Governance and Society

What is government? What, if anything, ought to be the purpose of government? How can these purposes best be achieved? Can the answer to the question about the purpose of government be grounded in any deeper philosophical principles?

To answer these questions it might help to consider some functions that governments have taken on throughout history from: international functions (e.g. wars, foreign aid), economic roles (e.g. regulations, subsidies), public services (e.g. judicial system, education system), and much more. Is there a unifying purpose behind all of these things, or should all or any of these things even be a part of what a government does, and why?

If you have any thoughts or questions to share then feel free to share them in the comments, or anything else.

I thought this topic might be different from some of the past topics. I expect that it will involve questions about morality as well as issues concerning political philosophy. The discussion can consider as cases any government in history, or even governments in general as an abstract concept.

The focus of the conversation will not directly be on what is wrong with the American government, but such examples might be helpful to illustrate some point or principle. To give an analogy, the goal is to discuss what a good painting is, not to critique a particular painting, unless perhaps that serves as a good illustration of a broader point.

I've made two changes that should help ensure that everyone is able to find me and participate in the meetup. I will be holding a bright red book, to make myself easier to find, and I will check for comments in case anyone needs help finding us (leave a comment if you need help). I used to check notifications but became aware that notifications don't include comments, so I won't make the mistake again of only looking at notifications.