The Government: Beginning and Purpose

Both Common Sense and Education state that it is the basic duty of every citizen to understand and partake in Politics. The partaking in politics doesn't just mean voting for your favorite politician or hooting for a specific political party, partaking in politics means understanding the very nature of politics which includes governance and administration of your country/state/district, organization of your society, comparative analyzing it with other countries and trying to implement the most efficient methods of organizing your society and Country, so it is always one step ahead of everyone else.

Government and Society: An Important Distinction

The Governed City: A Classic Painting

Some authors have mixed society with the government so much, that they have little to no distinction between them but in reality, the society and government are not only different but also have different origins. 

Society is born out of our needs, while government arises from man's nature of wrongdoings. Society is the participation of people while government is the there to punish those who break society's rules. Society brings happiness by bringing people together, while government primarily serves to prevent misbehavior. Society fosters connections, whereas the government sets rules. Society is like a friend, and the government is like an enforcer.  

Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; and in its worst state an unbearable tyrant. When we suffer due to the government, we are exposed to the same miseries by a government, which we might expect in a country without a government.

The government is like the clothes(which have no reason to exist in a perfect society) covering our lost innocence. If it was the inherent nature of each and every man to be just, moral, and socially obedient, then we would need no other lawgiver, But because that's not the case, we give up, as taxes to the government, some of our hard-earned property to protect the rest from the wrongdoers. 

This is a practical choice – we choose the lesser of two evils. So, the real purpose of government is to provide security.  

The Need and Origin of Government

For us to clearly understand the idea of Government and Laws. let's imagine a small group of people living in a distant place, unconnected with the rest, far from everyone else. They will then represent the first people of any country, or of the world. 

In this state of natural freedom, they first think about living together. This choice will be motivated by a thousand reasons. The primary of it would be the need for help from each other. A group of 4 people could make a house in a day or two, which one alone would take a month to make. The benefits of unity and companionship are naturally encouraging. Thus necessity, like a gravitating power, would soon form our newly arrived emigrants into society.

This society, governed just by only individual morality will last only for some time. As they grow in numbers and start facing more challenges, they might face many disagreements, and they may not be as good to each other as before. This is when they start needing some form of government to make up for the lack of moral virtue.  

They could gather under a tree to discuss their issues, discuss some disagreements, and create basic rules/laws for the future. Their first laws might just be simple rules enforced by public disapproval, not severe punishments. In this first parliament every man, by natural right, will have a seat.

As the community keeps growing, from emigration or natural law, their disputes and disagreements will increase as per the natural order. With population, their distance from each other will increase too. One member of the society might live down to the stream and another might live high up in the mountain. In this situation, it will be too inconvenient for all of them to meet on every occasion like before. So in this situation, they might choose some people among themselves to manage the part of governance and legislation. These individuals should have the same interests as others and should act the same as if the whole group were present.

With time, as the population grows even higher, it's best to divide the group into parts, with each part sending its own representatives so that the interest of every part of the group may be attended to.

Elections should happen often, so the elected representatives don't get too distant from the electors. This also ensures that the representatives mix with the electors from time to time, making their loyalty stronger. This way, their loyalty to the public is ensured. This frequent interchange establishes a common interest with every part of the community, and this is what makes a government strong and the people happy. 

So, the origin of government is rooted in the need to address the shortcomings of human behavior. Its main goal is to ensure freedom and security. No matter how fancy a government may seem, the simple voice of nature and reason tells us it's essential. 

This idea of the best government is based on a natural principle – the simpler something is, the less likely it is to go wrong, and it's easier to fix when it does.