What is the purpose of government?

[last1standing]

Too often when talking to people about politics, even here at DU, I find that I have a much different concept of the purpose of government than many others so I'd like to ask what other DUers believe is its purpose.

Myself, I believe the purpose of government is to allow a society a mechanism for bettering the lives of its people. Any action the people of a society believes will aid its people is a proper purpose for that mechanism. Often, I hear people talk about how government needs to punish people or make a profit and I ask why. What benefit is there to creating a mechanism for retribution or profit? I understand that sometime people must be punished in order to protect the other people in a society and that a government needs to fund its works, but I believe those actions are secondary to the primary, over-arching, purpose of bettering its people. Am I completely off-base?

What do you think is the government's purpose?

[RC]

1. The Government's function is to serve and protect the people.

To build and maintain roads. Municipal water and sewer. Public schools. Enforce the laws and be responsible to the people. Public parks.
Set-up and maintain Single Payer Universal Health care. Regulate businesses, be they Mom & Pop, or large corporations. Regulate for the public good.
Whatever, the citizens as a whole, need to come first.

[el_bryanto]

2. I think that Governments purpose is to solve problems that only government can solve

Other problems are best handled on the family or local or economic level (I am a capitalist) - but Government has to handle some problems that are larger and concern all of us.

Bryant

[FarCenter]

3. To maintain a monopoly on the protection racket

When it fails, you get multiple protection rackets -- e.g. Somalia, Libya, Afghanistan, and other "failed states".

Multiple protection rackets are almost always worse than having one protection racket -- particularly if the one can be limited in its powers by constitutions, elections, and checks and balances.

[lumberjack_jeff]

4. I think that the founders were pretty clear thinking in this regard

a) assure domestic tranquility
- which requires guaranteeing justice
b) provide for collective defense
c) promote wellbeing generally
d) guarantee freedoms consistent with a-c

Only if all of the above are guaranteed will the governed consent to it.

You didn't ask this question, but the purpose of an economy is to allocate resources in a way that maximizes the happiness of the people participating in it.

[mynaturalrights]

5. Social contract , both must serve each other or it won't work

A modern failed state , North Korea

It's government consumes all it encounters.

[bobclark86]

6. The point of OUR (U.S.) government...

is spelled out in crayon.

"...in order to form a more-perfect union, to establish justice and domestic tranquility, to provide for the common defense, and promote the general welfare..."

[hfojvt]

9. the ACLU sends me many copies of that document

this one reads

"to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the General Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity ..."

the DOI says

we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights.

(at this point I gave up on my memory)

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, "

to secure the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

[Jamaal510]

7. Government's purpose is to

see that people's basic rights are ensured, and simultaneously act for the sake of the common good. Its job is to maintain order and always strive towards a more perfect Union. With less government, it would lead to more room for the elites and for corporations to get over everyone else with no taxes to pay and no regulations to follow, and people who are already disadvantaged will have their rights further jeopardized (no gay rights, no access to contraceptives, a return to a time where less people could vote, etc).

[KentuckyWoman]

8. To protect the assets of the 1%

and always has been from what I can see....human history wise.

edit to add that I participate as a citizen to force the 1%ers who own my government to pacify the 99% more.