essays on government

Essay on Government

Students are often asked to write an essay on Government in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Government

What is government.

Government is a group of people who make decisions and laws for a country. They are responsible for providing services like education, healthcare, and security to the public.

Types of Government

There are different types of governments, such as democracy, monarchy, dictatorship, and communism. In a democracy, people choose their leaders through voting.

Roles of Government

Governments have many roles. They protect citizens, make laws, and manage the economy. They also provide public services like schools and hospitals.

Importance of Government

Government is important because it maintains order, protects citizens, and provides necessary services. Without it, society would be chaotic.

Also check:

10 Lines on Government

250 Words Essay on Government

Introduction.

The term ‘Government’ fundamentally signifies the governing body of a nation or state that exercises authority, controls, and administers public policy. It is the political direction and control exercised over the actions of the members, citizens, or inhabitants of communities, societies, and states.

The Role of Government

The government plays a crucial role in society by ensuring the smooth functioning of the nation. It is responsible for maintaining law and order, protecting citizens’ rights, and providing public services. The government also shapes the economy by implementing policies that either stimulate or slow down economic growth.

Governments can be categorized into several types based on their structure and the extent of power they exercise. These include democracy, where power is vested in the people; monarchy, where power is held by a single ruler; and autocracy, where a single person holds unlimited power.

Government and Democracy

In democratic governments, citizens have the right to elect their representatives who make decisions on their behalf. This system promotes accountability, transparency, and the protection of individual rights. However, democracy’s success hinges on an informed and active citizenry that can hold the government accountable.

In conclusion, the government is a fundamental institution in any society. It plays a pivotal role in maintaining societal order, ensuring the welfare of its citizens, and driving the nation’s growth and development. The efficiency of a government is largely determined by its structure, the extent of its powers, and the level of citizen participation.

500 Words Essay on Government

Introduction to government.

Government, a fundamental construct of societal organization, is an institution that enforces rules and regulations, maintains order, and facilitates the smooth functioning of a country. It’s a complex mechanism that encompasses myriad aspects from legislation to implementation, and from diplomacy to defense.

The government’s primary role is to safeguard the rights and freedoms of its citizens. This involves ensuring the security of the people, maintaining law and order, and providing public goods and services. A government has the responsibility to protect its citizens from internal and external threats, which is why it maintains law enforcement agencies and a military.

The government also plays a crucial role in economic regulation and stabilization. By controlling monetary and fiscal policies, it can influence the country’s economic trajectory, ensuring growth, stability, and equity. Furthermore, the government is responsible for the provision of public goods and services such as education, healthcare, infrastructure, and social welfare programs.

Forms of Government

Governments come in various forms, each with its unique characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages. Democracies are governments in which power is vested in the people, who exercise it directly or through elected representatives. Autocracies, on the other hand, are characterized by a single entity possessing all power, with little to no constraint on the exercise of that power.

In between these extremes, there are numerous variations, such as constitutional monarchies, where a monarch shares power with a constitutionally organized government, or oligarchies, where power rests with a small number of people.

The Importance of Good Governance

Good governance is integral to the effective functioning of a government. It is characterized by transparency, accountability, efficiency, and adherence to the rule of law. Good governance ensures that the government’s actions benefit the majority of the population and that public resources are used efficiently and ethically.

Transparency in government actions encourages public participation and holds the government accountable for its decisions. Accountability ensures that those in power can be held responsible for their actions. Efficiency in governance means that resources are used optimally to deliver maximum value to citizens.

Conclusion: The Evolving Role of Government

In today’s rapidly changing world, the role of government is evolving. With the advent of technology and globalization, governments are not just confined to traditional roles but are increasingly involved in areas such as digital infrastructure, climate change, and global health crises.

As we move forward, the challenge for governments worldwide will be to adapt to these changes and continue to serve their citizens effectively. Understanding the nature, role, and complexities of government is crucial for us as we navigate the political landscape of the 21st century.

