Government is the system by which people organize and allocate power in order to accomplish collective goals and provide benefits that individuals cannot achieve on their own. Governments have the authority to enforce laws and make sure they are followed, as well as to take care of citizens by providing services like education, health care and housing. Governments are also responsible for addressing problems that affect everyone, such as environmental pollution or natural disasters.
The goal of any government is to create a society that works for the good of its citizens. It is important to note that this means that there may be some trade-offs between the rights of citizens and the goals of the government. For example, if the government is concerned with national security it may be necessary to tap people’s phones or restrict what newspapers can publish. However, the framers of our Constitution consciously created a separation of powers and checks and balances between the different branches of government so that one branch does not have too much power over another. This makes it harder for the government to act quickly, but it also gives citizens many opportunities to influence policy as it moves from initial idea to final implementation.
In the United States, Congress is the lawmaking branch of our government. Each state has two representatives and 100 senators, so the United States has 505 members of Congress. If a bill is passed by both chambers of Congress, it becomes law and must be signed by the President before it takes effect. If the President disagrees with a bill, he or she has the option to veto it. The President can only veto a bill twice per session, but the Congress can override his or her veto by voting to pass the same bill again with two-thirds of the vote in favor.
While the government’s role has changed over time, it is essential to society. It provides important services that citizens cannot provide for themselves, such as public education and national defense. Governments are also important for protecting common goods, which are services that can be used by everyone but are limited in supply or susceptible to free-rider problems without some form of collective compulsion. These include fish in the sea, clean drinking water and open space (Figure 1.3).
Governments are also needed to protect property rights. If a person owns land and sells it, the government has the right to seize that land and sell it back to the original owner if he or she fails to pay taxes. This is why the CIA website shares information about different types of governments around the world. They vary in the way they tax their citizens and impose laws, but most share a similar purpose: to protect citizens’ rights, their safety and the economy.