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Political
Terms and Concepts
Constitution
The Political term Constitution generally signifies a system of
laws established by practice, custom or decree for a given collectivity
of people generally consolidated in the form of a state for its
own guidance. In its ancient form Constitutions were frequently
laws defining relationships between citizens and their government.
In the more modern form the Evolutions of the modern constitution
has taken three distinct forms, first, as witnessed by Magna Carter
of 1215 declaring authority to govern in the hands of the Parliament.
This, the English Constitution, is unwritten and mandates attention
to common law, historical president being the guide for future advancement.
In Great Britain the Constitution is the whole body of the public
law, consuetudinary as well as statutory, which has grown up during
the course of ages and is continually being modified by the actions
of the general will as interpreted and expressed by the parliament
representatives of the nation. The Second form of the modern constitutions
can be appreciated by the American Constitution pursuant to the
Declaration of Independence of 1776 with its main objects being
to fix the limits and define the relationship of the legislative,
the judicial, and the executive powers of the individual power elites
and organisations that will rule. The American Constitution has
been emulated in many Continental countries since the formation
of the federal government of the United Sates of America or, at
all events, since the first French Revolution. The idea of a constitution
has been generally that of a body of written public law, promulgated
at once by the sovereign power. The most modern form of constitution
as exampled in German and Japan contains elements of the latter
and incorporates the laws them selves into a body of law known and
adhered to by all in the form of The Basic Law.
Democracy
Democracy is perhaps the oldest form of human government and can
be traced back to primitive man and tribal councils. It is a form
of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people
collectively, and is administered either directly or by, as found
in the modern form, their officers appointed by them. The implication
of democracy is that the common people in a state or society characterised
by recognition of equality or of rights and privileges, political
social or legal equality. In the classical period of the Athenians
the authority was held by the totality of the people and the administration
on a day-to-day bases left to a group of administrators answerable
to the group. The root from classical Greek can be traced to demos
meaning 'people' and kratos signifying 'strength'. In the modern
period the concept has been mutated and has evolved into the idea
of Representative Democracy which is the rule of elites or a de
facto oligopolistic plutocracy albeit theoretically gaining their
power from the population at large but screened handsomely from
giving constant account to, or maintaining any meaningful deliberation
with, that body.
Monarchy
A monarch is a form of government headed by a single monarch in
which power an authority resides as apposed to a republic in which
power and authority resides with the people or their representatives.
Monarchies in Europe include Norway, Sweden, Denmark, The Netherlands,
Belgium, The Untied Kingdom, Spain, Luxemburg, Liechtenstein, Monaco
and the Vatican.
Nation
A nation is a body of people marked off from others by common descent,
language, culture or historical traditions. In its modern albeit
incorrect usage it refers to people with an exhibited particular
state membership. In America there are native aboriginal tribes
of American Indians, which consist of sets of peoples that are correctly
termed respective nation, i.e. Algonquin, Iroquois, Sioux or Navaho
nations. Incorrectly these along with people of other ethnicities
living in America and under American rule are termed one political
nation. The former being the correct usage of the term, the latter
being a political construct. The root of the term is form the Latin
natives, nasci or natus, meinaint to 'be born'.
Plutocracy
A Plutocracy is a government by the wealthy, a ruling body or class
of rich men, the plutocrats, who are powerful because of their wealth.
The stem of the term is from the classical Greek, ploutos meaning
wealth. The American Constitution was formed under debate and influence
from people of the like of Alexander Hamilton who argued for a rule
of the wealthy, as their interests, the interests that they have
in the accumulation and maintenance of wealth, were just those interests
that would maintain stability in society.
Republic
A republic as apposed to a monarch is a form of government in which
the supreme power resides in the hands of the people and not as
in the latter, in the hands of a monarch. Examples of modern Republics
are The United States of America, The Republic of France, The Federal
Republic of German, the Republics of Finland, Latvia, Lithuania,
and Estonia, The Republics of Austria, Portugal and Greece and the
Republic of Italy. The entomological base of the term is found in
the Latin, respublica meaning commonwealth , res meaning affair
and publica meaning public.
State
From the Latin status, or statum, meaning 'to stand'. In its modern
form referring to a political entity with sovereign power over generally
both a portion of country and a group of people. In western Europe
are found in the modern period a series of nation-states such as
Denmark, that being a terrain known as the Danish peninsular of
the continental European mainland, a nation, the Danish people speaking
the language of Danish and the state, the government of the Danish
people, the latter being a monarchy, meaning having at its head
a monarch. There are nation-states with multiple nations incorporated
by states such as Belgium composed of the Wallonieans and the Flandonieans
speaking Dutch and French respectively inhabiting the western Continental
lowland terrain known as Belgium with a government in the form of
a single state monarchy.
Sovereignty
Sovereignty implies supremacy as in a Sovereign exercising pre-eminence
and independent power. The Sovereign has been traditionally a supreme
ruler or head, a monarch generally, excelling all others having
supreme power residing in itself, himself or herself. The term stems
through the Old French from the Latin super meaning 'above'
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