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25 Essay Topics for American Government Classes

Writing Ideas That Will Make Students Think

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M.Ed., Curriculum and Instruction, University of Florida
B.A., History, University of Florida

If you are a teacher searching for essay topics to assign to your U.S. government or civics class or looking for ideas, do not fret. It is easy to integrate debates and discussions into the classroom environment. These topic suggestions provide a wealth of ideas for written assignments such as position papers , compare-and-contrast essays , and argumentative essays . Scan the following 25 question topics and ideas to find just the right one. You'll soon be reading interesting papers from your students after they grapple with these challenging and important issues.

Compare and contrast what is a direct democracy versus representative democracy.
React to the following statement: Democratic decision-making should be extended to all areas of life including schools, the workplace, and the government.
Compare and contrast the Virginia and New Jersey plans. Explain how these led to the Great Compromise .
Pick one thing about the U.S. Constitution including its amendments that you think should be changed. What modifications would you make? Explain your reasons for making this change.
What did Thomas Jefferson mean when he said, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants?" Do you think that this statement still applies to today's world?
Compare and contrast mandates and conditions of aid regarding the federal government's relationship with states. For example, how has the Federal Emergency Management Agency delivered support to states and commonwealths that have experienced natural disasters?
Should individual states have more or less power compared to the federal government when implementing laws dealing with topics such as the legalization of marijuana and abortion ?
Outline a program that would get more people to vote in presidential elections or local elections.
What are the dangers of gerrymandering when it comes to voting and presidential elections?
Compare and contrast the major political parties in the United States. What policies are they preparing for upcoming elections?
Why would voters choose to vote for a third party, even though they know that their candidate has virtually no chance of winning?
Describe the major sources of money that are donated to political campaigns. Check out the Federal Election Regulatory Commission's website for information.
Should corporations be treated as individuals regarding being allowed to donate to political campaigns? Look at the 2010 Citizens United v. FEC ruling on the issue. Defend your answer.
Explain the role of social media in connecting interest groups that have grown stronger as the major political parties have grown weaker.
Explain why the media has been called the fourth branch of government. Include your opinion on whether this is an accurate portrayal.
Compare and contrast the campaigns of U.S. Senate and House of Representatives candidates.
Should term limits be instituted for members of Congress? Explain your answer.
Should members of Congress vote their conscience or follow the will of the people who elected them into office? Explain your answer.
Explain how executive orders have been used by presidents throughout the history of the U.S. What is the number of executive orders issued by the current president?
In your opinion, which of the three branches of the federal government has the most power? Defend your answer.
Which of the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment do you consider the most important? Explain your answer.
Should a school be required to get a warrant before searching a student's property? Defend your answer.
Why did the Equal Rights Amendment fail? What kind of campaign could be run to see it passed?
Explain how the 14th Amendment has affected civil liberties in the United States from the time of its passage at the end of the Civil War.
Do you think that the federal government has enough, too much or just the right amount of power? Defend your answer.
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Introductory essay

Written by the educators who created Cyber-Influence and Power, a brief look at the key facts, tough questions and big ideas in their field. Begin this TED Study with a fascinating read that gives context and clarity to the material.

Each and every one of us has a vital part to play in building the kind of world in which government and technology serve the world’s people and not the other way around. Rebecca MacKinnon

Over the past 20 years, information and communication technologies (ICTs) have transformed the globe, facilitating the international economic, political, and cultural connections and exchanges that are at the heart of contemporary globalization processes. The term ICT is broad in scope, encompassing both the technological infrastructure and products that facilitate the collection, storage, manipulation, and distribution of information in a variety of formats.

While there are many definitions of globalization, most would agree that the term refers to a variety of complex social processes that facilitate worldwide economic, cultural, and political connections and exchanges. The kinds of global connections ICTs give rise to mark a dramatic departure from the face-to-face, time and place dependent interactions that characterized communication throughout most of human history. ICTs have extended human interaction and increased our interconnectedness, making it possible for geographically dispersed people not only to share information at an ever-faster rate but also to organize and to take action in response to events occurring in places far from where they are physically situated.

