If you ask a random person what the main purpose of government is, what would be the answer? Of course, most people think or believe that governments are necessary to protect the people, create and maintain public infrastructure, and perhaps in some more socialist oriented countries, organise some public welfare and/or healthcare system. But how does this relate to the actual daily life needs of people?
It’s not hard to concoct a list of things most people need: money, affordable housing, affordable energy, affordable and clean water, clean air, healthy food, clothing, affordable health care, education, exercise, to be able to travel, peace, happiness and security. This is just a short list but I guess it covers the basics. If you believe a TV or a computer is essential for everyday life, please feel free to add this to your personal list. But this is not about what should be on this list and what not. The point I’m trying to make here is that no government actually provides these things for people. Most people will need to provide for and take care of their families and themselves, earning money, buying or renting a house, buying food, clothes, paying all the utility and doctors bills and making sure everyone’s safe.
If the sole reason for the existence of governments rests on the principle that they should serve the people (and not the other way around), then why are they not doing so?
The answer is very simple: they can’t. Any government of course would deny this, because it would undermine their existence. So instead, many governments make sure that people are in some way dependent on them, or at least make them believe that they are. So they will try to ‘regulate’ almost anything they can, to gain power and control, and try to sell this as being beneficial. But does this really serve the people?
What about the law and the police, you might say? Isn’t that just a typical thing that should be handled by governments? Yes and no. I think we can all agree upon the fact that in every society, small and large, we need some common set of rules and some sort of law enforcement to make sure we keep the peace and have justice when needed. But to leave this solely in the hands of governments is extremely dangerous. Have you ever asked yourself, what would happen if a government turns against its own citizens and is not to be trusted anymore? Who will protect you if the same government makes, upholds en enforces laws?
And what about the military? We should at least have a military to protect the country, right? Well, yes, of course we need some way to defend ourselves from foreign invaders, but have you noticed the role of the military lately? The focus of the military has shifted from defending the country to a more offensive role, where ‘peace keeping’ is done by invading other countries, eliminating possible (terrorist) threats. And ask yourself, did these interventions really contribute to more peace and stability? And what about the fact that in some countries soldiers are now ‘assisting’ local police to enforce dubious laws? So in that perspective I can honestly say that having such a military, especially one controlled by our governments, is not giving me a feeling of security.
Today we are having one crisis after the next. And we all look upon our leaders to solve them.
There’s a pandemic (although according to some the pandemic is over), we have a climate crisis (supposedly one we all agree upon), a financial crises and a looming nuclear war. So what should people be able to expect from their governments? Please feel free to reflect with me on these topics to come up with some obvious solutions. We’ll start with the war. How about peace talks and disarmament? Sounds good not? I don’t see it happen, do you? The financial crisis then. I would suggest to stop borrowing more money and start paying back depts, like we all learned from our parents and grandparents. Instead governments keep printing and borrowing more money than ever. The climate crisis is real many people say. So how should our government handle this one? How about getting rid of all pollution (the real reason why people get sick), and trying to live in harmony with nature, taking care of our legacy and our natural resources instead of exploiting them? Again, I think this solution is too obvious. And last but not least, the pandemic. I don’t want to say too much about this, so I stick with mentioning the fact that imposing lockdowns by copying Chinese tactics, and forcing people to get jabbed with an, at least dubious, ‘vaccine’ is not the way forward.
Heaving said all this, I feel the need to also mention some of the good things governments do for the people, like social benefits, public schools, hospitals, roads and transport.
I strongly believe in the importance of having such public services, because they also provide (social and financial) security for people. But please keep in mind that although this sounds good, these things cost a lot of money, which we all have to pay for. This is why we pay taxes, although unwillingly, otherwise you’ll get fined or end up in prison. Not very friendly isn’t it? Don’t get me wrong, this is not a plea for the abolishment of taxes, but they should at least be reasonable. In some countries the total tax burden is as high as 80% for ordinary people with a regular income. Is this reasonable? But hey, I don’t mind paying a little more to support others that really need it, although I would prefer to do this voluntary.
Ok, this article is becoming a long read, sorry for that. But I needed to get it all of my chest. So yes, finally, when summing all up, in my honest opinion, governments are not your friend and, I dare to say they are hostile, which makes them an enemy of the people. They take your money forcefully, they create more problems then they solve, they’re not capable of handling crises, and they don’t provide what people really need. Instead, they seem to do quite the opposite, making things worse. And they tend to grow bigger every day, spending more money and creating more problems. And please listen carefully when I say this: this is not the fault of the men and women working for the government. They just do their job. It’s the system, and in the end the people that believe in this system, which is the primaire reason governments thrive. And in that simple fact lies the cause of all mischief, but also the solution.
