In a socialist system, as we have already observed, the "good of society" must be defined and administered by a ruling authority, so that political power is in practice typically concentrated in the hands of one or a few persons (p. 5.3:2). For this reason, communist and fascist (national socialist) systems are generally realized through autocracies. In communist systems, all property is "public," i. e., owned explicitly by the state; in fascist régimes, a pretense is maintained of private ownership of most means of production, but in practice all economic decisions are again made by the state (cf. p. 5.3:2). The ideas of popular government and autocracy may also be combined in various hybrid organizations. In a constitutional monarchy, for instance, a monarch retains certain autocratic powers, while other powers are wielded by the typical structures of representative popular government. The latter structures may also present in a bureaucratic democracy, but bureaucratic ministers, "czars," or commissars wield great power over the economic and personal lives of the people.

Finally, a political system may feature no government at all, in which case its organization (or disorganization) is anarchistic. For instance, under conditions of protracted civil or feudal warfare, no single political authority may wield ultimate control in a geographical area. Some have also proposed that that the liberal ideas of freedom and individual rights might be realized under an anarcho-capitalistic system, a notion which will be dissected in optional material near the end of this course.