Regardless of your geographic location, religion, heritage, party affiliation, or your firmness on historical texts; what is it that you believe government’s role to be - or should be?
If you’d like to elaborate, what is it you think your local or national government gets right and gets wrong?
I pose the question because I believe this fundamental belief is through which we observe and react to politics. There are things we want or don’t want government to do but often legislation or special interests or geographic or political threats get in the way. Our reactions to politics are often, but not wrongly, short-sighted and emotional without context or wisdom. I don’t see much dialog around this topic and I wonder if people subscribe to political parties without really considering if the party aligns with what they genuinely believe government’s responsibility is or should be.
I think there are two major purposes in government. First, protection for its citizens. This includes military protection from hostile foreign powers and domestic protection from interpersonal crime and systemic violence as well as providing safety nets.
The second is creation, protection, and maintenance of public infrastructure, including transportation arteries, healthcare systems, etc.
Furthermore, government should be centered around protecting all its citizens, not just the richest.