Government is the system by which a country or other group of people organizes itself and allocates power in order to accomplish goals and provide benefits that society as a whole needs. Governments vary widely in their goals, policies, and structures. The most common goals include economic prosperity, secure borders, and the safety and well-being of citizens. Governments also provide many goods and services to their citizens, such as public education, health care, and an infrastructure for transportation.

A government may also help citizens by providing opportunities to participate in politics and make their voices heard by allowing them to vote, for example. Many governments also protect citizens’ rights and freedoms, such as the right to free speech and the right to assemble. Governments also have military forces, such as the army, that defend the country against foreign threats.

Governments can also regulate access to shared resources such as public lands and wildlife, so that there are enough for everyone. This is known as “common goods” and it is one of the most important roles that a government can play in society. Governments also may impose limits on private property, such as home ownership or private business ownership, to ensure that no one is taking more than their fair share of available resources.

The way that a government operates depends on its philosophy of governance. Some governments believe that a centralized government has the best chance of success, while others prefer a decentralized form of governance. Most countries have a mix of these different forms of governance.

Political philosophers have developed various ways of classifying the kinds of governments that exist in the world. In modern terms, the main types are democracies, totalitarian regimes, and a range of authoritarian systems that sit between these two extremes. There are also some hybrid systems, such as a democracy with a monarchy, and other ancient and medieval types of government, such as theocracy, aristocracy, timocracy, and oligarchy.

In the United States, there are three branches of government: the legislative branch (Congress), the executive branch (the President and the heads of the Federal departments), and the judicial branch (the Supreme Court and other courts). The Framers designed this system to create separations of powers and checks and balances between these three branches so that no single agency becomes too powerful. This structure allows multiple points of input from citizens, and it provides multiple avenues for the public to change laws or remove officials that have abused their power.

Governments also may use international agreements to promote peace, trade, and other aspects of global citizenship. The government may also have diplomats who travel to other countries in order to meet with leaders of other nations and discuss problems or disagreements between the two nations. This can be a very effective way to prevent war, as well as to improve the lives of citizens in both nations by allowing them to interact with each other and share cultural or social experiences.