Classification of Political Systems
Political systems can be classified by either of two methods: (1) their basic objectives; (2) their organizational rules and principles. The first method identifies the purpose(s) undertaken by government with regard to society as a whole. The second method examines how government is structured internally, addressing issues such as how lawmakers and other officials are chosen, how laws are established, and how conflicts among different individuals or groups within the government are resolved.

The purpose of a liberal government is to secure the freedom of all citizens. The principles underlying such governments have already been discussed at length (pp. 5.2:16-66). The economic system based on freedom and individual rights, whose operations were analyzed in some detail in Section 4, is known as the free market, laissez-faire capitalism, or simply capitalism. In order to obscure the nature of true free-market capitalism, some propagandists have tried to extend the term "capitalism" to embrace mixed economies and even fascist systems, both of which are discussed below. This usage illustrates how words can obstruct understanding rather than further it, if they are based not on objective differences of kind among entities but rather on conceptual gerrymandering (cf. pp. 1.3:45-7). The word "capitalism" should be used in its proper sense or not at all.