# What Is the Primary Function of Government **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 8, 2010, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-primary-function-of-government/556432 "2010-10-08T00:39:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-primary-function-of-government/556432/1 "2010-10-08T00:39:11Z")
What is the primary function of government? I don’t mean there can’t be any other functions but what should its main purpose and duty be? ---
**Author:** ![Gil-Martin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Gil-Martin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gil-Martin)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-primary-function-of-government/556432/2 "2010-10-08T00:50:04Z")
What \*is \*the primary function of government or what \*should be \*the primary function of government? I suppose the answer to the first question is probably staying in power. I don’t know the answer to the second question as I’m not a political scientist and my recent stab at world domination missed. However, it seems that an important function of government might be the distribution/redistribution of resources with an eye toward providing citizens with things they cannot reasonably be expected to provide for themselves. I’m thinking about things like the army and the highways. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-primary-function-of-government/556432/3 "2010-10-08T00:50:44Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > What is the primary function of government? I don’t mean there can’t be any other functions but what should its main purpose and duty be? To put out residential fires? ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-primary-function-of-government/556432/4 "2010-10-08T00:59:45Z")
> [@Gil-Martin](#): > > What \*is \*the primary function of government or what \*should be \*the primary function of government? I suppose the answer to the first question is probably staying in power. I don’t know the answer to the second question as I’m not a political scientist and my recent stab at world domination missed. However, it seems that an important function of government might be the distribution/redistribution of resources with an eye toward providing citizens with things they cannot reasonably be expected to provide for themselves. I’m thinking about things like the army and the highways. Your wording is confusing since it can be used to justify anything from minarchism to socialism. ---
**Author:** ![Gil-Martin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Gil-Martin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gil-Martin)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-primary-function-of-government/556432/5 "2010-10-08T01:20:38Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > > [@Gil-Martin](#): > > > > What \*is \*the primary function of government or what \*should be \*the primary function of government? I suppose the answer to the first question is probably staying in power. I don’t know the answer to the second question as I’m not a political scientist and my recent stab at world domination missed. However, it seems that an important function of government might be the distribution/redistribution of resources with an eye toward providing citizens with things they cannot reasonably be expected to provide for themselves. I’m thinking about things like the army and the highways. > > Your wording is confusing since it can be used to justify anything from minarchism to socialism. I apologize if I was unclear. I simply think what I suggested should be one of the main functions of any government. How a government should come to power, how a government should gain control of resources, how a government should distribute those resources and to what end . . . these things confuse me as well. I wasn’t really trying to advocate a particular brand of government so much as I was trying to start the conversation by throwing out a suggestion as to what one of the primary functions of a good government should be. It’s my hope that others will come along and comment on my idea, suggesting reasons why it might be right or wrong. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-primary-function-of-government/556432/6 "2010-10-08T01:29:27Z")
Maintenance of law and order, in my humble opinion. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-primary-function-of-government/556432/7 "2010-10-08T01:29:49Z")
What does the OP consider to be the primary function of government? ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-primary-function-of-government/556432/8 "2010-10-08T01:49:15Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > What does the OP consider to be the primary function of government? To restrain evil and maintain order. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-primary-function-of-government/556432/9 "2010-10-08T01:53:12Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > > [@LouisB](#): > > > > What does the OP consider to be the primary function of government? > > To restrain evil and maintain order. Do you include fighting the dreaded gum disease gingivitis in “restraining evil”? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-primary-function-of-government/556432/10 "2010-10-08T02:12:46Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > > [@LouisB](#): > > > > What does the OP consider to be the primary function of government? > > To restrain evil and maintain order. 1. Define “evil”. 2. Whose order? ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-primary-function-of-government/556432/11 "2010-10-08T02:19:43Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > > [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > > > To restrain evil and maintain order. > > 1. Define “evil”. > 2. Whose order? Evil: > [@](#): > > Evil is intentionally causing harm or destruction, or deliberately violating some moral code. The philosophical question of whether morality is absolute or relative leads to questions about the nature of evil. Evil is usually seen as the opposite of good. Order: Order needed to maintain prosperity and the well being of citizens. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-primary-function-of-government/556432/12 "2010-10-08T02:24:19Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > > [@Czarcasm](#): > > > > 1. Define “evil”. > > 2. Whose order? > > Evil: > > > [@](#): > > > > Evil is intentionally causing harm or destruction, or deliberately violating some moral code. The philosophical question of whether morality is absolute or relative leads to questions about the nature of evil. Evil is usually seen as the opposite of good. > > Order: Order needed to maintain prosperity and the well being of citizens. That clears it all up. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-primary-function-of-government/556432/13 "2010-10-08T02:26:45Z")
Establishing the greatest good for the greatest number of its citizens. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-primary-function-of-government/556432/14 "2010-10-08T02:36:34Z")
Government takes over coercion so it’s centralized. In a democracy, the use of coercive power is agreed on by a majority of the folks who can be arsed to care. Private property is a coercive, artificial construct that can do tremendously cool things sometimes: it, like the written language, is a powerful cultural invention. But it’s a cultural invention, not an objective fact of the universe or a moral absolute. Its reality is generally enforced by a government (via edicts like “don’t steal” and “don’t trespass”), but the cost of having a government enforce this construct is that the government mediates the harms caused by it: the same government that’ll throw you in jail for taking what someone has declared to be their property will also take some of that property and give it to you if you need it. Government, again, centralizes that coercive power. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-primary-function-of-government/556432/15 "2010-10-08T03:14:30Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > > [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > > > To restrain evil and maintain order. > > Do you include fighting the dreaded gum disease gingivitis in “restraining evil”? I thought it was ring around the collar? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-primary-function-of-government/556432/16 "2010-10-08T10:48:40Z")
1. To protect the nation from outside threats. 2. To guarantee the rule of law. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-primary-function-of-government/556432/17 "2010-10-08T10:59:50Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Government takes over coercion so it’s centralized. In a democracy, the use of coercive power is agreed on by a majority of the folks who can be arsed to care. There is another function which often comes a close second in time but which can take up as much or more of a government’s resources, which is the management of collective works; what we might term non-coercive social services. Without this, a government only stays in power for as long as it takes for someone else to grab a bigger stick (cf. Goth kings in Spain, whose main past-time seemed to be surviving assasination attempts). ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-primary-function-of-government/556432/18 "2010-10-08T13:08:00Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Establishing the greatest good for the greatest number of its citizens. Yep. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-primary-function-of-government/556432/19 "2010-10-08T14:10:46Z")
The primary function of a GOOD government is to channel the activities of ambitious men against each other so that they can’t gain too much power and cause trouble. If, in the struggle of these ambitious men to gain power, some good choices are made, so much the better. Ideally the ambitious will try to please the governed in their quest to gain their approval. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-primary-function-of-government/556432/20 "2010-10-08T14:56:13Z")
The primary function of government should be to secure the lives, liberty, and property of those persons subject to its jurisdiction. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-primary-function-of-government/556432.md?page=2)