Power to the people

If not democracy, what?

In the past, most countries were ruled by an unelected person or group.

A single ruler can be a monarch, such as a king or caliph, or a dictator. The job of monarch usually passes down through a family. Modern monarchs don’t often have much real power. This is true in Britain, where the monarch can do very little. A dictator often seizes power with help from an army or armed gang. He can lose to another dictator with a stronger army. When a ruler is wise and well-meaning, it can go well. If they are foolish, cruel, selfish or incompetent, it can go very badly for everyone else.

An oligarchy has a group in charge. They might be favoured families, the rich, a warrior class, a religious group, or even big businesses.

Stop, sea. Just kidding...!

The English king Cnut, who ruled England from 1016–1035 AD, showed that he DIDN’T have absolute power by telling the tide not to come in. It didn’t listen.

FROM AROUND 1100 AD, Italian city states like Venice and Genoa were run as oligarchies. Their laws and rulers were chosen by a group of rich families, not the common people. One noble, one vote — we rule, you don’t!

How it works

All dictators and most monarchs have been male. In past monarchies, boy children have usually inherited the title, even if their sisters were older.

Mine!

IN A FEUDAL SYSTEM, the peasants, or ‘serfs’, had to work for a rich overlord. They had no control over their lives. Some were even bought and sold like slaves. IN A THEOCRACY, the leaders say they represent god directly. It makes it hard to argue against them: who’s going to challenge an all-powerful god? The Japanese emperor was believed to be descended from the Shinto sun goddess. COMMUNISM AIMS TO REMOVE the split between rulers and workers. It bans private ownership of property and tries to make all people live in the same way. Everything is owned by the state, for the people. But people have little or no say in the rules they live by. Communist states appeared in the 20th century.

That’s my boy!

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