Why do we need government?

 

We need government because people are not perfect. Because they are not perfect they do things that affect the freedoms and safety of those around them. Some people choose to physically harm others or to infringe upon their God given rights. Some people refuse to respect the property of those around them. Some people refuse to honor commitments. Well meaning people have disagreements that they are unable to resolve themselves. For these and other reasons government is needed.

We have government to create and enforce laws that protect individuals from those who would do them harm or who would infringe upon their rights. Without such laws and a government to enforce them no one would be safe. People would be deprived of their basic rights such as freedom of speech and religion. The weak would be at the mercy of the strong. Conflicts between individuals would be resolved through violence. People would have to constantly be armed and ready to defend themselves. Peace would be impossible.

We need government to protect individual property. Without government and laws to protect property people would spend the bulk of their time defending it from others. Your property would be yours only until someone stronger took it from you. There would be no incentive to work or produce anything that couldn’t be used immediately because it would just have to be defended or given up.

The economy depends on people honoring the contracts they make with others. Businesses can only operate if they know others will honor the contracts they have with them. Because some people are dishonest and refuse to honor their commitments there needs to be a mechanism to enforce contracts. This mechanism is provided by government through laws and courts.

Even well-meaning peaceful individuals will have disagreements they can’t resolve themselves. There needs to be a peaceful means of resolving such disagreements without resorting to violence. Government provides the means. Through laws and courts such disagreements can be resolved and enforced peacefully.

In short, we need government to protect us as individuals, to insure our God given rights, to protect our property, to enforce commitments, and to provide a peaceful means of resolving disagreements. For these reasons and others government and law are needed. For, as stated in the Doctrine and Covenants, without law “peace and harmony would be supplanted by anarchy and terror.”

Published August 24, 2016