In political science , statism or etatism (from French état 'state') is the doctrine that the political authority of the state is legitimate to some degree. This may include economic and social policy , especially in regard to taxation and the means of production .
120-478: While in use since the 1850s, the term statism gained significant usage in American political discourse throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Opposition to statism is termed anti-statism or anarchism . The latter is usually characterized by a complete rejection of all hierarchical rulership. Statism can take many forms, from small government to big government . Minarchism is a political philosophy that prefers
240-416: A capitalist market economy with strong regulatory oversight and extensive interventions into markets. Another is that of active collaboration of capitalist and socialist visions. Yet another definition is apolitical in nature, strictly referring to an economy containing a mixture of private enterprise with public enterprise. Alternatively, a mixed economy can refer to a reformist transitionary phase to
360-577: A constitutional federal republic . The three distinct branches share powers : the U.S. Congress which forms the legislative branch, a bicameral legislative body comprising the House of Representatives and the Senate ; the executive branch , which is headed by the president of the United States , who serves as the country's head of state and government ; and the judicial branch , composed of
480-483: A faithless elector ). Both federal and state laws regulate elections. The United States Constitution defines (to a basic extent) how federal elections are held, in Article One and Article Two and various amendments . State law regulates most aspects of electoral law, including primaries, the eligibility of voters (beyond the basic constitutional definition), the running of each state's electoral college, and
600-543: A fascist corporatist framework, referred to as a third position that ostensibly aims to be a middle-ground between socialism and capitalism by mediating labor and business disputes to promote national unity. 20th-century fascist regimes in Italy and Germany adopted large public works programs to stimulate their economies and state interventionism in largely private sector -dominated economies to promote re-armament and national interests. During World War II , Germany implemented
720-473: A governor , a legislative body, and a judicial branch. At the local level, governments are found in counties or county-equivalents , and beneath them individual municipalities , townships , school districts , and special districts . Officials are popularly elected at the federal, state and local levels, with the major exception being the President, who is instead elected indirectly by the people through
840-459: A market economy with elements of a planned economy , markets with state interventionism , or private enterprise with public enterprise . Common to all mixed economies is a combination of free-market (particularly the elements of neoliberalism ) principles and principles of socialism . While there is no single definition of a mixed economy, one definition is about a mixture of markets with state interventionism, referring specifically to
960-475: A national bank to promote the growth of productive enterprises. During this period, the United States grew into the largest economy in the world, surpassing the United Kingdom by 1880. The social market economy is the economic policy of modern Germany that steers a middle path between the goals of social democracy and capitalism within the framework of a private market economy and aims at maintaining
1080-405: A socialist economy that allows a substantial role for private enterprise and contracting within a dominant economic framework of public ownership. This can extend to a Soviet-type planned economy that has been reformed to incorporate a greater role for markets in the allocation of factors of production . The idea behind a mixed economy, as advocated by John Maynard Keynes and several others,
1200-491: A sole commissioner , who is assisted by boards to supervise taxes and elections. Town or township governments are organized local governments authorized in the state constitutions and statutes of 20 Northeastern and Midwestern states, established as minor civil divisions to provide general government for a geographic subdivision of a county where there is no municipality. In New York, Wisconsin and New England, these county subdivisions are called towns . In many other states,
1320-531: A "new form" of mixed economy. He refers back to Pope Pius XI 's statement that government "should supply help to the members of the social body, but may never destroy or absorb them". Hollenbach writes that a socially just mixed economy involves labor, management, and the state working together through a pluralistic system that distributes economic power widely. Pope Francis has criticised neoliberalism throughout his papacy and encouraged state welfare programs for "the redistribution of wealth , looking out for
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#17327726594331440-488: A balance between a high rate of economic growth , low inflation, low levels of unemployment, good working conditions, and public welfare and public services by using state intervention. Under its influence, Germany emerged from desolation and defeat to become an industrial giant within the European Union . This type of mixed economy specifically refers to a mixture of private and public ownership of industry and
1560-621: A candidate for office, but deciding who will be the party's candidate in the general election is usually done in primaries open to voters who register as Democrats or Republicans. Furthermore, elected officials who fail to "toe the party line" because of constituent opposition said line and "cross the aisle" to vote with the opposition have (relatively) little to fear from their party. Parties have state or federal committees that act as hubs for fundraising and campaigning (see Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee ) and separate campaign committees that work to elect candidates at
1680-596: A combination of socialism and liberal democracy) as part of the post-war consensus , a mixed economy is in practice a form of capitalism where most industries are privately owned but there is a number of utilities and essential services under public ownership , usually around 15 to 20 percent. In the post-war era, Western European social democracy became associated with this economic model. As an economic ideal, mixed economies are supported by people of various political persuasions, in particular social democrats. The contemporary capitalist welfare state has been described as
