eat a piece of meat, take a pill, drive along the highway or
attend a school or university, we are making use of services
supplied or regulated by some level of government. The
most important single fact about modern governments of
any kind in any country is that they are Big Governments
and likely to become even bigger. In highly complex soci-
eties government is one of the most complex, varied and
pervasive of all human institutions.

In forming their government, our shipwrecked islanders
would have many choices. They might agree to accept the
rule of the most intelligent, or the handsomest or the short-
est, and make him a king or a chief. They could have
chosen a leader by picking straws, or by a show of hands
or by a secret vote. The strongest might have imposed his
will on the group by force and become a dictator. If they
could not agree among themselves on a common policy,
the ten castaways might have organized themselves into
two or more groups, in which case there would be two or
more governments, each with a different solution to the
common problems. The possibilities are endless, and each
choice would lead to a different kind of government.

Once equipped with a government, by the end of a week
the castaways would probably have devised a simple set of
rules and regulations or a constitution which defined the
rights the individual enjoyed and the responsibilities he
owed to the group or the public. By the end of a year this
simple system would have become much more complex
and there would undoubtedly be some arrangement for
enforcing the rules.

Regardless of what kind of government the islanders
chose, it would almost inevitably consist of three parts:
legislative, executive and judicial. This is true not only of
the government of a country, but for most clubs as well. A
full meeting of the club members usually passes certain
broad proposals, which can be called legislation. These
meetings, however, are held infrequently. To carry on the
work of the club on a day-to-day basis, the members elect
an executive--a President, Secretary, Treasurer and other
officials. Finally, many clubs have sets of rules and regula-
tions concerning the behaviour and activities of the mem-
bers and have judicial bodies which act as a form of court
to judge those charged with disobeying the club laws.

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