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One of the central questions of political philosophy is what the purpose of government is. It is platitudinous to say that a good state is one that does (well) whatever governments should do, and it does nothing else. But this only makes it more pressing that we try to find out what governments should do--what their proper functions are, and are not--what, in the phrase of Wilhelm von Humboldt, their proper "spheres and duties" are. |
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One of the central questions of political philosophy is what the purpose of government is. It is platitudinous to say that a good state is one that does (well) whatever governments should do, and it does nothing else. But this only makes it more pressing that we try to find out what governments should do--what their proper functions are, and are not--what, in the phrase of Wilhelm von Humboldt, their proper "spheres and duties" are. |
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We might be tempted to say, as nearly everyone can agree, that the purpose of the state is to protect right?s and to preserve justice. But this raises more questions than it answers. Which and whose rights? What sort of justice? There are, after all, many different conceptions of what rights we have, and what justice consists of. |
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We might be tempted to say, as nearly everyone can agree, that the purpose of the state is to protect rights? and to preserve justice. But this raises more questions than it answers. Which and whose rights? What sort of justice? There are, after all, many different conceptions of what rights we have, and what justice consists of. |
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It is on those questions that one can find the differences between conservatism, liberalism, libertarianism, socialism,? and fascism. There are a handful of anarchists (see anarchism) among the socialists (see traditional anarchism) and the anarcho-capitalists (see anarcho-capitalism). But everyone else agrees that the existence of some kind of government is morally justified. What they disagree about is what government should do. |
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It is on those questions that one can find the differences between conservatism, liberalism, libertarianism, socialism, and fascism. There are a handful of anarchists (see anarchism) among the socialists (see traditional anarchism) and the anarcho-capitalists (see anarcho-capitalism). But everyone else agrees that the existence of some kind of government is morally justified. What they disagree about is what government should do. |
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The constitutions of various countries codify practical views as to the purposes of their governments, but they tend to do so in rather vague terms, which particular laws, courts, and actions of politicians subsequently flesh out. For example, the Preamble of the United States Constitution lists the items states that the purpose of the Constitution--which defines the American state--is "to form perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity." The phrase "promote the general welfare" has, since the 1930s, been used to defend the proposition that the United States is tasked with creating a social "[safety net]?," or welfare? system; others, however, have disagreed that the phrase can be properly interpreted that way. But it is in this sort of way that various countries have translated vague talk about the purposes of their governments into particular state laws, bureaucracies, enforcement actions, etc. |
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