People on the Street: What is the Purpose of Government

This video is part of the "People on the Street" video series, a collection of interviews held on city sidewalks, at college campuses, and in small towns. This question elicits an array of thoughtful responses on the purpose of government.
Soomo Learning
soomolearning.com/
Created in the spring of 2013.
Shot on location in Orlando, Florida.
Directed, Shot, & Edited by Tim Alden Grant
Written by Mary Jane Lindrum & Zara Elizabeth Crockett

[@johngalt2206]

That's scary how quickly people have adapted to the idea of government being there to "manage" society.

[@shades448]

@lHarpl lol

[@shahid3520]

@lharpl6403 Gov is a human farm just like any animal farm. Its purpose is to take from you almost everything but still keep you alive except sometimes when it has to kill.

[@keifer7813]

How is that incorrect?

[@que851]

​@keifer7813it's backwards, it's we the people, we're a republic.... We have representatives who are SUPPOSED to work for us and we the people are lazy and uneducated about how we should be united as one, push our differences aside and SHOULD ALWAYS HAVE A SAY IN ANY MOVE WE DO that touches Congress

[@ijbdawg9]

Thumbs up for the kid with the Minecraft shirt.

[@jayden3140]

chillin, using this for school during a “pandemic”

[@Citydell]

same

[@dat1memer928]

same lol.the kid in the minecraft shirt do be spitting facts in a weird way though.lol.

[@jasminemirchandani8917]

Same

[@jacqueliner9754]

me tooo ayee

[@jacqueliner9754]

i’m watching this right now before i have to go back online hii if you’re in miss gould’s class

[@choochtech]

If you really become enlightened this is the first thing you start to search and you relaize it has no purpose other than to keep you from being yourself

[@noahb622]

A quote from James Madison is, "If men were angels no government would be necessary. What he mean is if men and woman were perfect no one would need to make laws, but because men and woman are imperfect they need a form of government to be led or ruled by. Some forms of government are easily made unjust such as absolute monarchy: a person with absolute power/a person whose word is law. The United States has a form of government that was created to be just and prosperous.

[@romant142]

Except it’s not Every president is a big-time criminal in your country

[@derekseube7039]

That what government wants you to think… therefore believe.

[@victoriacathey4624]

The government provides boundaries for peoples' lives in the country.

[@andreesengillies4427]

Oh my god, the woman who "goes back to Rome"! This video is awesome, thanks.

[@jamestaylor1754]

The second paragraph of the Declaration defines the purpose of government.

[@justinhu5060]

great video 1/1

[@theory8sf]

I think everybody is their own government. Meaning we have control of are lives.

[@bbarrick8383]

Order...with all the history of chaos by governments why do people still expect that it brings order. The average person is peaceful, the ones who aren't usually take up roles in government or other positions of power.

[@lemonnecco8316]

Extremely well articulated thank you sir

[@studifydeluxe1794]

I mean technically they don't have it wrong. There were people (Thomas Hobbes, Aristotle, John Stuart Mills) that believed that the government's main function is to maintain order some had a more cynical view, like Hobbes, but that is one way to look at it. Mostly we as a country draw what we believe in from Voltaire, Locke, Montesquieu and Rousseau which are freedom of expression, religious tolerance, balance of power, natural rights and a social contract but the fact remains these people had a positive belief in people that they are inertially moral and just so if some people who have a more negative outlook on people will see it as a body whose purpose is to maintain this order. Technically, we say both in the constitution so they are all somewhat right.

[@becauseitscurrentyear8397]

The purpose of government is to secure property rights, organize a common defense, and administrate justice (by rule or by law)

[@south1328]

😂😂😂😂😂 good one

[@nijario9690]

"secure property rights" joke of the decade lol All government does all the time is infringe property rights

[@becauseitscurrentyear8397]

@@nijario9690 who they choose to secure them for doesnt change the purpose.

[@nijario9690]

@@becauseitscurrentyear8397 who said they chose? When did they sign in? The government can steal your property at any time they want to, they steal money from your wallet and call it "taxation".

