The Role and Responsibility of a Centralized Government of Control

The Role and Responsibility of a Centralized Government of Control
The birth and origin of a centralized government of control, or simply, a force that embraces as one, a body of living things and maintains stability and order within them can be stretched back to the earliest days of man. As Jean-Jacques Rousseau states in The Origin of Civil Society, “the earliest [and still intact] form of government is the family” (59), where the head of the family, or in Rousseau’s argument, the father has authority over his children and with it the duty to care for them and to supervise them. Rousseau further states that family is not only the oldest, but also the only natural form of society (59). The contradictory statement therefore deals with the growth and evolution of human kind from that primitive social order, the different structures of the centralized government of power that we encompass throughout the world today, no longer remain as simple as the earliest form, but it has indeed developed into a subject argued and contradicted by many. The theory of governments in current times cover a wide range of opinions and sub-theories depending on factors beyond reckoning, and even though there are plenty of popular political guidelines to choose from, very few actually have the potential to prevail.

Although many advocates of a society exclusive of governmental intervention will argue that every centralized government of control should remain invisible in order for citizens to enjoy civil liberty and equality, the involvement of a centralized government of control is an absolute necessity for a society to thrive. Proper utilities and resources such as education, shelter, affordable goods and services, healthcare, a proper and safe community, employment, and general protection for all its citizens, which have to be provided and regulated in a scale massive enough to serve equally a population of a nation, can only be monitored by a central government of control. A central government also has a responsibility of maintaining impartiality and avoid discrimination against any group of people, therefore a government of control must keep in mind the minority opinions and choices and preserve the delicate balance between minority and the majority. They must follow the majority regulation but only after giving the minority sufficient consideration, doing so a government of control will ensure that no individual is stripped off his/her basic rights and that any and every voice, even if it is not the impending majority rule, is heard.
A central government of control should provide basic utilities such as employment, healthcare, shelter, and affordable goods and services. No matter how proficient or powerless a nation, essential necessities such as the factors stated above are only some of the best aspects of any given government of control, but also some of the major tools that citizens can utilize for the development of themselves and their nation alike. According to the view of the Political Economy Schools “education, health care, housing, a variety of income maintenance programs, and the personal social services is the hallmark of a [….] state” (526). The importance of these factors and its governmental influences can easily be contrasted when taken into consideration the recent tragedy that hit Japan, a devastating 9.0 magnitude earthquake that “struck of the coast of Japan churning up a devastating tsunami that swept over cities [….] death toll raised to more than 8,600” Japan —NY times. “It has become clear that the earthquake and the resulting nuclear crisis, will change this nation” NY times, crisis such as this are to be tackled by a central government of power by providing the services previously stated in order for them and their nation to survive. Times such as these where natural disasters overwhelm a nation and its population are examples of when a central force of control is needed to take certain steps and precautions so that the amount of damaged received to a nation and its people can be minimized, this is an instance where the involvement of a central government of control is so crucial. A central government of control has the responsibility of providing its citizens with proper protection from any threats made to them and their God given rights of liberty and equality. They have an accountability of both enacting and enforcing law and with it the duty to oversee that those who do not abide by the law are punished accordingly. The security of citizens that is to be provided does not only fall in the category of law, but it actually stretches to numerous other issues such as natural disasters and physical misfortunes. If the government is to obtain the “spontaneous consent”, Antonio Gramsci, of the governed through ISA (Ideological State Apparatus) methods of propagating ideologies through some of the most common aspects people as individuals are exposed to, religion, law, politics, trade unions, media, family, schools etc; in contrast to the RSA, forced compliance by the use of excessive force such as army or the police (Repressive State Apparatus) and not have the citizens break into chaos. What this means is that a central government of control has the responsibility to promote positive regulation and order is to be maintained and the only method to obtain such a state is equal protection for all. A central government of control has the responsibility of maintaining the delicate balance between minority and majority consent, and it must oversee that no individual, group, or society be given prominence over any other. Even though majority consent may contain a substantial influence on any given law, the minority opinion is never to be disregarded. John Rawls, in A Theory of Justice, has stated that “the principals of justice are [to be] chosen behind a veil of ignorance. Many nations historically have been biased towards certain groups of people including the United States of America. Enslavement of African Americans and segregation wasn’t constitutionally banned until the very end of the 19th century. This ensures that no one is advantaged or disadvantaged in the choice of principals by the outcome of natural chance or the contingency of social circumstances” (238). Rawls’s veil of ignorance will help keep stability between different social classes so that every individual in a country is never deprived of his/her freedom of liberty and equality. It is only plausible to come across objections to any idea of government and how it is supposed to be run. As stated above, the topic of a centralized government of control is an argumentative subject that covers a wide range of opinions. One might say that a central government of control is anything but a necessity and that a nation has an enhanced chance of improvement when the government is in reality, invisible. This fact can be illustrated by taking into account the simple examples of two nations and their annual growth rate, or Gross Domestic Product (GDP); United States of America, the country with the largest national economy, compared with China, a country with a substantially lower economy. China’s economy on one hand grew at an ”annual rate of about 10 percent from 2006 to 2010” and is anticipating “7 percent annual growth from 2011 to 2015” according to their annual report, (Xinhua “annual GDP”). On the other hand, the United States of America, known to have a lesser invisible government, “U.S is a market-oriented economy where private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions.” (Tradingeconimics “annual GDP”), than that of China has actually been “shrinking annually over 2007 and 2008” and growing at a mere “2.8 percent over 2011”, (Tradingeconomics “annual GDP”). The annual GDP which “is one of the primary indicators used to gauge the health of a country’s economy [and] standard of living” Inflation Dynamics therefore tells us that countries with governmental intervention have more chances of a higher “standard of living” for its people than countries without it. The role of a central government of control is, in the end, to make the most of what is accessible for the growth of its people, land, and nation as a whole, taking the optimal and most rational decisions in difficult situations. It can therefore be seen that a nation with more, rather than invisible government involvement will actually propel the nation further into advancement and prosperity. A central government of control, given it remains within the boundaries of political liberty and equality, is one of the best options a nation can attain in hopes for a better future for its people and the state as whole. A country where there is a government of control present providing citizens with services that are both essential and beneficial and making sure that they are not deprived of their basic rights, freedom, and equality creates constancy and unity amongst the people as the delicate balance between its different social groups is never broken. Therefore a society that is under the rule of a central government of control is more likely to be driven towards triumph and exceed in the running for a better world. Work Cited
Public Employment, Welfare Transfers, and Economic Well-Being across Local Populations Does a Lean and Mean Government Benefit the Masses?*
Linda Lobao Ohio State University
Gregory Hooks Washington State University
The New York Times, Tuesday, March 22, 2011
China.org.cn
China eyes 7% annual growth from 2011 to 2015, Xinhua, February 27, 2011
United States GDP Growth Rate, Tradingeconomics.com
U.S GDP Growth Revised Down to 2.8% in Q4
Inflation Dynamics, Marginal Cost, and the output gap: Evidence from Three Countries Published by the Ohio State University Press, December 2005
A World of Ideas: Jean Jacques Rousseau
A World of Ideas: John Rawls
Antonio Gramsci, “Hegemony” handout

Cited: The New York Times, Tuesday, March 22, 2011 China.org.cn China eyes 7% annual growth from 2011 to 2015, Xinhua, February 27, 2011 United States GDP Growth Rate, Tradingeconomics.com