From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!npoiv!hou5f!ariel!houti!trc Newsgroups: net.politics Title: Reason for a government Article-I.D.: houti.229 Posted: Thu Mar 10 18:32:22 1983 Received: Fri Mar 11 06:03:59 1983 The fundamental purpose for a government is to insure the rational use of force. This is needed because not everyone is rational all the time, and sometimes even rational people are unable to agree. A government serves an enforcing and arbitrating role - in short, it insures justice and protects freedoms. A government can support an economic system by enforcing contracts in an even-handed manner and by settling disputes. Not all governments limit themselves to this - some (most) interfere greatly with the economic system. Since this goes generally contradicts the purpose of government, it is wrong. (It is a contradiction because it causes the government to be biased, and also because frequently individual rights are run over in the process.)