1800-449: A conceptualization of subsidiarity as a "bottom-up concept" that is "rooted in recognition of a common humanity, not in the political equivalent of noblese oblige ". Although fascism is primarily a political ideology that stresses the importance of cultural and social issues over economics, it is generally supportive of a broadly capitalistic mixed economy. It supports state interventionism into markets and private enterprise, alongside
1920-511: A defined area, generally corresponding to a population center rather than one of a set of areas into which a county is divided. The category includes those governments designated as cities, boroughs (except in Alaska ), towns (except in Minnesota and Wisconsin), and villages. This concept corresponds roughly to the " incorporated places" that are recognized in by the U.S. Census Bureau, although
2040-516: A large state sector from 1945 until 1986, mixing a substantial amount of state-owned enterprises and nationalized firms with private enterprises. Following the Chinese economic reforms initiated in 1978, the Chinese economy has reformed its state-owned enterprises and allowed greater scope for private enterprises to operate alongside the state and collective sectors. In the 1990s, the central government concentrated its ownership in strategic sectors of
2160-416: A legitimate or necessary role within the framework of a capitalist economy by intervening in markets, regulating against overreaches of private sector industry and either providing or subsidizing goods and services not adequately produced by the market. State socialism broadly refers to forms of socialism based on state ownership of the means of production and state-directed allocation of resources. It
2280-401: A market economy contained numerous state-run or nationalized enterprises, this would not make the economy mixed because the existence of such organizations does not alter the fundamental characteristics of the market economy. These publicly owned enterprises would still be subject to market sovereignty as they would have to acquire capital goods through markets, strive to maximize profits, or at
2400-657: A mass base, although appeals for small donations over the Internet have been successful. Opponents of campaign finance laws allege they interfere with the First Amendment 's guarantee of free speech. Even when laws are upheld, the complication of compliance with the First Amendment requires careful and cautious drafting of legislation, leading to laws that are still fairly limited in scope, especially in comparison to those of other developed democracies such as
2520-462: A minimal state such as a night-watchman state to protect people from aggression , theft , breach of contract and fraud with the military , police and courts . This may also include fire departments , prisons and other functions. The welfare state is another form within the spectrum of statism. Authoritarian philosophies view a strong, authoritative state as required to legislate or enforce morality and cultural practices. Totalitarianism
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#17327726594332640-437: A mix of public and private ownership of enterprises in the economy and is unconcerned with political forms and public policy. Alternatively, it refers to a mixture of economic planning and markets for the allocation of resources. The term mixed economy arose in the context of political debate in the United Kingdom in the postwar period, although the set of policies later associated with the term had been advocated from at least
2760-425: A mixed economy based on the predominance of private property and a minority of essential utilities and public services under public ownership. As a result, social democracy became associated with Keynesian economics , state interventionism , and the welfare state . Social democratic governments in practice largely maintain the capitalist mode of production ( factor markets , private property , and wage labor ) under
2880-468: A mixed economy on a national scale. The American System initially proposed by the first United States Secretary of the Treasury , Alexander Hamilton , and supported by later American leaders such as Henry Clay , John C Calhoun , and Daniel Webster , exhibited the traits of a mixed economy combining protectionism , laissez-faire , and infrastructure spending. After 1851, Napoleon III began
3000-469: A mixed economy, and pledge to reform capitalism and make society more egalitarian and democratic. This meaning of a mixed economy refers to a combination of market forces with state intervention in the form of regulations, macroeconomic policies and social welfare interventions aimed at improving market outcomes. As such, this type of mixed economy falls under the framework of a capitalistic market economy, with macroeconomic interventions aimed at promoting
3120-610: A mixed system of state-owned enterprises , cooperatives , and private enterprises would be necessary for a long period before capitalism would evolve of its own accord into socialism. Following the Russian Civil War , Vladimir Lenin adopted the New Economic Policy in the Soviet Union ; the introduction of a mixed economy serving as a temporary expedient for rebuilding the nation. The policy eased
3240-632: A mixture of private and public enterprise. It can include capitalist economies with indicative macroeconomic planning policies and socialist planned economies that introduced market forces into their economies such as in Hungary's Goulash Communism , which inaugurated the New Economic Mechanism reforms in 1968 that introduced market processes into its planned economy. Under this system, firms were still publicly owned but not subject to physical production targets and output quotas specified by
3360-526: A national plan. Firms were attached to state ministries that had the power to merge, dissolve and reorganize them and which established the firm's operating sector. Enterprises had to acquire their inputs and sell their outputs in markets, eventually eroding away at the Soviet-style planned economy. Dirigisme was an economic policy initiated under Charles de Gaulle in France, designating an economy where
3480-594: A necessary characteristic of an economy in the preliminary stage of developing socialism. In the early post-war era in Western Europe, social democratic parties rejected the Stalinist political and economic model then current in the Soviet Union, committing themselves either to an alternative path to socialism or to a compromise between capitalism and socialism. In this period, social democrats embraced
3600-538: A part of the county government. In others, survey townships are non-governmental. Towns in the six New England states and townships in New Jersey and Pennsylvania are included in this category by the Census Bureau, despite the fact that they are legally municipal corporations , since their structure has no necessary relation to concentration of population, which is typical of municipalities elsewhere in
