What is Government, and What Should It Be?
It’s no secret here that I am not a fan of the U.S. government as it is now, and probably as it’s ever been. Clearly, this is something I share in common with many people around the world and across all political spectrums. Pretty much unless you’re a registered Democrat with a blue wave in your Twitter handle, or you’re currently collecting a sweet government salary, benefits, and power as a lawmaker, you probably kind of hate the government.
But what is government? This question started brewing in my noggin a while ago after talking with someone I know who identifies as libertarian but is not just a Republican who likes weed. We were discussing universal healthcare and they expressed that they didn’t trust their healthcare to be in the hands of the government. I inquired whether they would prefer that to be in the hands of big corporations, and they said they trusted corporations a bit more than the alternative.
Like many on the left, I started my political journey as a centrist liberal and have been drifting leftward ever since. 2020 may have pushed me all the way into anarchism, which is an ideology that condemns all power hierarchies. So obviously our system of government is a no-go, but I find it easy to slip back into liberal “big government is good actually” thinking. It becomes hard to reconcile my desire for people all over the U.S. to…
