Why Do We Need Government?

By Douglas V. Gibbs

"Society in every state is a blessing, but government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one; for when we suffer or are exposed to the same miseries by a government, which we might expect in a country without government, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer." --Thomas Paine, Common Sense, 1776

“If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.” ― James Madison, The Federalist Papers

In a society with no government, people have no freedom.  In a society with too much government, people have no freedom.

Without government there is no law, and without law there are no enforcers of the law.  This kind of system is called an anarchy, which is a transitional form of government.  In an anarchy, there is no freedom because the citizens must constantly protect their property, and their lives.

With government in place, there are laws in place.  When there are laws in place, it is necessary to hire enforcers of the law, such as a police force.  A society with a government in place can create an environment of freedom that allows citizens the ability to leave their property and engage in activities away from their property.

In a society with no government, people have no freedom.  In a society with too much government, people also have no freedom.

Tyrannical governments dominate the pages of history.  These governments obtain their power through violence, and bloodshed.  To maintain their power, they must also do so through violence and bloodshed.  When tyrannies are finally toppled, the path to dislodging tyrannies also includes violence and bloodshed.

Violence and death are the common results of powerful central governments with dominant rulers.

Dictators do not normally reveal their plans of tyranny during their rise to power, for the people would never have allowed them to become their leaders if they knew this kind of violence was in their future.

In history, tyranny is the rule, and liberty is the exception.  Governments that protect the freedoms of the people, and respect the rights of their citizens, are a rare occurrence.  Freedom requires the citizens to be informed and involved.  With freedom comes responsibility.

“A well-instructed people alone can be permanently a free people.” - James Madison.

An educated society begins by teaching the younger generations the principles of liberty.  The founders understood we need government, but a limited government was required to protect the rights and property of the citizens.  However, because of human nature, the founders realized that without making sure that the people remained educated about the system they had established, a downward spiral into despotism and tyranny was inevitable.

Thomas Jefferson originated the concept of public education, through state governance.  The original purpose of public education in this country was to teach our children:

·   Politics
·   History
·   Government

"Of all the views of this law [for public education], none is more important, none more legitimate, than that of rendering the people safe as they are the ultimate guardians of their own liberty." ~Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Virginia (1782)

An uneducated society allows tyranny to rise up because of the failure of the people to remain vigilant in protecting their freedoms.  The government becomes unwilling to live up to its promises, or follow the rule of law set up as a standard.

People often search for purpose through government, believing the false promises by their powerful leaders.  Then, the government creates emergencies, to better enable the rulers to do things they could not normally do when society is peaceful, and there are no domestic disturbances.  As a result of the emergencies, the citizens become eager for stability.  They are willing to accept something different than what they had in order to achieve peace and safety.  Even statism begins to look attractive, because all the people know is that they yearn for a change from what the citizenry had been experiencing under the prior government in crisis.

In the case of Adolf Hitler’s Germany, the German people were deceived by an evil Nazi ideology that eventually became a threat to the stability of the entire globe. War spread across Europe.  The Nazi War Machine engulfed Europe.  Japan began to swallow up territories in the Pacific.  Italy concentrated on North Africa.  During World War II Hitler slaughtered millions of Jews, as well as people the Nazis believed were genetically inferior, and people who dared to stand as opposition.  Millions of lives were lost during World War II to stop the tyranny of the Axis powers.

The Founding Fathers recognized the dangers of creating a central government.  Their research of the Anglo Saxons, Ancient Israel, Greece, Rome, and Slovenia revealed to them the dangerous reality that a central government in the United States created the potential of tyranny in the new country.  However, without a strong government, the union of States would be unable to defend themselves against invasion, nor ensure domestic tranquility.

The Founding Fathers of the United States recognized that government is necessary, but that too much government is dangerous, so the federal system created during the Constitutional Convention placed an emphasis on local control over local issues, while allowing the Federal Government to handle the external issues necessary for protecting, preserving, and promoting the union of Sovereign States.

The new government needed to recognize State Sovereignty.  The powers of the state governments would exceed the powers of the national government, except when regarding the authorities granted to the federal government.  The new United States Government had to be strong enough to protect, preserve and promote the union, while limited enough not to intrude upon the rights of the individual States.  Alexander Hamilton called for a strong national government, but many of his colleagues saw nationalism as dangerous, and prone to tyranny.

America needed a lion, powerful enough to defend the union against foreign enemies, but restrained enough that it left State Sovereignty alone.  The problem with lions, however, is that they eat you.  So the question was, how could the founders create a strong enough central government for the external issues, but limit it in such a way that it not only did not interfere with internal issues, but when needed, would act as a mediator between the States when necessary?

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

(Transcript for January 12, 2014 episode of Constitution Study Radio. . . )