While these complex webs of connections can facilitate positive collective action, they can also put us at risk. As TED speaker Ian Goldin observes, the complexity of our global connections creates a built-in fragility: What happens in one part of the world can very quickly affect everyone, everywhere.

The proliferation of ICTs and the new webs of social connections they engender have had profound political implications for governments, citizens, and non-state actors alike. Each of the TEDTalks featured in this course explore some of these implications, highlighting the connections and tensions between technology and politics. Some speakers focus primarily on how anti-authoritarian protesters use technology to convene and organize supporters, while others expose how authoritarian governments use technology to manipulate and control individuals and groups. When viewed together as a unit, the contrasting voices reveal that technology is a contested site through which political power is both exercised and resisted.

Technology as liberator

The liberating potential of technology is a powerful theme taken up by several TED speakers in Cyber-Influence and Power . Journalist and Global Voices co-founder Rebecca MacKinnon, for example, begins her talk by playing the famous Orwell-inspired Apple advertisement from 1984. Apple created the ad to introduce Macintosh computers, but MacKinnon describes Apple's underlying narrative as follows: "technology created by innovative companies will set us all free." While MacKinnon examines this narrative with a critical eye, other TED speakers focus on the ways that ICTs can and do function positively as tools of social change, enabling citizens to challenge oppressive governments.

In a 2011 CNN interview, Egyptian protest leader, Google executive, and TED speaker Wael Ghonim claimed "if you want to free a society, just give them internet access. The young crowds are going to all go out and see and hear the unbiased media, see the truth about other nations and their own nation, and they are going to be able to communicate and collaborate together." (i). In this framework, the opportunities for global information sharing, borderless communication, and collaboration that ICTs make possible encourage the spread of democracy. As Ghonim argues, when citizens go online, they are likely to discover that their particular government's perspective is only one among many. Activists like Ghonim maintain that exposure to this online free exchange of ideas will make people less likely to accept government propaganda and more likely to challenge oppressive regimes.

A case in point is the controversy that erupted around Khaled Said, a young Egyptian man who died after being arrested by Egyptian police. The police claimed that Said suffocated when he attempted to swallow a bag of hashish; witnesses, however, reported that he was beaten to death by the police. Stories about the beating and photos of Said's disfigured body circulated widely in online communities, and Ghonim's Facebook group, titled "We are all Khaled Said," is widely credited with bringing attention to Said's death and fomenting the discontent that ultimately erupted in the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, or what Ghonim refers to as "revolution 2.0."

Ghonim's Facebook group also illustrates how ICTs enable citizens to produce and broadcast information themselves. Many people already take for granted the ability to capture images and video via handheld devices and then upload that footage to platforms like YouTube. As TED speaker Clay Shirky points out, our ability to produce and widely distribute information constitutes a revolutionary change in media production and consumption patterns. The production of media has typically been very expensive and thus out of reach for most individuals; the average person was therefore primarily a consumer of media, reading books, listening to the radio, watching TV, going to movies, etc. Very few could independently publish their own books or create and distribute their own radio programs, television shows, or movies. ICTs have disrupted this configuration, putting media production in the hands of individual amateurs on a budget — or what Shirky refers to as members of "the former audience" — alongside the professionals backed by multi-billion dollar corporations. This "democratization of media" allows individuals to create massive amounts of information in a variety of formats and to distribute it almost instantly to a potentially global audience.

Shirky is especially interested in the Internet as "the first medium in history that has native support for groups and conversations at the same time." This shift has important political implications. For example, in 2008 many Obama followers used Obama's own social networking site to express their unhappiness when the presidential candidate changed his position on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The outcry of his supporters did not force Obama to revert to his original position, but it did help him realize that he needed to address his supporters directly, acknowledging their disagreement on the issue and explaining his position. Shirky observes that this scenario was also notable because the Obama organization realized that "their role was to convene their supporters but not to control their supporters." This tension between the use of technology in the service of the democratic impulse to convene citizens vs. the authoritarian impulse to control them runs throughout many of the TEDTalks in Cyber-Influence and Power.