[@becauseitscurrentyear8397]

@@nijario9690 im not seeing what this has to so with the question. the purpose of a government is to secure a land land area and administrate its use. if you can think of another way to do this it would still be called government. "the governing body of a nation, state, or community." being bad at it or abusing the position does not change the purpose.

[@teresanolivo4075]

The purpose of government is to help protect our individual liberties and to protect us from a foreign attack.

[@steveryan1799]

Negative. The purpose of government is to control your life.

[@powerofligth]

Steve Ryan lol government should be able to control some parts of your life. It is fair to give up a few of your non essential rights. Like the right to treat people like you wish (i.e. murder/prostitution, etc.) If one was totally free, one would be able to kill without consequences. Thank god no one is truly free. Or the right to say that you're going to bomb and kill the President of the United States. You get arrested for that.. it keeps order and helps preserve your right to life. Understand?

[@steveryan1799]

powerofligth It's not about "understanding" because you are incorrect. Nobody has a right to control any aspect of my life, or yours, because we own ourselves.

[@powerofligth]

Steve Ryan We do not ever own ourselves. How can we own ourselves when our mother tells us to do this or that? Thats a silly notion. Wait, we can decided when we grow up that we don't have to do what our mom says? So that means we then start to own ourselves. And then we decided if we don't like giving up a few non essential rights in order to have order and security, one is free to renounce our citizenship and move to somewhere without a government, say Southern Somalia? Simply by living here you are giving up a few aspects of control in your life to others. What you gain in the right to live in one of the richest countries in the world. So in a sense, you are correct. Nobody has a right to control any aspect of your life, unless you give them the right. Which you don't have to. T

[@williamma2147]

Teresa Nolivo That is silly. The purpose of Government is to be controlled by the people, and for the people. It should be a Republic where rules, and laws are respected, and people have the right to live in security without the fear of Mob Rule like in a Democracy, or an Anarchy. :).

[@atlantisam8262]

About the woman at 1:20, democracy (majority rule) is how Rome fell. Once it happened people tricked the majority into voting for them, then when they were in power they were incompetent, corrupt, and Rome fell. This is in action today in America.

[@hazecole1]

Sammy Stearman well there was a lot of factors in the fall of rome it cant be pin pointed to one reason

[@williamma2147]

Sammy Stearman That's why America is not a Democracy, but a Republic. When Rome fell it was under the rule of the Emperors, and was far from being a Republic. The reason why the Roman Republic fell was different. Tyrants got power which destroyed the Republic from within. That's why our Founding Fathers warned us. They said that we can only fall from within, and you can see how something like a Roman Republic fell not from war, but from within. :).

[@squigglydickley1851]

+William Ma I was always told we were a democracy, you don't know how shocked I was when I learned that I was basically lied to. I actually cried in government class.

[@mdak06]

Ideally, the purpose of government should be *only* to assist people in protecting their rights, i.e. life, liberty, and property. It should not interfere with the actions of peaceful people. The only prohibitions by government should be of actions in which one participant is not voluntarily involved, e.g. robbery, rape, murder, theft, etc. The key concept is consent. If all parties involved (including any affected property owners) consent to an action, a government should not prohibit it.

[@IzayaOrihara333]

purpose of government is to give limits to states and people, make laws/rules keep the economy in high level and deal with peoples problems.

[@lonewolfTKD]

What about infrastructure production, government backed currency, public aid, and other things that are in the common interest? I wouldn’t say free paved roads and an inalienable right yet they are something the government provides and I really like. And who defines “unalienable rights?”

[@lovesanimals-m7h]

Food for thought.

[@danp129]

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed," - Declaration of Independence, July 4th, 1776. Our founders gave their lives to escape tyranny and formed a new government to secure our unalienable rights.

[@stephanielong6170]

My thoughts exactly.