3720-418: A political party or seek public office as independents. Each state has significant discretion in deciding how candidates are nominated and thus eligible to appear on a given election ballot. Major party candidates are typically formally chosen in a party primary or convention , whereas candidates from minor parties and Independent candidates must complete a petitioning process. The current two-party system in
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3840-543: A popular ballot, or to place legislation that has recently been passed by a legislature on a ballot for a popular vote. Initiatives and referendums, along with recall elections and popular primary elections, are signature reforms of the Progressive Era ; they are written into several state constitutions, particularly in the Western states, but not found at the federal level. The United States Census Bureau conducts
3960-401: A result, many nominally private-sector firms are partially state-owned by various levels of government and state institutional investors, and many state-owned enterprises are partially privately owned resulting in a mixed ownership economy. This type of mixed economy refers to a combination of economic planning with market forces for the guiding of production in an economy and may coincide with
4080-410: A role for private enterprise. For example, Alexander Nove 's conception of feasible socialism outlines an economic system based on a combination of state enterprises for large industries, worker and consumer cooperatives, private enterprises for small-scale operations, and individually-owned enterprises. The social democratic theorist Eduard Bernstein advocated a form of a mixed economy, believing that
4200-558: A severe economic decline, British economists such as John Maynard Keynes began to advocate for economic theories that argued more government intervention in the economy. Harold Macmillan , a British politician in the Conservative Party , also began to advocate for a mixed economy in his books Reconstruction (1933) and The Middle Way (1938). Supporters of the mixed economy included R. H. Tawney , Anthony Crosland , and Andrew Shonfield , who were mostly associated with
4320-411: A specific level but do not direct candidates or their campaigns. In presidential elections, the party's candidate serves as the de facto party leader, whose popularity or lack thereof helps or hinders candidates further down the ballot. Midterm elections are usually considered a referendum on the sitting president's performance. Some (e.g., Lee Drutman and Daniel J. Hopkins before 2018) argue that, in
4440-504: A state is its popularly elected governor , who typically holds office for a four-year term (although in some states the term is two years). Except for Nebraska , which has unicameral legislature, all states have a bicameral legislature, with the upper house usually called the Senate and the lower house called the House of Representatives , the Assembly or something similar. In most states, senators serve four-year terms, and members of
4560-413: A type of mixed economy in the sense of state interventionism, as opposed to a mixture of planning and markets, since economic planning was not a key feature or component of the welfare state. While there is no single all-encompassing definition of a mixed economy, there are generally two major definitions, one being political and the other apolitical. The political definition of a mixed economy refers to
4680-472: A view to counteracting capitalism's history of boom and bust cycles, unemployment , and economic inequality . In this framework, varying degrees of public utilities and essential services are provided by the government, with state activity providing public goods and universal civic requirements, including education , healthcare , physical infrastructure , and management of public lands . This contrasts with laissez-faire capitalism, where state activity
4800-525: A war economy that combined a free market with central planning. The Nazi government collaborated with leading German business interests, who supported the war effort in exchange for advantageous contracts, subsidies, the suppression of trade unions, and the allowance of cartels and monopolies. Scholars have drawn parallels between the American New Deal and public works programs promoted by fascism, arguing that fascism similarly arose in response to
4920-517: Is a feminism permitted by the state or led by the nation state . State feminism is distinguished between liberal state feminism (represented by the Nordic model ) and authoritarian state feminism (that is often also linked to state-led secularism ). Politics of the United States [REDACTED] [REDACTED] In the United States , politics functions within a framework of
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5040-472: Is a nationalism that equates 'state identity' with ' nation identity ' or values state authority. 'State nationalism' is considered a form of ' civic nationalism ' and there are similarities between the two, but this also has to do with illiberal, authoritarian and totalitarian politics; Italian fascism is the best example, epitomized in this slogan of Benito Mussolini : "Tutto nello Stato, niente al di fuori dello Stato, nulla contro lo Stato" ("Everything in
5160-445: Is an economic system that accepts both private businesses and nationalized government services, like public utilities, safety, military, welfare, and education. A mixed economy also promotes some form of regulation to protect the public, the environment, or the interests of the state. This is in contrast to a laissez faire capitalist economy which seeks to abolish or privatize most government services while wanting to deregulate
5280-639: Is an ideology that reduces Hong Kong 's autonomy and justifies the dictatorship of the Chinese Communist Party . Also, Soviet nationalism in the 20th century combined civic nationalism with [state] authoritarianism. Japanese ultranationalism (ex: Shōwa statism ) is often described as "state ultranationalism" ( Japanese : 超国家主義 ) because it values state unity around Emperor of Japan . Italian fascism and Francoism are also classified as types state nationalism. Kemalism can also be referred to as Turkish state nationalism . State feminism
5400-733: Is called Thirty Glorious Years of profound economic growth. Green New Deal (GND) proposals call for social and economic reforms to address climate change and economic inequality using economic planning with market forces for the guiding of production. The reforms involve phasing out fossil fuels through the implementation of a carbon price and emission regulations, while increasing state spending on renewable energy . Additionally, it calls for greater welfare spending, public housing, and job security. GND proposals seek to maintain capitalism but involve economic planning to reduce carbon emissions and inequality through increased taxation, social spending, and state ownership of essential utilities such as
