What Roles Should Governments Take On? Chinese and Greek Examples

Four Roles of Authority or Government: Keep the peace and maintain “rule of law” by creating and enforcing public policies (laws). Military protection of community. Provide needed services to community members. Maintain institutions and programs deemed necessary by the community.

Educating citizens in the operation of their political system and government is the goal of civics. Political System Athens’ political system includes the residents and the process they use to govern themselves. Government Athens’ government is the organization which has legislative, executive and judicial powers to manage all public affairs.

Examples from Greece. Once the people in a community transfer their individual power to an authority, they have formed a state. In 500 BCE (Before Common Era) the city-state of Athens, Greece allowed free males of Greek ancestry to be citizens. “Polis” is the Greek word for “town with wall” or a city-state. “politeia” was the Greek community of citizens inside a city-state. Politics comes from this word.

Athenians were required to take part in their government. Juries maintained the rule of law by deciding the guilt or innocence of townspeople charged with crimes. Socrates’ trial was an example!

Athenian citizen- soldiers served in their city-state’s military. The citizen-soldiers defended their polis. This is a drawing of a Greek phalanx, an ancient battle technique. The Spartan army was famous for their fighting abilities.

The polis maintained a market place for residents to buy and sell goods. It also served as a meeting place to discuss city “politics”- issues affecting the relative power of Athenians.

The polis government also produced plays in open theatres within the city-states. These plays were a service any resident could enjoy, except slaves.

What are the “proper” roles of government ? This is a question to be decided by you! Two ancient political philosophers have spoken on this topic: Confucius and Plato.

Confucius- Chinese teacher who lived during time of warring city-states around 500 BCE.

Confucius’ Roles of Government First, the government should earn the peoples’ respect. It must not lose the faith of the people. Second, the government should make sure the people have food to eat. Third, the government should maintain an army to defend the nation-state.

"There is (good) government, when the prince is prince, and the minister is minister; when the father is father, and the son is son." (Analects XII, 11.) Confucius’ students collected and published his teachings in the Analects.

Plato- Greek philosopher Wrote the Republic in 360 BCE. Rulers should be wise and rule to benefit the ruled, not themselves.

The greatest harm to a state is disagreement about who should rule, since competing factions create civil strife. The goal of politics in a city-state is harmony or agreement among the citizens about who should rule. Harmony requires that the state cultivate virtue and the rule of law. Plato’s Roles of Government

The greatest harm to a state is disagreement about who should rule, since competing factions create civil strife. The goal of politics is harmony or agreement among the citizens about who should rule. Last, harmony requires that the state cultivate virtue and the rule of law.

Now is your turn. What was the proper role for US government…. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1932)Herbert Hoover (1936)