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by Sahadeva Dasa (Author)
A government is the system by which a state or community is governed. This usage is analogous to what is called an 'administration'. A form of government refers to the set of political systems and institutions that make up the organisation of a specific government. Government of any kind affects every human activity in many important ways. For this reason, political scientists generally argue that government should not be studied by itself; but should be studied along with anthropology, economics, history, philosophy, and sociology. Over the centuries, the world has seen different types of governments. The Classical Greek philosopher Plato discusses five types of regimes - aristocracy, timocracy, oligarchy, democracy and tyranny. These five regimes progressively degenerate starting with aristocracy at the top and tyranny at the bottom. Then there are many other forms of government like monarchy, geniocracy, kratocracy, meritocracy, autocracy, dictatorship, fascism, diarchy, nepotocracy, kleptocracy, ochlocracy, netocracy, theocracy, stratocracy, plutocracy, maoism, anocracy, anarchy, bureaucracy, feudalism, magocracy and technocracy. History has witnessed each of these regimes at one point in time or the other. But today the world is ruled by one homogenous system of government called corporatocracy. Today irrespective of the country you live in, you are living under the rule of big business corporations. No matter who your president is, business corporations run your government. They control or greatly influence what you eat and drink, where you live, what you wear and even what you're taught in schools up to the highest levels. Through advertising, public relations, and mass media, they shape your views of the world and your views of each other. They even now own patents on our genetic code, the most basic elements of human life, and are likely planning to manipulate and control them as just another commodity to exploit for profit. Corporations stand as the dominant institutions in our society. They provide the products and services upon which most of us have come to depend. In this greed-propelled growth of human society, this institution stands tall over others, working silently in the background, casting its dark shadows all over. Parliaments are only meant to endorse what is already decided in the boardrooms. It's high time you got acquainted with your invisible masters.
