To improve human wellbeing.
I disagree that this is the function of government. The world is covered with governments. Big governments or small, what all of them are is authoritarian. With all this governing going on, and the world is an utter mess, I'd say that anarchy would produce better results. Increased well being for many more of us, not only for the ruling class. We have been tricked into thinking we need government for our wellbeings; taxation is nothing but theft. Fascists are in charge, and our purchasing their contraptions, which anyone my age can tell you, has done nothing toward providing
solutions and shortcuts to our needs,
or
what is convenient to do, and easy to accept.
A masquerade indeed. Governments are parasites. They feed on our belief in their necessity in our lives. We do not need them.
Whew! I got that out.
I no longer carry my cell phone anywhere with me. Put your phones down, they are our enemy's weapons, aimed at our heads. This is a start.
I may not have quite discussed your topic. I got carried away. sorry.
I disagree with your disagreement. And agree. Because yes, all governments are authoritarian and suck ass, but this is because all governments are doing the absolute wrong thing in what they need to do for wellbeing. It is like a company that is meant to be making computers, but have the machinery to make balloon animals, and are using it to try and make pharmaceuticals.
However, at the scale of humanity now, we need governance in some form. Obviously there are far, far, far better ways than we currently employ - but whatever tool replaces it has to have the right focus. If not, it will still produce the same results.
So yeah, agree and disagree. :D
I dunno about that need. I don't think we need it, even now, although life would look very different if we were forced to live without it now, definitely. We have been made dependent on government - via socialized medicine, social security, welfare etc - a symbiosis that is much more beneficial for the rulers than it is for the rest of us. We are trapped. Do we need government just to remain in our traps? I've got Fountainhead on the brain at the moment. What's to stop us from going to a remote place, starting over, and having only a very minimal government? Liberland is an interesting place trying to do just that. I hope they pull it off.
The only time I have anything to do with government now that I am retired is when I have to do paperwork for it, or write checks to it. I could do without both of these. I like that monthly social security check, but I remember big chunks that came out of every single paycheck beginning with my first job, and wonder if I couldn't have done without that, too.