RI Government and Governance Worksheet 2021

2021 Year 3 Social Studies Unit 2 Worksheet RI/SS/2021/GYF Page 1 Name: ____________________ ( ) Class: __________ Date: __________ Raffles Institution Year 3 Social Studies Unit 2: Government and Governance Part 1: Why Governments Exist A GOVERNMENT consists of the institutions responsible for making collective and binding decisions for society. It has coercive and authoritative powers: i.e. it has the power to enforce its decisions and is recognised as having the right to do so. Read Issues in Comparative Politics (pg. 9-14). 1. Summarise the reasons for and against government presented in the reading. How governments can bring benefit How governments can cause harm

2021 Year 3 Social Studies Unit 2 Worksheet RI/SS/2021/GYF Page 2 Read pg. 69-80 of your SS Textbook. 2. The Singapore government meets the needs of its citizens by addressing specific areas of concern. Which of the concerns highlighted in this section is the most important to you? Explain your answer. Read Heed History’s Ghosts of City States. 3. What is a social contract? Explain the concept using what you have learnt in Philosophy earlier this semester. 4. How has the social contract between the Singapore government and its citizens changed? What are the reasons for this change? 5. What do you think are the implications of a changing social contract in Singapore?

2021 Year 3 Social Studies Unit 2 Worksheet RI/SS/2021/GYF Page 3 Read I went through a luxury-hotel quarantine in Singapore to beat the coronavirus — and it works. But Americans just wouldn't find it acceptable. 6. How is Singapore’s social contract different from countries in the West like the USA? 7. Under Singapore’s social contract, what are some actions by the government considered acceptable to its people but unacceptable to the people in the West? Read pg. 29-34 and 39-43 of your SS Textbook. 8. What are trade-offs? Why are they unavoidable in government policymaking? Read The Big Read: E-scooter footpath ban – lessons from the PMD saga and where to go from here. 9. Summarise the perspectives of the various parties involved in the recent issue having e-scooters on footpaths. Relevant Parties For/against ban Reasons for stance E-scooter riders

2021 Year 3 Social Studies Unit 2 Worksheet RI/SS/2021/GYF Page 4 Pedestrians (walking on footpaths) Describe the final decision made by the government, explain why it made that decision, and identify the trade-offs involved (i.e. what each party had to give up). Govt.’s decision Rationale for decision Trade-offs involved Read In pushing for climate policy, Louis Ng recognises need for trade-offs and to cushion impact on businesses and The Big Read: As clamour grows for preservation in land-scarce Singapore, something’s got to give. 10. What are likely trade-offs that have to be made in Si