Professor Shahriar Sadat had a new approach for teaching the three pillars of government: the Great Government Bake-Off.
"The state," he announced, drawing a whimsical diagram on the board , "is like a giant kitchen. And its functions are split into three roles to stop us all getting food poisoning from too much power!"
The Legislative Branch (The Chefs 🧑🍳)
"The Legislative branch—Parliament, Congress, whatever you call your law-makers—are the Chefs! Their job is to make the laws; they come up with the recipe. They debate for months on whether the national cake should be chocolate or vanilla, how much sugar (taxes) should go in, and whether we need a National Muffin Mandate."
I raised my hand. "So, they just invent the rules?"
"Exactly! They draft the Law-Recipe," Sadat confirmed. "They are the only ones with the authority to write that original cookbook."The Executive Branch (The Waiters 🤵)
"Next, we have the Executive branch—the President, the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, and all the government agencies. They are the Waiters and Kitchen Staff! Their job is to carry out the laws and run the show. They don't write the recipe, they just follow it—they source the ingredients, bake the cake, and serve it to the public."
"So, if Parliament makes a 'No Pineapple on Pizza' law, the Executive has to send out the inspectors to check the pizza places?" I asked.
"You're a genius!" Sadat beamed. "They enforce the Law-Recipe. They implement policy, run the departments, and make sure the cake gets baked correctly and on time."
- The Judicial Branch (The Food Critics 🧐)
"Finally, the Judiciary—the Supreme Court and all the judges. They are the Food Critics! They interpret the laws. If someone argues that the 'National Muffin Mandate' applies to scones, or that the Executive added too much salt to the stew, the Critics step in."
"They decide what the recipe really means," I clarified, suddenly seeing the light.
"Precisely! They resolve disputes and, crucially, they check if the other two branches have kept to the Constitution's Rules," Sadat declared. "If the Executive (the Waiters) start baking something that wasn't in the Law-Recipe, the Judiciary (the Critics) can declare their cake illegal! It's the ultimate check!"
I finally got it. The roles were distinct: Chefs make the rules, Waiters enact the rules, and Critics police the rules.