WHAT ARE GOVERNMENTS FOR?

What are governments?  19 th Century: night watchman states › Provide law and order, defense, protect property  20 th Century: Police state and welfare states › Welfare state: from Bismarck to US  However, Western Europe focuses on health equality, US focuses on equality of opportunity and education  Welfare states have grown into regulatory states because governments have become large and inefficient

Reformation and Enlightenment  Church being questioned-as was divine right  Martin Luther-focused on individual rights and right to worship God directly

Locke vs Hobbes  Thomas Hobbes believed the state’s only job is to stop disorder, protect against war; actually encouraged democratic thought while defending royal absolutism  John Locke believed the state’s job is to protect property, commerce and economic growth

Locke vs. Hobbes IssueLocke: Second Treatise on GovernmentHobbes: Leviathan Human nature and natural law Man is by nature a social animal and they have an ability to know right and wrong and what is theirs and someone else’s Man is not by nature a social animal, society only exists through the state and property only exists through the state The State of Nature Men were honest, and while insecure it was peaceful, good and pleasant No society, man lives in continual fear of death; life is solitary, poor, short The Social Contract We give up our right to ourselves exact retribution for crimes in return for impartial justice If you shut up and do as your told, you have right not to be killed Violation of Social Contract If a ruler seeks absolute power, he is in a state of war with citizens and they have a right to kill the ruler No right to rebel; ruler’s define good and evil Role of the State The only role of the state is to ensure that justice is being done Whatever the state does is just by definition Adapted from

Jean Jacques Rousseau  The Social Contract  Freedom of Thought and Action  All citizens could and should join in the making of laws agreed on by the basis of the general will

Other functions of governments  1. Community and nation building  teaching common language, heritage, values, symbols, myths, identity  2. Security and order  Internal and external security

Other functions  3. Protecting property and other rights  Without protections of property, people won’t work to create sustained economic growth  4. Promoting economic efficeincy and growth to prevent economic failure  Provide public goods (national defense, clean air, parks)  Externalities---natural monopolies

Other functions  5. Social justice  Create level playing field through redistribution  6. Protect the weak  Children  Aged  Disabled  Animals  Environment

Critics of governments  Anarchists  Communitarians Believe governments destroy communities  Libertarians  Individualists Governments violate basic rights of people

Other criticisms of government  Creates economic inefficiency---government has too much involvement in the economy  Government is good for private gain---common in poor societies where politics is the path to wealth  Government protects vested interests---the larger the government, harder to change

Alternatives  Markets  Libertarians argue that less government is more government  Voluntary Coordination  Anarchists would like to see the office holders closer to the people and more opportunities for people to participate in decision making