Some out there may well wonder if I’m some kind of anarchist, hoping that government goes away forever, leaving us to just muddle through our lives. I’ll be honest, there’s some appeal to something like that, but it suffers from the same problem as any other utopian ideal. It expects people to be something other than they actually are. The only way for it to work is for people, as a whole, to become decent beings and so far I haven’t seen any evidence of that one happening.
So, the question becomes, when should government step in? Otherwise, what would be the point of government if it doesn’t do anything at all?
One function of government is to catch criminals. This is one of those things that the private sector isn’t and can’t do in my opinion, so government should obviously take care of that. Notice I didn’t say protect people, and there’s a reason for that. I was raised by a cop, and I understand a good bit about the limitations of the job. They can’t actually protect people, at least not all the time. Instead, they have to protect by catching the bad guys as soon as possible. The only person who can protect you, even in today’s world, is yourself.
Next, they should handle the courts. This kind of goes along with dealing with criminals, but not completely. Contracts need enforcing, and that’s something else the courts do. In addition, civil cases should be tried. Yes, there’s a problem with what some term as “jackpot justice”, but they serve a valid function within our legal system.
Also included in the whole “dealing with criminals” thing is fraud. Many a regulation exists that really just boils down to committing fraud. No one will argue that fraud is acceptable. No one. And, as such, it should be dealt with as a criminal activity but with civil penalties as well. Not only do you get jail time, but you’re going to have to pay every penny back. And personally, I don’t think bankruptcy should get you out of that one.
Next, I’m going to throw fire departments into the mix. This is one of those cases where the free market failed, so I have no problem letting the government step in. In the 19th Century, fire departments were private ventures with various business models. And the problems it created are legendary, from refusing to put out fires because they didn’t pay in advance, to fights between rival fire units. Yeah, let’s not try that one again.
Roads are another area that I’m actually cool with government working in. Not all Libertarians are. Many think roads should be a private venture, and I think the idea bears some looking into as a alternative to traffic congestion or as a new way to finance roads if nothing else, but we need roads and I’m personally in favor (for the most part) of how the system of roads at the moment. I’m still trying to figure out how the U.S. Department of Transportation could think that an interstate into Albany wouldn’t be in our best interests though, but that’s a whole other topic.
And, quite frankly, that’s about it, as far as state and local government goes. Obviously, the federal government should have a strong military, but that wasn’t the focus. Notice that there’s no mention of preventing people from ingesting chemicals into their body that they know they shouldn’t. Notice that there’s no mention of taking money from the hardworking producers to give to the non-working moochers. Notice there’s no mention of a lot of things that people expect government to take care of.
Now, could this list change over time? Sure. I’m open enough to listen to arguments that government should do certain things, but not if they regulate behavior that has zero impact on anyone other than the person committing the act. However, for me to change my mind, there needs to have been a failure of freedom to address the problem. So far, there has been a profound lack of that.
