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The need for, and the purpose of government can be defined by the adverse effects of its absence.
Society needs government, law and order to provide protection from robbery, violence, and the excesses of individual power, and from dishonesty and deception in commerce and industry. Society needs government to resolve conflicting demands on the natural resources, and to prevent pollution and destruction of the shared environment.
In short, and in the clear concise language of Thomas Jefferson, the purpose of government is to prevent men from injuring one another.
Jefferson also sought to guard against excessively intrusive and dictatorial government, and to ensure that government fulfills its duties effectively without waste and at minimum cost, summarizing these ideals in his first Inaugural Address given on March 4th, 1801:
* To prevent men from injuring one another
* To do so productively and cost-effectively
Defining injury in the areas of finance, commerce and industry is not easy given the complexities and conflicting demands of modern life. Yet two issues particularly should be considered.
One The nation's monetary and financial system represents a vital element if not the most important element in our infrastructure on which wages, prices, saving and investment all depend. We need to ensure we have a collective responsibility to ensure, that it is honestly and openly administered, and that its potential to maximize our national prosperity is put to productive and widely beneficial use.
Two A meaningful relationship between work and reward is essential to ensure a just and socially stable society.
The Evolution of Governance
The Search for Right Law
CONSTITUTION
POLITICAL POWER CHOICES
The only Power that is competent and can be trusted to regulate the affairs of community and society is the Power of Principle, the Principle that in the pursuit of self-improvement and the exercise of liberty, no-one should injure or exploit others.
This Principle of Liberty is neutral and impersonal. It is a shield, protecting from injury, preventing injury.
Legislators hold no arbitrary or discretionary power. They are simply Interpreters, applying the Principle in terms of everyday events and actions. The process of Interpretation is clearly delineated and circumscribed. If there is Injury, there must be Protection. If there is no Injury, then there is neither cause nor justification for the interference of law and the exercise of its power.
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