The United States Constitution went into effect in the year 1789, defining the nation as a federal constitutional republic, in which its representatives are elected by the people and have limited powers as defined by the Constitution. The document is a melting pot of ideas, namely those of John Locke and Montesquieu (a man we'll refer to by his last name merely because his full name is a frightening eleven words long). John Locke offered his philosophy of "consent of the governed," in which the government existed to serve the people [1], while Montesquieu offered the idea of a separated government of three branches -- legislative, executive, and judicial. [2] Thus is the nature of how our government stands.
Let's compare our constitution to those of other governments:
Around the time the U.S. Constitution was being written, the French Revolution was happening across the ocean. [3] After the fall of King Louis XVI and his centuries-old regime, the newly-born French government drafted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which associated citizens with the rights of "life, liberty, and property." [4] Sound familiar? We stole it, changing "property" to "the Pursuit of Happiness." Modern France is now a Unitary Semi-Presidential Constitutional Republic, led by a two-house Parliament not too different from our own Congress.
Great Britain, of which we owe our roots, lands a similar system with its Unitary Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy. [5]
The UK is ruled by a prime minister, who selects all of the lower ministers to serve in Parliament. As such, a balance of power is achieved between Parliament (similar to Congress) and Prime Minister (similar to President).
How successful are constitutional governments?
Looking at just the three major powers of the Colonial Era, it's easy to tell.
The French Revolution encouraged a large chunk of Europe and other areas to declare war against France (aggressors including Great Britain and the Holy Roman Empire), firing off the French Revolutionary Wars. [6] Despite the recent chaos in the nation, the French won handily, taking territory in Italy and elsewhere. Then began the Napoleonic Wars, which, while ending France's reign as the most powerful European nation, expanded its territory yet further. [7]
Great Britain, despite having lost the Americas as a colony, enjoyed structure and order within itself during the Pax Britannica, roughly a century of dominance in the European world. [8]
But it'd be narrow-minded to proclaim that a constitutional republic/monarchy is "the best form of government," or even near the top of the list. A case study exists in the early government of Venezuela. After two failed attempts at independence, Venezuela finally reached its goal with the help of Simón Bolívar. A constitutional convention was created to draft a new system of government for the nation, but was torn apart by opposing groups, before Simón Bolívar proclaimed himself as dictator anyways. Fast forward 200 years and we see that the nation remains under the rule of Hugo Chavez, frequently governing by decree and with only a weak Parliament to balance his rule.
It's impossible to say that any government is unfallible. Constitutional governments, while successful in the larger European superpowers and the U.S., aren't a one-size-fits-all solution.
Here's a nice quote by Winston Churchill to end.
Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.OH NO SCALE: Poor Venezuela :'(
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Locke
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montesquieu
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_the_Rights_of_Man_and_of_the_Citizen
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom
[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolutionary_Wars
[7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleonic_Wars#Political_effects
[8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pax_Britannica
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