America’s Form of Government – Part one

On September 17th each year, Americans commemorate the adoption of the Constitution of the United States. On this day in 1787, delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia signed the document, which established the framework for our nation’s government. Thus, I thought it appropriate to consider the various forms of government our world has seen. 

Across the span of time, there have been many different forms of government, some delivering good results, others not so good. History records seven of these forms.  

First is totalitarianism, a highly centralized government that does not tolerate individualism or differences of opinion. Totalitarian governments can be led by dictators, czars, sultans, premiers, etc. and as seen in Bible times by emperors, Caesars, or pharaohs. Both communism and socialism represent totalitarianism. 

Next is monarchy. A monarchy is a government headed by a king, queen, or emirate. It is often influenced by heredity, leaders being passed on from one family to another, such as the English Stuarts or Tudors. There are limited or constitutional monarchies, where a higher law is above the monarch, such as the Magna Carta with English kings. Israel’s kings were intended to be limited monarchs, for before any king took the throne he was to personally write out a copy of the laws that God gave to govern Israel to ensure that the he knew them and would comply with that higher law (Deuteronomy 17:18-20). However, most of Israel’s kings ignored these commands and so their governments became, in essence, unlimited monarchies, which is also a form of totalitarianism. 

Third is the oligarchy, a government in which power resides in the hands of a small elite group. This includes feudal tribal government, aristocracy, and plutocracy. In Bible times, the Sanhedrin was a ruling oligarchy. 

Another form of government is anarchy or revolutionary. This is a government without laws, where the supreme power is with each individual, who does what he wishes or has the power to do. This would include governments such as those in France during the time of the founding of America, where the guillotine became the symbol of government. Such anarchic or revolutionary government is described in the Bible as that in which “every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” 

Theocracy is next. A theocracy is a government run by representatives of God, claiming to act directly on His commands. In the Bible, both Eli and Samuel ruled in this manner before the nation of Israel became a monarchy under their first king, King Saul. Such theocracies have a complete blending of both civil and religious laws, with no separation of church and state, and with no input from the people. Many Islamic nations are theocracies, often ruled by an Ayatollah or Imam, as throughout the Middle East and Asia. 

Democracy is another form of government, one in which the sovereign power lies with the people, who exercise the lawmaking power through direct majority votes rather than through any elected representatives. Because this government is based on the popular sentiments of the people at any given point in time, it frequently proves to be unstable and fluctuating. An example of a democracy can be seen in what transpired around Jesus during His final week on earth. As He entered Jerusalem, the people ushered Him in with great enthusiasm, treating Him like a national hero (Matthew 21:90), but the very next few days, the same people “all said, ‘Crucify Him!’” (Matthew 27:21). Founding Father John Adams used the term “mob rule” and Benjamin Rush “mobocracy” to describe the problems of a democracy: it is an unpredictable government where passion and self-centeredness often prevail over reason and deliberation. 

Last is the republic and constitutional republic. These are governments in which the sovereign power is exercised by representatives elected by the people. A weak form of republic is represented by parliaments where representatives elected by the people rule until the people elect new representatives. 

The constitutional republic is the highest form of republican government and is one in which the representatives elected by the people are not themselves sovereign but are instead subject to a higher sovereign  law-a written constitution. This form of an elective representative constitutional republic, as described in Exodus 18:21 is what Founding Father John Adams described as “a government of laws and not of men.” 

While there can be blended forms of government, the aforementioned general forms encompass most human governments. So where does America fit within these categories?

Many people today believe that we are a democracy, and our political leaders often tell us we are, but this is not so. Our founders had the opportunity to establish a democracy in America but deliberately chose not to. So which form of government do we have? Stay tuned for more on this topic. 

Tim Lewis can be reached at TimLewis1@windstream.net.