Further thoughts on role of government

Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Distrust of government in its ability to protect the weak and the poor is the automatic response of those who manage to take care of themselves or to thrive in an environment where everybody is for himself. Humans are social animals. That means we live in groups, thus the issues of power, law and order, and allocation and use of resources have to be addressed. At one time in the past (and a very long time indeed) the weak and the poor were exploited by the strong and the wealthy. A very few have to resort on begging to survive. As humans evolved both in material well-being and morally (unfortunately, this only happens in the industrial West and few countries in the rest of the world), few enlightened thinkers advocated more rights (voting rights and labor laws to curb capitalist excesses) for the poor and the weak as well as for the society at large (environmental laws). Some governmental agencies were set up to make sure those laws were respected. The system works fine if the enforcers of the laws are not corrupt. How to minimize the possibility of corruption? Answers: education, especially moral education and a free press. Problems arising from abuses of power are interconnected and lies in the nature of man. However, a government is a necessity. Helping the poor and the weak is also a necessity so they have a chance to get ahead. If they wish to remain weak and poor is to be up to them. The secret is not to coddle them so they lose the motivation to improve themselves and bring down the competitiveness of the whole society against the competition of other societies. The West and countries like Japan, Australia, and New Zealand seem to do fine in this socialist-minded scheme of governance. The U.S., the last stronghold of unbridled capitalism, is making progress by fits and starts. Universal health care, as envisioned by Obama administration, is in the right direction. All refugees to the U.S., including the Viet boat people, at one time or another received some kind of help to get going. Most rose to the challenge, worked hard and joined the mainstream. Others, out of laziness or incompetency, remain stuck in poverty and live a life devoid of dignity because of reliance on social help to survive. The more better off members of society have a choice: to cut off all aid to the poor or to continue helping the poor. The Tea Party, simplistically put, opts for the former choice and refuse to pay more taxes. Unfortunately, the poor votes also. There lies the perpetual struggle between the have and the have-not. The solution is to find ways to convert the have into joining the rank of the have-not. However, in times of economic problems, the ranks of the have-not swell. 

I am going to circle back to where I started. The bottom line is I go for enlightened governmental intervention to uplift the poor and the weak. Such is also the philosophy of most Democrats. Everything starts with the education of the heart: love and compassion, respect of laws, and avoidance of abuses of power.

Wissai