People

A people is a plurality of persons considered as a whole, as is the case with an ethnic group, nation or the public of a polity. == In politics == Various states govern or claim to govern in the name of the people. Both the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire used the Latin term Senatus Populusque Romanus, (the Senate and People of Rome). This term was fixed abbreviated (SPQR) to Roman legionary standards, and even after the Roman Emperors achieved a state of total personal autarchy, they continued to wield their power in the name of the Senate and People of Rome. A People's Republic is typically a Marxist or socialist one-party state that claims to govern on behalf of the people even if it in practice often turns out to be a dictatorship. Populism is another umbrella term for various political tendencies that claim to represent the people, usually with an implication that they serve the common people instead of the elite. Chapter One, Article One of the Charter of the United Nations states that "peoples" have the right to self-determination. Though the mere status as peoples and their right to self-determination, as for example in the case of Indigenous peoples, does not provide for claiming independence and a sovereign state, since peoples also need territory and a central government to reach sovereignty in international politics. == In law == In criminal law, in certain jurisdictions, criminal prosecutions are brought in the name of the People. Several U.S. states, including California, Illinois, and New York, use this style.