The Proper Role of Government

Vanity | 1/25/2008 | pgyanke

[zeugma]

I'm fairly libertarian in my outlook, so generally your post appeals to me. I'd probably place a bit more emphasis on your 4th point (Enforce contracts and property rights) because I think it is one of the few fundamental purposes of government. Anywhere you look in the world where you find 2nd and 3rd world countries you find a fundamental lack of respect for the rule of law in general and especially contract law in particular.

I firmly believe that it is contract law that drives much of the prosperity we see in America. That's one of the reasons I view with great alarm trends over the past decade or so of abrogating contracts by governmental fiat. One recent example of this is the pressure brought to bear by the feds regarding "sub-prime" lending. While in this particular case they didn't actually come out and impose their will with tanks, the threat was clearly there.

Unless you're arguing with an outright communist (there are more of them around than you'd believe, though they may not realize it themselves), you might want to bring out Marx's Communist Manifesto. Though many won't particularly care that just about every single one of his 10 planks are official policy of the U.S. government, some will see the death and destruction Karl has wrought and consider that following down that particular path might not be the best thing to do.

I must say though, that attempting to argue from first principles is a tough row to hoe, as most people have neither the time nor inclination to examine why they believe what they do.

[RightWhale]

The problem is not with government and constitutions but with confusing the state with government. The Press, for example, is an institution of the state but not part of government. Government has a role that varies from state to state. The state will have all these functions and many more not usually seen clearly as state institutions, and government will have some regulatory power over markets. The military is not part of government but an institution of the state although at present funded by government to avoid corruption.

[FR Class of 1998]

Greetings. I did read your post. You wanted a list of the proper responsibilities of government, and that is what I provided to you.

[ovrtaxt]

Cool, I’m famous! :)

Sincerely, you have some great resources on your page. Nice collection of quotes, some of which are new to me.

Thanks for the kind words, I’ll accept them even from a Raiders fan.

[pgyanke]

Thanks for the kind words, I’ll accept them even from a Raiders fan.

I have to admit... this does call my judgement to question...

[Mack the knife]

Didn’t this ground get plowed in the Federalist Papers? After all, it was the justification for ratification of the new Constitution.

[pgyanke]

It did... but we’re talking about compiling a simple list of the appropriate functions of government. Rather than spending weeks combing the Papers, I decided to go further back to their foundations to come up with my list... one item: protect private property.

[pgyanke]

Besides, as I pointed out to others... these guys have already stated their lack of reverence for the Constitution... quoting it further would not win arguments. I need to rebuild its foundations for them.