What is Government?

What Government Does We all have routines, take

a few seconds and make a list what you do on a typical day

Take a second look at your list: which of the items is completely under your control and which are influenced, in some way, by government?

Why Government?

Why is government involved in these things? Government is simply the mechanism by which

people collectively organize to provide things individuals can not provide for themselves

Could a society function without a government? Whether you like it or not, government is necessary

and affects many aspects of your life

What About Government?

Allows us to overcome problems that are too big for an individual

We can provide things we can’t provide on our own by coordinating our actions

Usually involves a cost to the individual People would prefer to be a “free rider” Government allows/forces us to act

together, to achieve collective goals The Private depends on the Public

Classical Liberalism

But we are highly influenced by the Classical Liberal Tradition (Hobbes, Locke, etc.)

Individuals are rational and reasonable They have “natural” rights Therefore they deserve rights and liberties Works well with democracy and capitalism Leads us to overemphasize the individual

and underestimate their reliance on society

Government or the Free Market

Government determines what kind of restrictions there are on what can be traded

Government sets restrictions on who can participate in markets

Free market boundaries are not objective but are politically determined

Politics is about Power

What Government Does

The preamble of our Constitution essentially lays out what the Framers wanted our government to do

Establish Justice and Ensure Domestic Tranquility

Police powers to Provide Order Protect Property Set the rules that allow commerce to

flourish (enforce contracts, punish fraud, etc.)

Socialize citizens

Provide for the Common Defense

The global society has no government to establish justice

Subsequently all governments have an interest in protecting themselves

Promote the General Welfare

Provide “Public Goods” Things that everyone can share National defense, lighthouse, the

reduction of “negative externalities” such as air and water pollution

Promote the General Welfare Government also provides a number of

services that could be, and often are, provided by the private sector

Education, libraries, fire protection,

medicare, social security, etc.

Equality and Freedom

Positive Freedom: Having the power and resources to fulfill one’s potential

Equality requires government action to provide equal opportunities or to remove limitations to political or economic action

Allows everyone the opportunity to succeed even in the face of tragedy or bad luck

Equality and Freedom

Negative Freedom: absence of restraint Equality can be best achieved by government

getting involved as little as possible, especially in the marketplace

Why would a strong welfare state increase social mobility and make people more open to change?

Secure the Blessings of Liberty

Freedom of speech, press, assembly, etc.

Ironically, one key function of government is to protect us from itself

Politics

Taken to the extreme, some of the functions of government mentioned above come into conflict with each other.

For instance, we can’t have maximum amounts of both liberty and public services.

We need to contribute taxes to bring about things we can’t achieve on our own

Critics of government argue that the free market will provide what we need more efficiently without government

Politics

While we can all agree the preceding items are necessary

We disagree about how much of each of these we need or whom should provide them (national, state, local)

Politics is the competition to influence public policy

“who gets what, when, and how”