The constitutions of various countries codify views as to the purposes, powers, and forms of their governments, but they tend to do so in rather vague terms, which particular laws, courts, and actions of politicians subsequently flesh out.
In general, various countries have translated vague talk about the purposes of their governments into particular state laws, bureaucracies, enforcement actions, etc.
Inherent in the concept was that a ruler held the mandate of heaven only as long as he provided good government.
This has similarities to the idea presented in the Judeo-Christian Bible from the time when Israel requests "a king like the nations"[2] through to Christ himself telling his contemporary leaders that they only had power because God gave it to them.
[citation needed] The classic Biblical example comes in the story of King Nebuchadnezzar, who according to the Book of Daniel ruled the Babylonian empire because God ordained his power, but who later ate grass like an ox for seven years because he deified himself[citation needed] instead of acknowledging God.
In Renaissance Italy, contemporary theoreticians saw the primary purpose of the less-overtly monarchical Italian city-states as civic glory.
Eventually, the divine right of kings fell out of favor and this idea ascended; it formed the basis for modern democracy.
It is on those questions that one can find the differences between conservatism, socialism, liberalism, libertarianism, fascism, especially the latter, and other political ideologies.
Communism wishes to immediately or eventually replace the communities, unities and divisions that things such as work, money, exchange, borders, nations, governments, police, religion, and race create with the universal community possible when these things are replaced.