Government has a fundamental role in maintaining order, promoting fairness and protecting individual rights in society. Yet, globalization and technological advancements have reshaped the nature of governments, calling into question how they are best structured to face new challenges.
Governments have a variety of functions that range from law enforcement and tax collection to social security and regulating the economy. In a democracy, they are the people’s representatives and servants. Their authority comes from the collective body of citizens and their primary goal is to ensure the common good. This is why they protect individual freedoms and privileges and limit the power of some entities.
A government’s structure is often based on the separation of powers between an executive, legislature and judiciary. The legislative and executive branches create laws, whereas the judiciary interprets and applies them. The President nominates Supreme Court judges, federal judges and department secretaries and heads of agencies, but the Senate must give its advice and consent on their appointments (see our infographic). Bills affecting more than one state or region must be passed by both houses of Congress in the legislative branch, and the House and Senate can vote to override presidential vetoes and pass the bills again with a two-thirds majority.
A government allocates funds at all levels to pay for things like state colleges and universities, national parks and maintenance of highways and bridges. It also spends on things like incarceration and welfare, which includes pensions, disability and unemployment benefits. These services are paid for by taxes, which are collected on the incomes of people and businesses.