5520-402: Is described rarely—if ever—exists in practice. Most would not consider it unreasonable to label an economy that, while not being a perfect representation, very closely resembles an ideal by applying the rubric that denominates that ideal. When a system in question, diverges to a significant extent from an idealized economic model or ideology, the task of identifying it can become problematic, and
5640-666: Is divided into three branches, as per the specific terms articulated in the U.S. Constitution: The federal government's layout is explained in the Constitution. Two political parties , the Democratic Party and the Republican Party , have dominated American politics since the American Civil War , although other parties have existed . There are major differences between the political system of
5760-405: Is limited to maintaining order and security, providing public goods and services, as well as the legal framework for the protection of property rights and enforcement of contracts. About Western European economic models as championed by conservatives ( Christian democrats ), liberals ( social liberals and neoliberals ), and socialists ( social democrats - social democracy was created as
5880-447: Is nearly universal for citizens 18 years of age and older, with the notable exception of registered felons in some states. The United States is a constitutional federal republic , in which the president (the head of state and head of government ), Congress , and judiciary share powers reserved to the national government, and the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments. The federal government
6000-635: Is often used in reference to Soviet-type economic systems of former communist states and, by extension, those of North Korea , Cuba , and the People's Republic of China . Critics of state socialism argue that its known manifestations in Soviet-model states are merely forms of state capitalism , claiming that the Soviet model of economics was based upon a process of state-directed capital accumulation and social hierarchy. Politically, state socialism
6120-431: Is often used to designate any socialist political ideology or movement that advocates for the use of state power for the construction of socialism, or to the belief that the state must be appropriated and used to ensure the success of a socialist revolution . It is usually used in reference to Marxist–Leninist socialists who champion a one-party state . State nationalism, state-based nationalism, or state-led nationalism
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#17327726594336240-468: Is oriented toward the long-term development of a socialist economy. The People's Republic of China adopted a socialist market economy , which represents an early stage of socialist development according to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The CCP takes the Marxist–Leninist position that an economic system containing diverse forms of ownership—but with the public sector playing a decisive role—is
6360-640: Is that which prefers a maximum, all-encompassing state. Political theory has long questioned the nature and rights of the state. Some forms of corporatism extol the moral position that the corporate group, usually the state, is greater than the sum of its parts and that individuals have a moral obligation to serve the state. Skepticism towards statism in Western cultures is largely rooted in Enlightenment philosophy. John Locke notably influenced modern thinking in his writings published before and after
6480-752: Is the administrative subdivision of the state, authorized by state constitutions and statutes. The county equivalents in Louisiana are called parishes , while those in Alaska are called boroughs . The specific governmental powers of counties vary widely between the states. In some states, mainly in New England , they are primarily used as judicial districts. In other states, counties have broad powers in housing, education, transportation and recreation. County government has been eliminated throughout Connecticut , Rhode Island , and in parts of Massachusetts ; while
6600-507: Is the best form to protect rights. Economic statism promotes the view that the state has a major, necessary and legitimate role in directing the major aspects of the economy , either directly through state-owned enterprises and economic planning of production, or indirectly through economic interventionism and macro-economic regulation. State capitalism is a form of capitalism that features high concentrations of state-owned commercial enterprises or state direction of an economy based on
6720-641: The Electoral College . American politics is dominated by two parties , which since the American Civil War have been the Democratic Party and the Republican Party , although other parties have run candidates . Since the mid-20th century, the Democratic Party has generally supported left-leaning policies, while the Republican Party has generally supported right-leaning ones. Both parties have no formal central organization at
6840-547: The English Revolution of 1688 , especially A Letter Concerning Toleration (1667), Two Treatises of Government (1689) and An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690). In the text of 1689, he established the basis of liberal political theory, i.e., that people's rights existed before government; that the purpose of government is to protect personal and property rights; that people may dissolve governments that do not do so; and that representative government
6960-602: The Farmer-Labor Party , Wisconsin Progressive Party , Conservative Party of New York State , and the Populist Party ); or continued to run candidates for office to publicize some issue despite seldom winning even local elections ( Libertarian Party , Natural Law Party , Peace and Freedom Party ). Factors reinforcing the two-party system include: Mixed economy A mixed economy
7080-524: The Insular Cases , which were a series of 1901 Supreme Court cases that some consider to be reflective of imperialism and racist views held in the United States. Unequal access to political participation in US territories has also been criticized for affecting US citizens who move to territories, as such an action requires forfeiting the full voting rights that they would have held in the 50 states. As in
7200-658: The Labour Party in the United Kingdom. During the post-war period and coinciding with the Golden Age of Capitalism , there was general worldwide rejection of laissez-faire economics as capitalist countries embraced mixed economies founded on economic planning, intervention, and welfare. In the apolitical sense, the term mixed economy is used to describe economic systems that combine various elements of market economies and planned economies . As most political-economic ideologies are defined in an idealized sense, what
