If you like the olde state of affairs, where your life wasn't protected by the collective strength of the people, unless you were a supreme ruler, then you'd be misguided to think that government by the people, for the people. Isn't the right approach. Tyrannical rulers of old bore this out.
When you accept that we are able to have a collective strength as a whole, that's bigger than the sum of us individually, then it becomes a matter of effective efficiency to have government that works well and manages essential aspects of life.
At its absolute minimum it will mean preservation of life. To succeed with this means the creation of a framework that gives this, whilst existing in an international community. Our basic living standards, including our food and water, what we breathe and where we live need protective standards. Existing amongst an international community means that we have to have communication, cooperation and influence globally, as others affect us, beyond our borders.
Getting just those basics right isn't easy and will typically mean legislation. There will be red tape. But we are governing ourselves, so that it's obviously much more efficient to use elected representatives to do this, rather than each of us negotiating standards of food, water, electricity, homes, borders etc, for ourselves.
As life is about a teeny bit more than just the basics, it's complex. All the better to have the economies of scale benefitting us, by having a few to do it for us all. We should expect more government, not less, as we expect a more complex life to be supported for us, well above the rock bottom minimum standards that just about keep us alive.
We've all benefitted from the standards imposed on life here by our government. These have meant restraints on those who would have abused their powers and harmed us, directly or indirectly, by their actions. Fossil fuels and tobacco industries have harmed us, as an example, both nationally and globally. Unscrupulous employers too.
Getting the balance right, between standards management and the cultivation of an environment that improves life for us all, is a difficult process - there will always be competing demands for action.
Too much of a laissez faire attitude works against both the common good as well as individuals wellbeing and experience shows this very clearly. |
