‘People, Not the Government, Should Decide How to Organize Their Lives.’ Is This a Fair Comment?
Paper 1
Q5 ‘People, not the government, should decide how to organize their lives.’ Is this a fair comment?
“It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.”- Winston Churchill. Ever since the era of most monarchy systems had ended, people have taken steps towards democracy. Government springs up and took over the welfare and interest of its people. This allows a form of authoritative rule, which suppresses undesirable behaviors; which would otherwise result in anarchy. Therefore it is justified and fair for the government to partake in organizing our lives. These can be in the form of controlling our financial status via the Central Provident Fund and ensuring our minimum level of education. However, there exists a limit as to how much government should help to organize our lives as well. In my opinion, it will not be justified and fair for the government to intervene in sensitive personal issues. These include abortion, euthanasia and religion.
Most of the time, the government is elected by its people, except in cases such as Myanmar, Laos and North Korea. The government which is elected by its people will have substantial power to ensure its country’s prosperity. Most people do not have sufficient knowledge of financial planning nor have the ability to find out. They tend to splurge on the whims of their materialism nature as a result. This phenomenon is especially true in today’s context, where easy credits are available easily. Therefore it is justified for the government to come into the picture. The government can and would implement legislation to allow prudent financial planning of its people. In Singapore, the Central Provident Fund is a compulsory comprehensive social security savings plan, which aims to provide working Singaporeans, with a sense of security and confidence in their old age. Realizing this in 1955 was a great achievement as people in Singapore are equipped with
Q5 ‘People, not the government, should decide how to organize their lives.’ Is this a fair comment?
“It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.”- Winston Churchill. Ever since the era of most monarchy systems had ended, people have taken steps towards democracy. Government springs up and took over the welfare and interest of its people. This allows a form of authoritative rule, which suppresses undesirable behaviors; which would otherwise result in anarchy. Therefore it is justified and fair for the government to partake in organizing our lives. These can be in the form of controlling our financial status via the Central Provident Fund and ensuring our minimum level of education. However, there exists a limit as to how much government should help to organize our lives as well. In my opinion, it will not be justified and fair for the government to intervene in sensitive personal issues. These include abortion, euthanasia and religion.
Most of the time, the government is elected by its people, except in cases such as Myanmar, Laos and North Korea. The government which is elected by its people will have substantial power to ensure its country’s prosperity. Most people do not have sufficient knowledge of financial planning nor have the ability to find out. They tend to splurge on the whims of their materialism nature as a result. This phenomenon is especially true in today’s context, where easy credits are available easily. Therefore it is justified for the government to come into the picture. The government can and would implement legislation to allow prudent financial planning of its people. In Singapore, the Central Provident Fund is a compulsory comprehensive social security savings plan, which aims to provide working Singaporeans, with a sense of security and confidence in their old age. Realizing this in 1955 was a great achievement as people in Singapore are equipped with