7320-608: The New Deal , and increasingly since the 1960s, the Democratic Party has generally positioned itself as a center-left party, while the Republican Party has generally positioned itself as center-right ; there are other factions within each. Unlike in many other countries, the major political parties in America have no strong central organization that determines party positions and policies, rewards loyal members and officials, or expels rebels. A party committee or convention may endorse
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#17327726594337440-532: The Northern Mariana Islands , Puerto Rico , and the U.S. Virgin Islands ; as well as minor outlying islands such as Baker Island , Howland Island , Jarvis Island , Johnston Atoll , Kingman Reef , Midway Atoll , Navassa Island , Palmyra Atoll , Wake Island , and others. American Samoa is the only territory with a native resident population and is governed by a local authority. Despite
7560-668: The Roman Empire after Diocletian all had the basic characteristics of mixed economies. After the collapse of the Western Roman Empire , the Byzantine Empire in its eastern part continued to have a mixed economy until its destruction by the Ottoman Empire . Medieval Islamic societies drew their primary material basis from the classical Mediterranean mixed economies that preceded them, and
7680-631: The Roman Republic , the Etruscan civilization engaged in a "strong mixed economy". In general, the cities of the Ancient Mediterranean in regions such as North Africa , Iberia , and Southern France , among others, all practiced some form of a mixed economy. According to the historians Michael Rostovtzeff and Pierre Lévêque , the economies of Ancient Egypt , pre-Columbian Mesoamerican , Ancient Peru , Ancient China , and
7800-510: The Supreme Court and lower federal courts, and which exercises judicial power . Each of the 50 individual state governments has the power to make laws within its jurisdiction that are not granted to the federal government nor denied to the states in the U.S. Constitution. Each state also has a constitution following the pattern of the federal constitution but differing in details. Each has three branches: an executive branch headed by
7920-509: The United Kingdom and in other similar parliamentary systems , in the U.S. Americans eligible to vote, vote for an individual candidate (there are sometimes exceptions in local government elections) and not a party list. The U.S. government being a federal government, officials are elected at the federal (national), state and local levels. All members of Congress , and the offices at the state and local levels are directly elected, but
8040-498: The United Kingdom , France or Canada . The United States Constitution never formally addressed the issue of political parties , primarily because the Founding Fathers opposed them. Nevertheless, parties—specifically, two competing parties in a " two-party system "—have been a fundamental part of American politics since shortly after George Washington's presidency. In partisan elections, candidates are nominated by
8160-614: The Unorganized Borough area of Alaska (which makes up about a half of the area of the state) does not operate under a county-level government at all. In areas that do not have any county governmental function and are simply a division of land, services are provided either by lower level townships or municipalities, or the state. Counties may contain a number of cities , towns, villages, or hamlets . Some cities—including Philadelphia , Honolulu , San Francisco , Nashville , and Denver —are consolidated city-counties , where
8280-693: The electrical grid . Within political discourse, mixed economies are supported by people of various political leanings, particularly the centre-left and centre-right . Debate reigns over the appropriate levels of private and public ownership, capitalism and socialism, and government planning within an economy. The centre-left usually supports markets but argues for a higher degree of regulation, public ownership, and planning within an economy. The centre-right generally accepts some level of public ownership and government intervention but argues for lower government regulation and greater privatisation. In 2010, Australian economist John Quiggin wrote: "The experience of
8400-408: The executive powers, including law enforcement and provision of services, to a highly trained and experienced professional city manager. The council-manager plan has been adopted by a large number of cities. Under this plan, a small, elected council makes the city ordinances and sets policy, but hires a paid administrator, also called a city manager, to carry out its decisions. The manager draws up
8520-423: The means of production . As such, it is sometimes described as a "middle path" or transitional state between capitalism and socialism but can also refer to a mixture of state capitalism with private capitalism. Examples include the economies of China , Norway , Singapore , and Vietnam —all of which feature large state-owned enterprise sectors operating alongside large private sectors. The French economy featured
8640-626: The 1930s. The oldest documented mixed economies in the historical record are found as early as the 4th millennium BC in the Ancient Mesopotamian civilization in city-states such as Uruk and Ebla . The economies of the Ancient Greek city-states can also best be characterized as mixed economies. It is also possible that the Phoenician city-states depended on mixed economies to manage trade. Before being conquered by
8760-623: The 21st century, along with becoming overtly partisan , American politics has become overly focused on national issues and "nationalized" that even local offices, formerly dealing with local matters, now often mention the presidential election. "Third" political parties have appeared from time to time in American history but seldom lasted more than a decade. They have sometimes been the vehicle of an individual ( Theodore Roosevelt 's "Bull Moose" party , Ross Perot 's Reform Party ); had considerable strength in particular regions ( Socialist Party ,
8880-445: The Census Bureau excludes New England towns from their statistics for this category, and the count of municipal governments excludes places that are governmentally inactive. About 28 percent of Americans live in cities of 100,000 or more population. Types of city governments vary widely across the nation. Almost all have a central council, elected by the voters, and an executive officer, assisted by various department heads, to manage
9000-707: The Census of Governments every five years, categorizing four types of local governmental jurisdictions below the level of the state: In 2010, there were 89,500 total local governments, including 3,033 counties, 19,492 municipalities, 16,500 townships, 13,000 school districts, and 37,000 other special districts. Local governments directly serve the needs of the people, providing everything from police and fire protection to sanitary codes, health regulations, education, public transportation, and housing. Typically local elections are nonpartisan — local activists suspend their party affiliations when campaigning and governing. The county
