What term refers to a government where a single party controls all aspects of political and economic life?

The term that refers to a government where a single party controls all aspects of political and economic life is dictatorship. In a dictatorship, power is concentrated in the hands of one individual or a small group who exerts control over the government and the governed. This includes the authority to make laws, enforce policies, and manage the economy without consent from the populace or legal constraints typically found in democracies.

Dictatorships often suppress political opposition, limit freedoms of expression, and control the media to maintain their power. This centralized control leads to a lack of democratic processes and a significant reduction of personal liberties for citizens, as the ruling party dictates how society operates.

In contrast, an oligarchy refers to a government controlled by a small group of people, which might comprise multiple parties or elite figures rather than a single party. Monarchy is a form of government where a single ruler, often hereditary, reigns over the state, but it does not necessarily imply the suppression of political pluralism like in a dictatorship. Socialism is an economic and political system where the means of production are owned and regulated by the community as a whole, which can involve multiple political parties and democratic processes rather than the total control characteristic of a dictatorship.