Saturday | 7/10/10 | 7:40 P.M. – Government and Individual

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The government is no more than a collective of socially administrative individuals from a nation or an otherwise declared authoritative entity. The government is made up of individuals and its purpose is to regulate individuals. The individual is the most important part of the collective; and the government with which it operates.

I am of the opinion that the achievements of the collective amount to the sum of the actions of all individuals. In the economic and material world, this means the amount of labor put into producing something versus the quantity and quality of it. In the social and human world, this means the unity and solidarity and ultimate productivity of the people and the government which they espouse.

Regardless of which world we are talking about; be it economic and material, or social and human, the individual is paramount. The individual is the only thing that exists without the collective, and the collective cannot exist without a group of individuals.

I am also of the opinion that the government can be a solution to the problems of the people, and that America's biggest problem is not government but government mismanagement . Without government, you would have anarchy. I am the type of person who likes order; who craves it and needs it, otherwise he cannot act as effectively as he'd like to. The absence of government, with the remaining presence of corporations, would equate to economic and social anarchy; with the biggest (And thus potentially most corrupt) corporation having control of your life. Then, you would not have an intentionally rational entity creating guidelines and regulations for your life, you would have a business making guidelines for you that fit their own self-interest; the mindset of capitalism applied to your life making you little more than a tool for the corporation's benefit.

Furthermore, I am of the opinion that the many problems the people face are at the hands of government mismanagement or the absence of government. If government is not doing things effectively, make the people of the government aware and make things start to run effectively. Without government, I believe that we would be much worse off than with it; and with the issue of government mismanagement, every governmental problem can be fixed with diligence, authority and organization. Government, as with any institution of humans, is the highest power in the course of human events; as it is an institution of humans, it is inherently imperfect, as every individual thinks and acts in a different way. Guidelines can be made for people to adopt a common goal and act accordingly; at the same time, individuals may pursue their own interests, as long as they do not conflict with the achievement of the interests of others.

I am also, lastly, of the opinion that the people need a distinguished, intellectual, multi-faceted individual to lead them. A charismatic, encouraging individual who understands the intricate relationships between unity and cooperation. An individual who can unify the people through speech and through text, and whose personality motivates every interest of society; to be a common icon to the people which they should all strive to make proud.

There are various factions in society with various powers. Each has a particular point of view and in a free society the exertion of the powers determines the actions of the government. The USA claims its government is designed for the benefit of the society as a whole and for the welfare of all individuals but it is quite evident throughout history that the post powerful section of the country pretty much determines how the government functions. Although there are countervailing factors, in general, the people with the most power are the people with the most wealth. In the past the government responded more or less in a more even handed way for the benefit of the country as a whole and the average citizen carried more political weight. Today almost all information conduits are controlled by the powerful wealthy and they have used the power of money to direct the benefits of society for themselves and the bulk of the population is beginning to suffer in many ways. The general life styles of the average person is starting to feel the pinch very heavily in matters of health, education, general infrastructure and the basics of food and housing. In the past the very wealthy gave some concern to the general life style but that seems to have disappeared and the quality of life of the country seems to be declining steeply with very little chance of a turn-around.The wealthy do not seem to comprehend that when the general well being of the country declines, their future also is in great danger. Things look very bad.