9120-606: The State, nothing outside the State, nothing against the State"). In the East Asian cultural sphere , including China , "state nationalism" and "statism" are both written as 國家主義, making the distinction between the two unclear. Also, in the East Asian cultural sphere, state nationalism is often contrasted with ethnic-based national liberation movements . Chinese state nationalism is a civic nationalistic ideology, but it
9240-442: The United States and that of many other developed countries , including: The federal entity created by the U.S. Constitution is the dominant feature of the American governmental system, as citizens are also subject to a state government and various units of local government (such as counties , municipalities , and special districts ). State governments have the power to make laws on all subjects that are not granted to
9360-616: The United States is made up of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party . These two parties have won every United States presidential election since 1852 and have controlled the United States Congress since at least 1856. From time to time, a third party , such as the Green and Libertarian Parties , has achieved some minor representation at the national and state levels. Since the Great Depression and
9480-606: The United States. In particular, towns in New England have considerably more power than most townships elsewhere and often function as legally equivalent to cities, typically exercising the full range of powers that are divided between counties, townships, and cities in other states. Township functions are generally overseen by a governing board, whose name also varies from state to state. Municipal governments are organized local governments authorized in state constitutions and statutes, established to provide general government for
9600-454: The accumulation of capital, wage labor and market allocation. In some cases, state capitalism refers to economic policies such as dirigisme , which existed in France during the second half of the 20th century and to the present-day economies of the People's Republic of China and Singapore , where the government owns controlling shares in publicly traded companies . Some authors also define
9720-402: The basis of the economic sector), the state also has great control over its citizens. The term statism is sometimes used to refer to market economies with large amounts of government intervention, regulation or influence over markets. Market economies that feature high degrees of intervention are sometimes referred to as " mixed economies ". Economic interventionism asserts that the state has
9840-549: The centuries following the collapse of Rome . With the recovery of populations and the rise of medieval communes from the 11th century onward, economic and political power once again became centralized. According to Murray Bookchin , mixed economies, which had grown out of the medieval communes, were beginning to emerge in Europe by the 15th century as feudalism declined. In 17th-century France , Jean-Baptiste Colbert acting as finance minister for Louis XIV attempted to institute
9960-414: The city budget and supervises most of the departments. Usually, there is no set term; the manager serves as long as the council is satisfied with their work. Some states contain unincorporated areas , which are areas of land not governed by any local authorities below that at the county level. Residents of unincorporated areas only need to pay taxes to the county, state and federal governments as opposed to
10080-465: The city's affairs. Cities in the West and South usually have nonpartisan local politics. There are three general types of municipal government: the mayor-council , the commission, and the council-manager . These are the pure forms; many cities have developed a combination of two or three of them. This is the oldest form of city government in the United States and, until the beginning of the 20th century,
10200-461: The city), and often is responsible for preparing the city's budget. The council passes city ordinances, sets the tax rate on property, and apportions money among the various city departments. As cities have grown, council seats have usually come to represent more than a single neighborhood. This combines both the legislative and executive functions in one group of officials, usually three or more in number, elected city-wide. Each commissioner supervises
10320-425: The county; in the larger ones, supervisors represent separate districts or townships. The board collects taxes for state and local governments; borrows and appropriates money; fixes the salaries of county employees; supervises elections; builds and maintains highways and bridges; and administers national, state, and county welfare programs. In very small counties, the executive and legislative power may lie entirely with
10440-543: The degree of state interventionism in a market economy, portraying the state as encroaching onto the market under the assumption that the market is the natural mechanism for allocating resources. The political definition is limited to capitalistic economies and precludes an extension to non-capitalist systems, and aims to measure the degree of state influence through public policies in the market. The apolitical definition relates to patterns of ownership and management of economic enterprises in an economy, strictly referring to
10560-422: The dignity of the poorest who risk always ending up crushed by the powerful". In Evangelii gaudium , he states: "Some people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world. This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naïve trust in
10680-450: The district's charter or other founding document, and with sufficient administrative and fiscal autonomy to qualify as separate governments; known by a variety of titles, including districts, authorities, boards, commissions, etc., as specified in the enabling state legislation . The United States possesses a number of unincorporated territories , including 16 island territories across the globe. These are areas of land which are not under
10800-488: The economies of Islamic empires such as the Abbasid Caliphate dealt with their emerging, prominent capitalistic sectors or market economies through regulation via state, social, or religious institutions. Due to having low, diffuse populations, and disconnected trade, the economies of Europe could not have supported centralized states or mixed economies and instead a primarily agrarian feudalism predominated for
