This is a question our founders debated endlessly as they looked to realize a vision self-governance absent a monarch. This is a question that is still debated everywhere–from the chambers of your state legislature, to the quarterly meeting of your local school board, to the meeting room of your homeowner’s association.
Every government needs a few basic things. Someone has to protect the country from outsiders. Someone has to make and interpret the laws. Someone has to settle disputes. And someone has to pay for all of it. That means even the simplest government requires something resembling a military, courts, laws and taxes. And there’s one more requirement that’s easy to overlook: government must have the power to enforce its decisions. A tax that nobody has to pay isn’t really a tax. A court order that everyone can ignore isn’t much of a court order.
Is there a threshold for too much government, when government feels like an oppressive force on the people and an anchor on progress? Conversely, where is the line on too little government, when one’s individual liberties might trample on another’s well-being?
These are just a few of the questions and concepts we explore in the CFFAD short learning module, What Could Governments Do for You. Please check out this module and other learning materials at www.CFFAD.org.