A number of TED speakers explicitly examine the ways that ICTs give individual citizens the ability to document governmental abuses they witness and to upload this information to the Internet for a global audience. Thus, ICTs can empower citizens by giving them tools that can help keep their governments accountable. The former head of Al Jazeera and TED speaker Wadah Khanfar provides some very clear examples of the political power of technology in the hands of citizens. He describes how the revolution in Tunisia was delivered to the world via cell phones, cameras, and social media outlets, with the mainstream media relying on "citizen reporters" for details.

Former British prime minister Gordon Brown's TEDTalk also highlights some of the ways citizens have used ICTs to keep their governments accountable. For example, Brown recounts how citizens in Zimbabwe used the cameras on their phones at polling places in order to discourage the Mugabe regime from engaging in electoral fraud. Similarly, Clay Shirky begins his TEDTalk with a discussion of how cameras on phones were used to combat voter suppression in the 2008 presidential election in the U.S. ICTs allowed citizens to be protectors of the democratic process, casting their individual votes but also, as Shirky observes, helping to "ensure the sanctity of the vote overall."

Technology as oppressor

While smart phones and social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook have arguably facilitated the overthrow of dictatorships in places like Tunisia and Egypt, lending credence to Gordon Brown's vision of technology as an engine of liberalism and pluralism, not everyone shares this view. As TED speaker and former religious extremist Maajid Nawaz points out, there is nothing inherently liberating about ICTs, given that they frequently are deployed to great effect by extremist organizations seeking social changes that are often inconsistent with democracy and human rights. Where once individual extremists might have felt isolated and alone, disconnected from like-minded people and thus unable to act in concert with others to pursue their agendas, ICTs allow them to connect with other extremists and to form communities around their ideas, narratives, and symbols.

Ian Goldin shares this concern, warning listeners about what he calls the "two Achilles heels of globalization": growing inequality and the fragility that is inherent in a complex integrated system. He points out that those who do not experience the benefits of globalization, who feel like they've been left out in one way or another, can potentially become incredibly dangerous. In a world where what happens in one place very quickly affects everyone else — and where technologies are getting ever smaller and more powerful — a single angry individual with access to technological resources has the potential to do more damage than ever before. The question becomes then, how do we manage the systemic risk inherent in today's technology-infused globalized world? According to Goldin, our current governance structures are "fossilized" and ill-equipped to deal with these issues.

Other critics of the notion that ICTs are inherently liberating point out that ICTs have been leveraged effectively by oppressive governments to solidify their own power and to manipulate, spy upon, and censor their citizens. Journalist and TED speaker Evgeny Morozov expresses scepticism about what he calls "iPod liberalism," or the belief that technology will necessarily lead to the fall of dictatorships and the emergence of democratic governments. Morozov uses the term "spinternet" to describe authoritarian governments' use of the Internet to provide their own "spin" on issues and events. Russia, China, and Iran, he argues, have all trained and paid bloggers to promote their ideological agendas in the online environment and/or or to attack people writing posts the government doesn't like in an effort to discredit them as spies or criminals who should not be trusted.

Morozov also points out that social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are tools not only of revolutionaries but also of authoritarian governments who use them to gather open-source intelligence. "In the past," Morozov maintains, "it would take you weeks, if not months, to identify how Iranian activists connect to each other. Now you know how they connect to each other by looking at their Facebook page. KGB...used to torture in order to get this data." Instead of focusing primarily on bringing Internet access and devices to the people in countries ruled by authoritarian regimes, Morozov argues that we need to abandon our cyber-utopian assumptions and do more to actually empower intellectuals, dissidents, NGOs and other members of society, making sure that the "spinternet" does not prevent their voices from being heard.

