WE THE PEOPLE?

So You Think You Know Our Government?

Below is a short list of definitions for types of government. The list is "short" as there are over 200 words that describe various forms of government. As you look at the list, it is obvious that American government is not represented in every definition. But, how many definitions do you feel would apply? Several will probably be your answer.
Like so many problems that we are faced with these days, the idea of change is never as simple or easy as would be expected. An overhaul of American government would ask the imposing question: “OK, where do you want to start?”

anarchy
1: absence of government
2: a state of lawlessness or political disorder due to the absence of governmental authority
3: a utopian society of individuals who enjoy complete freedom without government

aristocracy
1: government by the best individuals or by a small privileged class
2: a government in which power is vested in a minority consisting of those believed to be best qualified
3: a governing body or upper class usually made up of a hereditary nobility
4: the aggregate of those believed to be superior

autocracy
1: the authority or rule of an autocrat
2: government in which one person possesses unlimited power

bureaucracy
1: a body of non-elective government officials; an administrative policy-making group
2: government characterized by specialization of functions, adherence to fixed rules and a hierarchy of authority
3: a system of administration marked by officialism, red tape and proliferation

democracy
1: government by the people; especially: rule of the majority
2: a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections
3: the common people especially when constituting the source of political authority
4: the absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges

monarchy
1: undivided rule or absolute sovereignty by a single person
2: a government having a hereditary chief of state with life tenure and powers varying from nominal to absolute

oligarchy
1: government by the few
2: a government in which a small group exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish purposes

plutocracy
1: government by the wealthy
2: a controlling class of the wealthy

technocracy
1: government by technicians
2: management of society by technical experts

theocracy
1: government of a state by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided