[Paul Victorey]

Just a post to generate some thinking on all our parts.

My theory on a good government:

A good government is one which imposes the minimum number of restrictions on personal freedom. Rights are not granted by government, but by our humanity, and rights should not be taken away.

Government SHOULD:

1) Maintain laws as are necessary to prevent a person or persons from impinging upon another's basic rights. This means killing, theft, racial discrimination, slavery, etc. are not allowed. Also, drugs whose use makes the user a significant danger to others would be banned; the people around that person have a right to safety.

2) Provide equal legal protection to all citizens, and ensure trials are as fair as possible.

3) Provide basic infrastructure, like roads, currency, etc.

4) Provide a means of support for those who are unable to help themselves, or need emergency aid that they cannot pay for (like in medical emergencies). Handouts should be ONLY as much as is needed, and only when it is imperitive. Also, aid in non-cash form is preferred, to ensure that the person uses the aid as it is meant. An example is providing a single mother with free child care (one of the biggest reasons single mothers can't make it is the expense of child care) so they can work a job to support themselves and their children.

5) Provide a means of defense against foreign and domestic problems.

6) Set standards to ensure worker safety, and set a minimum wage to ensure people can live on their income.

Government SHOULD NOT:

1) Legislate morality. People have the right to choose immorality, and choosing to be moral only because someone is forcing you to cheapens the whole idea of morality.

2) Impinge upon the privacy or liberties of its citizens. "Those who would trade a vital liberty for a temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety". People have the right to do what they want with their lives; people are even free to flush their lives down the toilet if they so choose.

3) Give handouts to those who can make it on their own but choose not to. Single people without dependants, and without mental or physical handicaps should never get aid (excepting medical attention if they require it) -- a single person, especially when the economy is strong as it has been, can make it. It might not be fun, they may not have luxuries, but they can survive.

4) Put the individual at the mercy of the mob. People have the right to hold even unpopular opinions. So long as they are not impinging on another person's liberties, people should be free to do any action, even ones that the rest of society frowns upon, without fear that their liberties will be impinged upon. If "the greater good" is ever put as the all-important, then we become a society of slaves to society.

I'm sure there are other things to fall into both categories that I'm missing in this, but this is my view on government.