10920-599: The economies of countries that feature extensive welfare states , such as the Nordic model practiced by the Nordic countries , which combine free markets with an extensive welfare state. The American School is the economic philosophy that dominated United States national policies from the time of the American Civil War until the mid-20th century. It consisted of three core policy initiatives: protecting industry through high tariffs (1861–1932; changing to subsidies and reciprocity from 1932–the 1970s), government investment in infrastructure through internal improvements , and
11040-485: The economy, and a fully centrally planned economy that seeks to nationalize most services like under the early Soviet Union . Examples of political philosophies that support mixed economies include Keynesianism , social liberalism , state capitalism , fascism , social democracy , the Nordic model , and China 's socialist market economy , Vietnam 's socialist-oriented market economy . A mixed economy can also be defined as an economic system blending elements of
11160-434: The economy, but local and provincial level state-owned enterprises continue to operate in almost every industry including information technology, automobiles, machinery, and hospitality. The latest round of state-owned enterprise reform initiated in 2013 stressed increased dividend payouts of state enterprises to the central government and mixed-ownership reform which includes partial private investment into state-owned firms. As
11280-623: The fact that an organic act was not passed in Congress, American Samoa established its own constitution in 1967, and has self governed ever since. Seeking statehood or independence is often debated in US territories, such as in Puerto Rico, but even if referendums on these issues are held, congressional approval is needed for changes in status to take place. The citizenship status of residents in US unincorporated territories has caused concern for their ability to influence and participate in
11400-504: The federal government nor denied to the states in the U.S. Constitution . These include education , family law , contract law , and most crimes . Unlike the federal government, which only has those powers granted to it in the Constitution, a state government has inherent powers allowing it to act unless limited by a provision of the state or national constitution. Like the federal government, state governments have three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The chief executive of
11520-502: The former economies of the Eastern Bloc and Soviet Union as constituting a form of state capitalism. State corporatism, corporate statism or simply "corporatism" is a political culture and a form of corporatism whose proposers affirm or believe that corporate groups should form the basis of society and the state. This principle requires that all citizens belong to one of the various officially designated interest groups (usually on
11640-480: The goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing economic system. Meanwhile, the excluded are still waiting." Catholic social teaching opposes both unregulated capitalism and state socialism . Subsequent scholars have noted that conceiving of subsidiarity as a "top-down, government-driven political exercise" requires a selective reading of 1960s encyclicals. A more comprehensive reading of Catholic social teaching suggests
11760-520: The government exerts strong directive influence through indicative planning . In the period of dirigisme, the French state used indicative economic planning to supplement market forces for guiding its market economy. It involved state control of industries such as transportation, energy and telecommunication infrastructures as well as various incentives for private corporations to merge or engage in certain projects. Under its influence, France experienced what
11880-469: The jurisdiction of any state, and do not have a government established by Congress through an organic act . Citizens of these territories can vote for members of their own local governments, and some can also elect representatives to serve in Congress—though they only have observer status. The unincorporated territories of the U.S. include the permanently inhabited territories of American Samoa , Guam ,
12000-418: The least try to minimize costs, and utilize monetary accounting for economic calculation. Friedrich von Hayek and Mises argued that there can be no lasting middle ground between economic planning and a market economy, and any move in the direction of socialist planning is an unintentional move toward what Hilaire Belloc called " the servile state ". Classical and orthodox Marxist theorists also dispute
12120-421: The lower house serve two-year terms. The constitutions of the various states differ in some details but generally follow a pattern similar to that of the federal Constitution, including a statement of the rights of the people and a plan for organizing the government, and are generally more detailed. At the state and local level, the process of initiatives and referendums allow citizens to place new legislation on
12240-736: The municipal government as well. A notable example of this is Paradise, Nevada , an unincorporated area where many of the casinos commonly associated with Las Vegas are situated. In addition to general-purpose government entities legislating at the state, county, and city level, special-purpose areas may exist as well, provide one or more specific services that are not being supplied by other existing governments. School districts are organized local entities providing public elementary and secondary education which, under state law, have sufficient administrative and fiscal autonomy to qualify as separate governments. Special districts are authorized by state law to provide designated functions as established in
12360-443: The municipality and the county have been merged into a unified, coterminous jurisdiction —that is to say, these counties consist in their entirety of a single municipality whose city government also operates as the county government. Some counties, such as Arlington County, Virginia , do not have any additional subdivisions. Some states contain independent cities that are not part of any county; although it may still function as if it
12480-399: The national level that controls membership, elected officials or political policies; thus, each party has traditionally had factions and individuals that deviated from party positions. Almost all public officials in America are elected from single-member districts and win office by winning a plurality of votes cast (i.e. more than any other candidate, but not necessarily a majority). Suffrage
12600-592: The politics of the United States. In recent decades, the Supreme Court has established voting as a fundamental right of US citizens, even though residents of territories do not hold full voting rights. Despite this, residents must still abide by federal laws that they cannot equitably influence, as well as register for the national Selective Service System , which has led some scholars to argue that residents of territories are essentially second-class citizens. The legal justifications for these discrepancies stem from
