Government
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the government of parliamentary systems, see Executive (government).
Look up government in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
A government is "the organization, that is the governing authority of a political unit,"[1] "the ruling power in a political society,"[2] and the apparatus through which a governing body functions and exercises authority.[3] "Government, with the authority to make laws, to adjudicate disputes, and to issue administrative decisions, and with a monopoly of authorized force where it fails to persuade, is an indispensable means, proximately, to the peace of communal life."[4] The necessity of government derives from the fact the people need to live in communities, yet personal autonomy must be constrained in these communities.[4]
A state of sufficient size and complexity will have different layers or levels of government: local, regional and national.
