From: lessgovt@gmail.com   
      
   QUORA: If it's "socialist" for the government to help its citizens,   
   financially or otherwise - what then is a detailed description of the function   
   of government?   
   ---answered by Brandon Ross, Small-l libertarian, 1 year ago   
   Oh no. No, no, no.  Socialist governments have shown over. and over. and over.   
   and over. and over. and over. and over. and over. gain that they lack basic   
   capacity to “help” their citizens, financially, or otherwise.   
      
   Socialist party members will often try to obtain political power by appealing   
   to the noble desire to “help”.   
      
   It will not surprise any adult that politicos—regardless if ideology or   
   party—often fail to do as they promise.   
      
   It is not “socialist” for the government to help its citizens. Rather,   
   when you are professing that the government has widespread powers to vaguely   
   “help” its citizens, you might be identifying yourself as a socialist.   
      
   what then is a detailed description of the function of government?   
      
   All governments aren’t made from cookie-cutters. People can try to make   
   whatever governments they want.   
      
   You can certainly try to institute a government which tries to “help” its   
   citizens. You will—as so many tens-of-millions of people have learned the   
   hard way—probably fail.   
      
   In the Western tradition, well, there’s no one way to summarize it. Because   
   the very way we think about the purpose of government has changed   
   significantly over time. And also, where you were located.   
      
   In the American tradition, the idea is that governments are fundamentally   
   premised upon coercive power. People create governments to serve certain ends.   
   And that the only valid reasons to use the government’s coercive powers to   
   protect life, liberty,    
   and property. (The latter phrase is sometimes substituted with “the pursuit   
   of happiness”.)   
      
   That is, government is intended to to a protective servant. Doing a few narrow   
   categories of things, at least in theory.   
      
   And within the safe society where personal rights have meaning, people are   
   free to “help” all the people they want in whatever ways they want—so   
   long as they don’t harm anyone else.   
      
   But that is why some people like using government power to “help” others:   
   they can’t help without hurting. They don’t perceive there is any hurt at   
   all.   
      
   To quote a very imperfect American President who knew his limitations on some   
   days:   
   "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are 'I'm from the   
   government, and I'm here to help.' "   
      
   For example, on comment the question asker suggests in a comment elsewhere   
   that if people can help each other, why can’t that government just do that   
   then.   
      
   Well. Governments often try. But as noted, they’re not necessarily very good   
   at it. When people get together because they’re motivated by some noble   
   purpose, they tend to care very much about it. It’s quite difficult to get   
   government agents to    
   care. You literally have to pay them, regularly and considerably. Which   
   isn’t inherently bad. Except, when they fail to do as they’re charged,   
   there is usually no effective way to stop paying them or direct them to do   
   something else—and they will    
   demand to be paid either way, regardless if they’re hurting or helping. This   
   is a fundamental systems control issue.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)