By clicking the "I accept" button, you consent to the use of these cookies. The oldest and simplest justification for government is as protector: protecting citizens from violence. And indeed, when the chaos of war and disorder mounts too high, citizens will choose even despotic and fanatic governments, such as the Taliban and ISIS, over the depredations of warring bands.
The idea of government as protector requires taxes to fund, train and equip an army and a police force; to build courts and jails; and to elect or appoint the officials to pass and implement the laws citizens must not break. Regarding foreign threats, government as protector requires the ability to meet and treat with other governments as well as to fight them.
This minimalist view of government is clearly on display in the early days of the American Republic, comprised of the President, Congress, Supreme Court and departments of Treasury, War, State and Justice. The concept of government as provider comes next: government as provider of goods and services that individuals cannot provide individually for themselves. Government in this conception is the solution to collective action problems, the medium through which citizens create public goods that benefit everyone, but that are also subject to free-rider problems without some collective compulsion.
The basic economic infrastructure of human connectivity falls into this category: the means of physical travel, such as roads, bridges and ports of all kinds, and increasingly the means of virtual travel, such as broadband. All of this infrastructure can be, and typically initially is, provided by private entrepreneurs who see an opportunity to build a road, say, and charge users a toll, but the capital necessary is so great and the public benefit so obvious that ultimately the government takes over.
A more expansive concept of government as provider is the social welfare state: government can cushion the inability of citizens to provide for themselves, particularly in the vulnerable conditions of youth, old age, sickness, disability and unemployment due to economic forces beyond their control.
As the welfare state has evolved, its critics have come to see it more as a protector from the harsh results of capitalism, or perhaps as a means of protecting the wealthy from the political rage of the dispossessed.
At its best, however, it is providing an infrastructure of care to enable citizens to flourish socially and economically in the same way that an infrastructure of competition does. It provides a social security that enables citizens to create their own economic security. The future of government builds on these foundations of protecting and providing.
Government will continue to protect citizens from violence and from the worst vicissitudes of life. Government will continue to provide public goods, at a level necessary to ensure a globally competitive economy and a well-functioning society. But wherever possible, government should invest in citizen capabilities to enable them to provide for themselves in rapidly and continually changing circumstances.
Not surprisingly, this vision of government as investor comes from a deeply entrepreneurial culture. They want the government to heavily fund education, encourage more active citizenship, pursue binding international trade alliances and open borders to all immigrants. It is representative because people choose elected officials by free and secret ballot.
It is a republic because the Government derives its power from the people. The purpose of our Federal Government, as found in the Preamble of the Constitution, is to "establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity. Skip to main content. Our American Government.
In Western democracies, we disagree about whether the state should provide things like healthcare and higher education, and whether the state should take an active role in shielding individuals from undesirable behavior ranging from not wearing seatbelts to drug use. One of the most demonstrative policy disputes today is the debate over vaccinations.
As such, the purpose of government is to reflect the public will and govern in the public interest. The battles that are birthed from that conflict are reflected in the process of government decision-making for budgets, policies, and programs. The challenge of government and the citizenry is achieving a meaningful system of grassroots governance. Lawyer Owner, Tina Willis Law. Overall, I think the most important purpose of government is protection, which includes national security, personal security i.
Our government should also give us the best foundation for achieving freedom and happiness, but that requires equal opportunity and safety.
Founder, Transizion. The purpose of government is to provide essential services, fulfill the fundamental duties of safety, prosperity, and justice, ensure the rights of each human and protect the country so that its citizens, businesses, and organizations have the ability the pursue happiness, live a healthy life, and chase opportunities. The government needs to ensure that the essentials run smoothly and that our populations are connected, which ensures that the country can grow.
With growth comes more opportunities. And more opportunities equal great outcomes for our communities. Finally, the government should ensure the existence and improvement of the conditions that will help citizens build a nation.
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