hand, a "sovereign" who issues laws sanctioned by a penalty in case of disobedience (such laws being distinguished from other commands as "positive laws"), and, on the other hand, a subject body which owes obedience to those laws. The sovereign may consist of one person or of more than one. A sovereign body may delegate its powers to a so-called "government," and at the same time retain the ultimate control over political action. It follows from this analysis that such an expression as "local self-government" is correct only in a limited sense, since the local body does not exercise sovereign authority. The sphere of government comprises both the affairs of a community itself and its relations with other communities. The control of these two departments or of the constituent parts of either of them may be vested in different bodies, so that the sovereign body proper becomes still more complex. This is the case when a state forms part of a federal union with a central authority, or occupies a dependent or semi-independent position under a more powerful state.

Origin of Government. Ancient nations attributed their constitutions to the enactments of some semi-mythical legislator, as, for example, Solon and Lycurgus among the Greeks. The political struggles of the 17th century, combined with the growing spirit of inquiry, resulted in various attempts tc explain the origin of government in general. The most important was the theory of the Social Contract, first promulgated by Hobbes (q.v.). The speculations of the time were all coloured by the desire to advocate some particular form of government. Hobbes wrote in support of the royal authority, and the same political views gave rise to the very different doctrine of the divine right of kings. Locke (q.v.), on the other hand, modified the theory of the Social Contract, so as to make it an argument for the maintenance of popular rights. In the 18th century the theory was revived in a new form by Rousseteu (q.v.). In recent years the comparative method of inquiry has been applied to the study of, early societies. The results so far obtained go to prove that the state resulted from a union of families or tribes under the hypothesis (often an almost avowed fiction) of descent from a common ancestor. Hence the rulers were supposed to represent this ancestor, and analogies from the organisation of the family were imported into the state.

Forms of Government. The organisation of most modern states is highly complex, including many institutions which represent earlier stages of national development and have lost much of their original significance, but are retained either through mere attachment to old traditions or in order to secure steady and uniform progress in the future. The sovereign power is thus divided unequally amongst several constituent parts, or those who really possess it occupy a subordinate place in the theory and external framework of the government, so that it becomes difficult to find any general principle on which to classify the states now existing.

If due allowance is made for altered conditions, the classification of the ancient philosophers, especially Aristotle, which was based on the numerical proportion between the rulers and the ruled, may still be considered applicable. Aristotle distinguished between the rule of one man, of the few, and of the many, and each of these is good or bad according as to whether it aims at the welfare of the community or the private interest of the ruler or rulers. We have thus three pairs of converse types - Monarchy and Tyranny, Aristocracy and Oligarchy, Commonwealth (" Politia") and Democracy. The rule of the few becomes an oligarchy when power falls into the hands of a small rich class, and that of the many a democracy when the government is carried on in the interests of the needy, who have nothing to lose and are always eager for change. The defects of Aristotle's exposition are the result of the political circumstances of his age. He had no notion of constitutional progress or representative government, and the value of his views, especially in regard to democracy, was further impaired by the fact that they were drawn from a state of society in which most manual labour was carried on by slaves.

A proper understanding of the present systems of government can be acquired only by the study of constitutional history, which shows how the sovereign body in each country has gradually assumed its present form. The prevailing type is "constitutional monarchy" - an expression which is really self-contradictory, since monarchy implies a single ruler, and in this case the free action of the crown is limited not only by the terms of the constitution, but by the functions of those to whom it assigns a share in the sovereign power. Since the Revolution, England has been the model of a "constitutional monarchy," and her institutions have been imitated by various other countries. The tendency of this form of government seems to be towards democracy. The United States of America furnish a good example of a republic resting on a federal basis. Another principle which has been active in modern times is that known as Ceesarism, in which the rule of an autocrat is supposed to be sanctioned by the consent of the governed.

Sphere of Government. The free discussion of political measures which has accompanied the growth of democracy has naturally raised the general question: "What matters ought to be subject to Government control ?" On this question there are two schools: the supporters of Laissez faire (q.v.), who would limit State interference to the protection of life, liberty, and property, and 1 hose who advocate "paternal government" or State Socialism. [Socialism.] Laissez-faire became the ruling principle during the epoch which witnessed the revolutionary movement throughout Europe and the growth of the present industrial system, but recently there has been a strong reaction in favour of paternal government.