[@leavethecave1]

“To be GOVERNED is to be watched, inspected, spied upon, directed, law-driven, numbered, regulated, enrolled, indoctrinated, preached at, controlled, checked, estimated, valued, censured, commanded, by creatures who have neither the right nor the wisdom nor the virtue to do so. To be GOVERNED is to be at every operation, at every transaction noted, registered, counted, taxed, stamped, measured, numbered, assessed, licensed, authorized, admonished, prevented, forbidden, reformed, corrected, punished. It is, under pretext of public utility, and in the name of the general interest, to be place under contribution, drilled, fleeced, exploited, monopolized, extorted from, squeezed, hoaxed, robbed; then, at the slightest resistance, the first word of complaint, to be repressed, fined, vilified, harassed, hunted down, abused, clubbed, disarmed, bound, choked, imprisoned, judged, condemned, shot, deported, sacrificed, sold, betrayed; and to crown all, mocked, ridiculed, derided, outraged, dishonored. That is government; that is its justice; that is its morality." ~ Pierre-Joseph Proudhon

[@steveryan1799]

JML I'll second it!

[@bsmc1311]

Isn't that the guy who caused the french revolution to be extremely violent and have a habit beheading everybody which eventually led to a short man waging war against all his neighnouring countires after declaring himself emperor.

[@JestRLee]

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, Endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights; That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish their form of government, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."... The Declaration of Independence, just as true today as the day it was ratified, July 4th, 1776... The only purpose of government is to uphold, secure, and defend the inherent rights of every individual citizen to live as free men, free from the imposed will of others forced upon them, to include their own government... PERIOD ! ! !

[@bgorg1]

100%

[@TDLgreatness]

to make college education expensive

[@BrendonChurch]

Painful to listen to these people... Government is SUPPOSED to be to protect Life, Liberty, and Property and enforce contractual agreements between people.

[@steveryan1799]

Government does nothing of that.

[@YoungRin-ms]

People don't need leadership they need examples if you push for leadership it becomes over baring

[@iMr.Jetpacks]

If only some of these answers were true 😥

[@Digitalis17894]

"CEO" Nopenopenopenopeallmynope

[@g19m38]

the government should be our parents because everyone will find joy in my babies pregnancy face!!!

[@thesmirkingwolf]

Ladies and Gentlemen, the East and West Coasts. (only the last woman had it right)

[@THOMASTHESAILOR]

The purpose is to Protect our borders and to assist the Citizen in the pursuit of peace, prosperity and happiness.. And to outlaw Feminism...

[@StPeteDada]

I think the most common answer people give for the purpose of government has to do with keeping social order. But if you really think about it the most important purpose and function of government is to create social disorder. If government doesn't create disorder in society and people organize themselves then the people won't be getting their social order from government. Thus for there to be a government it is necessary for it to create wars, conflict, disorder, and chaos in society so that the people are disorganized and space is created where government is able to impose it own social order upon the people. For a government to maintain itself it has to keep the people disorganized and destroy any meaningful social order they might create so that they only rely on government for providing social order.

[@queef215366]

Stop.

[@StPeteDada]

connor mangus Stop what?

[@GFMkidsComedy]

where is this?

[@pigeonvibesss]

no the purpose of government is obviously *food*

[@JojoCrazyCat]

From what i have seen from all the people i know, the majority of those who have much, tend to look down on those who have less. In many ways. One is, they think because you dont own much , that your brain cant think. Another is,if you have a shit job serving them, then you dont deserve any respect from them. Nothing wrong with being friends with those who have more. But, if you try and be friends with those you work for, then they can use the power of your job to control everything you do. You have no right to speak your mind. Or your job is in jeopardy. Their way is the right way, or you will hit the highway. In life, we have no true freedom. when the world is controlled by others. Now days they can force you to get healthcare weather you want it or not. You cant go in the woods and hunt anymore without a license. You cant fish without a license. If you think you are free because you own your land. You are not free. They force you to pay taxes on everything. Or they take everything you own. Cant live off the grid. You will have to have a way to make money for the taxes you owe. Farmers are not allowed to give their produce away. The feds will show up and take it all. They will call it all tainted, then send their minions to come collect it. If you think the government is for your own good, think again. Its only for the good of those in control of the government !!!