12720-590: The president is elected indirectly, by an Electoral College whose electors represent their state and are elected by popular vote. (Before the Seventeenth Amendment was passed, Senators were also elected indirectly, by state legislatures.) These presidential electors were originally expected to exercise their own judgement. In modern practice, though, the electors are chosen by their party and pledged to vote for that party's presidential candidate (in rare occurrences they may violate their pledge, becoming
12840-416: The process of replacing the old agricultural economy of France with one that was mixed and focused on industrialization . By 1914 and the start of World War I , Germany had developed a mixed economy with government co-ownership of infrastructure and industry along with a comprehensive social welfare system. After the 1929 stock crash and subsequent Great Depression threw much of the global economy into
12960-415: The restrictions of war communism and allowed a return of markets, where private individuals could administer small and medium-sized enterprises, while the state would control large industries, banks and foreign trade. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam describes its economy as a socialist-oriented market economy that consists of a mixture of public, private, and cooperative enterprise—a mixed economy that
13080-550: The right to choose any political figure outside their respective areas and can only elect a non-voting delegate to serve in the House of Representatives . All states and the District of Columbia contribute to the electoral vote for president. Successful participation, especially in federal elections, often requires large amounts of money, especially for television advertising. This money can be very difficult to raise by appeals to
13200-405: The running of state and local elections. Who has the right to vote in the United States is regulated by the Constitution and federal and state laws. Suffrage is nearly universal for citizens 18 years of age and older. Voting rights are sometimes restricted as a result of felony conviction , depending on the state. The District, and other U.S. holdings like Puerto Rico and Guam , do not have
13320-414: The stability of capitalism. Other examples of common government activity in this form of mixed economy include environmental protection , maintenance of employment standards , a standardized welfare system, and economic competition with antitrust laws . Most contemporary market-oriented economies fall under this category, including the economy of the United States . The term is also used to describe
13440-465: The term town does not have any specific meaning; it is simply an informal term applied to populated places (both incorporated and unincorporated municipalities). Moreover, in some states, the term town is equivalent to how civil townships are used in other states. Like counties, the specific responsibilities to townships vary based on each state. Many states grant townships some governmental powers, making them civil townships , either independently or as
13560-399: The term mixed economy was coined. As it is unlikely that an economy will contain a perfectly even mix, mixed economies are usually noted as being skewed towards either private ownership or public ownership , toward capitalism or socialism , or a market economy or command economy in varying degrees. Jesuit author David Hollenbach has argued that Catholic social teaching calls for
13680-421: The threat of socialist revolution and aimed to "save capitalism" and private property. Mixed economies understood as a mixture of socially owned and private enterprises have been predicted and advocated by various socialists as a necessary transitional form between capitalism and socialism. Additionally, several proposals for socialist systems call for a mixture of different forms of enterprise ownership including
13800-735: The twentieth century suggests that a mixed economy will outperform both central planning and laissez-faire . The real question for policy debates is one of determining the appropriate mix and the way in which the public and private sectors should interact." Numerous economists have questioned the validity of the entire concept of a mixed economy when understood to be a mixture of capitalism and socialism . Critics who argue that capitalism and socialism cannot coexist believe either market logic or economic planning must be prevalent within an economy. In Human Action , Ludwig von Mises argued that there can be no mixture of capitalism and socialism. Mises elaborated on this point by contending that even if
13920-515: The viability of a mixed economy as a middle ground between socialism and capitalism. Irrespective of enterprise ownership, either the capitalist law of value and accumulation of capital drive the economy or conscious planning and non-monetary forms of valuation, such as calculation in kind , ultimately drive the economy. From the Great Depression onward, extant mixed economies in the Western world are still functionally capitalist because
14040-453: The work of one or more city departments. Commissioners also set policies and rules by which the city is operated. One is named chairperson of the body and is often called the mayor, although their power is equivalent to that of the other commissioners. The city manager is a response to the increasing complexity of urban problems that need management ability not often possessed by elected public officials. The answer has been to entrust most of
14160-477: Was a consolidated city-county, an independent city was legally separated from any county. Some municipalities are in multiple counties ; New York City is uniquely partitioned into five boroughs that are each coterminous with a county. In most U.S. counties, one town or city is designated as the county seat , and this is where the county government offices are located and where the board of commissioners or supervisors meets. In small counties, boards are chosen by
14280-475: Was not to abandon the capitalist mode of production but to retain a predominance of private ownership and control of the means of production , with profit-seeking enterprise and the accumulation of capital as its fundamental driving force. The difference from a laissez-faire capitalist system is that markets are subject to varying degrees of regulatory control and governments wield indirect macroeconomic influence through fiscal and monetary policies with
14400-425: Was used by nearly all American cities. Its structure is like that of the state and national governments, with an elected mayor as chief of the executive branch and an elected council that represents the various neighborhoods forming the legislative branch. The mayor appoints heads of city departments and other officials (sometimes with the approval of the council ), has the power to veto over ordinances (the laws of
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