Lord of the Flies
Final Project
Types of Governments
Republics are similar to democracies, except people elect representatives to make decisions. This means that people are not able to vote directly for things. Most countries that seem to be democratic are only republics (Types).
Monarchies are ruled by a king or queen. Unless their power is limited by a constitution, they have absolute power and can do whatever they want. Also, power is hereditary, and many kings and queens believed that they received their power from God (Types).
Dictatorships are ruled by one person or group. That person has complete control over the country, and nothing is limiting their power. Most dictators would not admit that they are dictators, so they call their governments democracies (Types).
In the book, Jack's tribe was a dictatorship. Jack was the dictator, and he took full power over everything. For example, he used harsh punishments whenever he wanted to, but did not feel the need to explain himself. He had a boy, Wilfred tied up even though no one knew what he did. Robert said, "He's going to beat Wilfred... He got angry and made us tie Wilfred up... he's been tied for hours, waiting--" (160).
Ralph's tribe was a republic because he was elected as chief and was supposed to make decisions. He would listen to the input of the others, but really he had the power. For example, he wanted to make sure that the signal fire was lit, even though the rest of the group did not want to go back to the mountain. He told them, "I'm chief. We've got to make certain. Can't you see the mountain? There's no signal showing. There may be a ship out there. Are you all off your rockers?" (108)
My Government
The constitution for my society includes:
1. The chief would be chosen by a direct vote. Any one could be a candidate for becoming chief. Also, the chief would guide the group of representatives in making decisions.
2. A group of representatives would also be chosen by a direct vote. The size of the legislature would be proportional to the population. The legislature led by the chief would make all decisions.
3. Elections would be held every week.
4. Labor would be divided up among all of the population. There would be hunters, builders for shelters and tools, gatherers for fruit, water collectors, people to maintain the fire, and other jobs that are necessary.
5. Everyone would work. The chief and representatives would be included in dividing labor.
6. The jobs would be rotated each week to ensure that the division of labor is equally spread throughout the entire group. This would also avoid conflicts between divisions if one group thinks that they are doing more than another. It would also make people more open to the ideas of other groups because they would have similar experiences.
7. Each division of labor would be equally represented in the legislature.
8. Everyone would be able to voice their opinions to try to influence the legislature. They would also be allowed to criticize any of the decisions made.
9. Everyone must work during their set times. Laziness would make the society fall apart.
10. There would be set times for rest to discourage people from becoming lazy and ignoring their work.
These rules would be enforced by having the group elect a few people from each division of labor to police the others. They would not be allowed to use excessive force, and the punishments would be decided by the legislature. The elections for police would be held every week along with the elections for the chief and representatives.
Historical Example of In-Fighting
This parallels the book because Jack's hunters broke away from Ralph, taking the majority of the group with them. Ralph was then in the minority, trying to stay civilized, just as the Parisians tried to avoid reinstating the monarchy. An example of this in the book is when Ralph wanted to call a meeting, and instead his tribe was attacked by Jack's, and Piggy was killed. "The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist" (181). Piggy was killed just as thousands of Parisians were killed, and the government that they thought would bring them peace and order was overthrown just as the conch was broken.
Current Conflict
The Free Syrian Army (FSA) formed in July of 2011, and then the Islamic Front in 2013. Militias formed locally, wanting to create a government that does not have strong centralized power. Both the Syrian government and the FSA decided that the conflict would be solved through war. Also, both sides received support from foreign countries. The FSA was supported by countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, America, France and Libya. The government received support from Russia, North Korea, Iraq and Yemen. The FSA's strengths include the support of the Sunni majority of the country, moral from being oppressed, and help from trained militant groups and foreign support. The FSA is weak in that it is not well unified. There is no central control, and there are tensions inside of the group. The government strengths include financial support from other countries and a better organized army. It is weak because it does not have a lot of support (Syrian). I believe that the FSA will win because they have the support of the majority of the country.
Works Cited
"Commune of Paris". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
"Syrian Civil War." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2015.
"Types of Government." Alverno. Alverno College, n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2015.
"Unlearned Lessons of the Paris Commune." YouTube. YouTube, 18 Mar. 2008. Web. 30 Apr. 2015.