[@kentheengineer592]

Well that taking away depends on legal arrangements on both sides

[@kingstonbleek5864]

But people need to understand you have good government and you have bad government

[@BlackRose2354]

Let me give you a scenario: The federal government is the manager at a store while the workers are the state governments and local governments. The workers are in charge of their own posts and have the freedom to manage their own areas and assist the customers, us. The federal government manages the workers and makes sure the store is efficient and pleasing to the customers. The Constitution is the federal government's boss. The government (federally) does not provide a service but manages only

[@jacqueliner9754]

hey if you’re in ms gould’s class 😎

[@sudharamesh4388]

Chennai/kolathur/99/salem

[@Adventurenauts]

This video shows that government is unnecessary. Everything the government provides should be provided peacefully without the threat of force through legal theft; taxation. I want a peaceful society with voluntary options, not a clunky inefficent government

[@steveryan1799]

Well said.

[@Adventurenauts]

Steve Ryan Thanks :) It's called anarcho-capitalism if you're interested.

[@steveryan1799]

Adventurenauts Yep, and it's the only moral way to live.

[@Adventurenauts]

Nick Nicz Whoa, that was mean :( Why do think that way?

[@Adventurenauts]

Nick Nicz Oh, good, haha I though you were serious lel. Are you yourself an ancapist?

[@di5833]

Government purpose: bring your kid to work day

[@bassfishingwiththeantichri2921]

Avoid work at all costs. (Cost @ 32 trillion)

[@noahb622]

There are several types of gov. Most of the people in this video do not know what gov. is. Government could be tyrannical it could be a republic or a democracy or a monarchy and there are many more types and sub-categories of gov. The United States of America is a democratic republic.

[@pahrahinc3895]

keeping track of the people who are supposed to be looking after that city and collecting revenue and that runs the country and keeps that city clean, repaired, safe, clean, and orderly, taxes are collected and spread around so we may have a police, sheriff, and fire departments, and our country can run a military and other departments that again keep track of the other guy, who's producing what and how much money are they making and how big are they getting i.e. (Bill Gates, Warren Buffet) we do not want individual people to get too damn big for the britches or we'll (Government) will have to step in and divide up all that cash, I mean they cannot get to much bigger then the Government or we'll look like a bunch if shrimp and we'll get laughed at, ah, yeah, Were laughing!!!

[@republicofsandles]

Interesting. - Says an anarchist, who believes goverment is neurotic and unintelligent.

[@peteryensen]

gr8 b8 m80

[@jek19801980]

I agree. -Says a guy in his house

[@brycegunz218]

wow this is sad that people don't know what the purpose of the government is. government is a system of control but not like a king or queen because we elect our leaders and they only have a certain amount of time the only part of government we don't elect is supreme Court justices but they need to be accepted by Congress so we do have a say about it.

[@bbarrick8383]

+Brycester Arrmy The justices and the numerous other bureaucrats....

[@Jackattack460101]

Ron Swanson disagrees...

[@rajeshvaswani5663]

if i say iam a god would any1 will believe. i see things more then it exist would any1 can believe no coz its just not nightmare what we see its also we create somthing we see it unbelievable maybe god or we have some vision in ideas which turn into reality and i saw dreams come true believe it govt will not want this actually coz its all came out of dreams of some people but govt own it now

[@Ephisus]

This is *depressing*.

[@steveryan1799]

I can't believe I just watched it again!

[@DayLame]

When government accepts responsibility for people, then people no longer take responsibility for themselves.

[@zacktaylor1351]

Ha minecraft

[@lemonnecco8316]

Dislike, Government propaganda

[@dakotathomas8759]

Yet the Roman Empire fell so why do we need it again

[@sudharamesh4388]

Salem/sc/simple/Mtech/40/male/3/f/thanks/ch/kolathur