#233 / Good Government

How about a website called "governmentisgood.com?" There is one. Click on the link.

The relationship between individuals and the government (the "me" and the "we" parts of our life) are not, despite what the tee-shirt says, exactly simple. It's certainly not true that the "market is good" and that the "government is bad." I would be more inclined, personally, to reverse the slogan, but it's not true that "government is good" and that the "market is bad," either.

I think we have two political "parties" (and always have had) mainly because there really are two important principles that both must be respected by our politics: everything that exists in our world is initiated, somehow, in the mind, heart and spirit of an individual human being. We need to protect and preserve human freedom and liberty at all costs. Furthermore, in terms of the allocation of goods and services, a "market" system that permits individual choice to have a large impact on what happens collectively is a good way to make collective decisions.

We are not, however, simply a bunch of individuals, and we need to recognize (along with the Founding Fathers) that governments are needed to secure and defend the rights of individuals, and to make collective decisions on behalf of all of us - decisions that are often far more important than the "market" decisions that decide what brand of soap we use on our dishes, or what movie we're going to see this weekend.

I like good government. And I think that government is good. Really, check that website!