UnitedIssues U.S. Political Debates - Debate

"Is the government justifiable?"

Original Opinion by biofusion (7)

If government can be defined as a monopoly of force in a specific given region (which it is) - how is it morally justifiable? Does government have the right to engage in "legal plunder"? How does government regulate morality - through arbitrary laws of prohibition and regulation? How can an institution, such as government, centrally plan an entire economy - which is an organic entity? If you do not have the right to initiate force against others, why does the government have the right to engage in taxation?

Do you own your own body? If so, why can the government regulate what you put into it?

Responses

"The Government is Clearly Justifiable" by Jwerk (8)

The government is elected by the people, which justifies it. Certainly, there have been times when the gov oversteps it bounds, but you can't discredit its entire existence. If you want to see the consequences of having no government, head over to Somalia and see how they're doing.

"I don't necessarily agree..." by FreeRoamer (42)

"The government is elected by the people" just isn't quite enough to cut it in my opinion. First of all, the group "people" comprises billions of individuals all with different views. So-called "democracies" tend to take the sum of the opinions of an entire populace on each issue and mete out a policy reflecting the sort-of "average" opinion of the public on a certain topic. To me, this is not necessarily doing what the "majority" wants, as much as it is making an educated guess on what most people agree with. Even the "majority" is subject to change based on what issue is relevant at the time. Some of those that are the "majority" on one issue may find themselves to be the minority on a different one. So I guess what I'm trying to say here is that the concept of a "majority" group vs a minority group is not entirely consistent. And while democracies are better and tend to be more just than other forms of government seen in the past, they are nowhere near perfect.


As for taxation, on the one hand, I could see some justifying it because almost everyone wishes there to be a state for some reason or another, and thus pay their taxes reluctantly knowing that without the state, certain services they enjoy might cease to exist. On the other hand, however, while my neighbors may willingly consent and vote to pay for overseas wars, Prohibition conquests, or other expensive programs I dislike, I may not wish to support these programs that I disapprove of, and thus taxation in this case does amount to coercion, and is not justified. This is there Democracy distorts justice. "Government elected by the people" is really Government elected by the majority. And this has just as much potential to be oppressive as any other type of government.


"Do you own your own body? If so, why can the government regulate what you put into it"

As for this part, all I can say is they can because they can. In theory, rights come from God and/or natural law. But in practice, unfortunately rights have always been selectively recognized or ignored by who has the most guns.