Understanding Civics⚓︎
Summary⚓︎
Info
This guide will not be an all-encompassing reference to civics. Civics is a vast field of study, and covering every government and political structure is well outside this guide.
A deeper dive into civics can be found at the following link.
The study of civics is about educating the citizens and making them aware of their rights. It might not be obvious, but civics is a wide field of study because every country has its government and political structure. Being educated on at least basic civics is essential because it shows the citizens how important it is to understand their place in society. Civics involves all matters related to the citizens and citizenship.
Learning civics as a civilian is vital to better understanding the economic and political systems. Citizens have the responsibility and duty to vote to choose the government and be supportive and sincere members of a community.
An expansion on all of this can be found in the following sections.
What is Civics?⚓︎
Civics is the study of "how people living in a society make their decisions." In civics, we study how the government performs its duty in securing the rights of the citizens. "Citizens" are the members of the nation or city who live together in peace to build a community. "Citizenship" is "the state of being legally authorized to a country." Civics include the rights and responsibilities of the citizens to each other and the government.
Civics can be broken down into three central units...
Government⚓︎
"A group of people making laws to be followed by the citizens for maintaining peace and harmony in a society."
The government has the power to make laws. The government must make sure that the citizens are following those laws.
While the government has the power to make laws, it's limited and is not all-powerful. The government can only perform those duties people have permitted it to do.
Federal vs. Provincial Government
- The federal government has complete command over taxes, foreign affairs (e.g., trading), defense, and criminal law.
- The federal government has more power than the provincial government of the state.
The provincial government has the authority over civil laws, education, and health.
Types of Governments⚓︎
There are three forms of government...
- Autocracy – When the ruling power belongs to one person.
- Aristocracy – When the ruling power is in the hand of a minor, entitled ruling class.
- Democracy – When the people choose the government.
Role of a government...
- Protect its people
- Maintain peace
- Establish justice
- Provide services
- Give people their fundamental rights
Politics⚓︎
A simple definition of politics can be "the way people living in societies or communities make a decision."
In politics, people who live together in societies make decisions and rules so that peace can be maintained without any trouble or fights. The word "Politics" can also be explained as a world of networking (communication), relationships, views, and ideas.
FAQs
Politicians are people who study political sciences. They make decisions for the people so that they can live in groups.
People have formed political parties in most countries to put forward their ideas. They work together to bring peace to their country.
The purpose of politics is to guide the nation in a positive direction. To do that, the politicians and the political parties help people to get their fundamental rights. They show people what their goal should be and help them achieve it.
Law⚓︎
Laws are defined as a set of rules made by the government of a country. They are to be followed by the citizens of that country.
FAQs
Society needs to follow Law. It guides society towards peace and harmony without bloodshed. In a way, the law helps us survive in society by maintaining balance.
"Lawyers" study law and guide people about their rights and responsibilities. Lawyers also represent people in court.
Following the rules of the society is to do the legal acts, and not following or going against the laws made by the government is to do the illegal acts.
Constitutional law deals with the fundamental rights and responsibilities of the government and the relationship between the people and government.