Foundations of Government Part 2: Purposes of Government

Government’s Purposes This is what government does: Maintain Social Order Provide Public Services Provide for National Security Make Economic Decisions This is not why government exists.

Maintain Social Order The government is there for protection by providing ways of preventing, stopping, and resolving conflicts. This is done through law and legal structures; the government has the power to enforce binding laws on all citizens. This structure contains and controls conflict through limiting actions and establishing courts to further resolve conflicts.

Provide for Public Services Public services are essential services that people need but cannot or will not do on their own. For example: public sanitation.

Provide National Security A government is charged with protecting its people from inside and outside threats. This also includes international relations, i.e., treaties—which only a government can make. Why would a nation-state want to open good relations with another? Trade, culture, technology, etc.

Make Economic Decisions A government can provide economic opportunities and/or resources, but it cannot provide everything based on the economic principle of scarcity. Scarcity is the idea that resources and products are limited. This idea is a catalyst for conflict. This is the point at which a government tries to avoid conflict by intervening in an economic system and making decisions. They want stability and have the opportunity to achieve it by controlling inflation, encouraging trade, and regulating natural resources.

Review Government is an essential feature of a __________. Along with what else? What is the definition of the word in the blank above? It can be combined with a __________, which is a…? And if we were to combine these terms, we wind up with a ___________, which is a…? Why is each of the essential features important? What are the purposes of government?