The ICT Empowered Individual vs. The Nation State

In her TEDTalk "Let's Take Back the Internet," Rebecca MacKinnon argues that "the only legitimate purpose of government is to serve citizens, and…the only legitimate purpose of technology is to improve our lives, not to manipulate or enslave us." It is clearly not a given, however, that governments, organizations, and individuals will use technology benevolently. Part of the responsibility of citizenship in the globalized information age then is to work to ensure that both governments and technologies "serve the world's peoples." However, there is considerable disagreement about what that might look like.

WikiLeaks spokesperson and TED speaker Julian Assange, for example, argues that government secrecy is inconsistent with democratic values and is ultimately about deceiving and manipulating rather than serving the world's people. Others maintain that governments need to be able to keep secrets about some topics in order to protect their citizens or to act effectively in response to crises, oppressive regimes, terrorist organizations, etc. While some view Assange's use of technology as a way to hold governments accountable and to increase transparency, others see this use of technology as a criminal act with the potential to both undermine stable democracies and put innocent lives in danger.

ICTs and global citizenship

While there are no easy answers to the global political questions raised by the proliferation of ICTs, there are relatively new approaches to the questions that look promising, including the emergence of individuals who see themselves as global citizens — people who participate in a global civil society that transcends national boundaries. Technology facilitates global citizens' ability to learn about global issues, to connect with others who care about similar issues, and to organize and act meaningfully in response. However, global citizens are also aware that technology in and of itself is no panacea, and that it can be used to manipulate and oppress.

Global citizens fight against oppressive uses of technology, often with technology. Technology helps them not only to participate in global conversations that affect us all but also to amplify the voices of those who have been marginalized or altogether missing from such conversations. Moreover, global citizens are those who are willing to grapple with large and complex issues that are truly global in scope and who attempt to chart a course forward that benefits all people, regardless of their locations around the globe.

Gordon Brown implicitly alludes to the importance of global citizenship when he states that we need a global ethic of fairness and responsibility to inform global problem-solving. Human rights, disease, development, security, terrorism, climate change, and poverty are among the issues that cannot be addressed successfully by any one nation alone. Individual actors (nation states, NGOs, etc.) can help, but a collective of actors, both state and non-state, is required. Brown suggests that we must combine the power of a global ethic with the power to communicate and organize globally in order for us to address effectively the world's most pressing issues.

Individuals and groups today are able to exert influence that is disproportionate to their numbers and the size of their arsenals through their use of "soft power" techniques, as TED speakers Joseph Nye and Shashi Tharoor observe. This is consistent with Maajid Nawaz's discussion of the power of symbols and narratives. Small groups can develop powerful narratives that help shape the views and actions of people around the world. While governments are far more accustomed to exerting power through military force, they might achieve their interests more effectively by implementing soft power strategies designed to convince others that they want the same things. According to Nye, replacing a "zero-sum" approach (you must lose in order for me to win) with a "positive-sum" one (we can both win) creates opportunities for collaboration, which is necessary if we are to begin to deal with problems that are global in scope.

Let's get started

Collectively, the TEDTalks in this course explore how ICTs are used by and against governments, citizens, activists, revolutionaries, extremists, and other political actors in efforts both to preserve and disrupt the status quo. They highlight the ways that ICTs have opened up new forms of communication and activism as well as how the much-hailed revolutionary power of ICTs can and has been co-opted by oppressive regimes to reassert their control.

By listening to the contrasting voices of this diverse group of TED speakers, which includes activists, journalists, professors, politicians, and a former member of an extremist organization, we can begin to develop a more nuanced understanding of the ways that technology can be used both to facilitate and contest a wide variety of political movements. Global citizens who champion democracy would do well to explore these intersections among politics and technology, as understanding these connections is a necessary first step toward MacKinnon's laudable goal of building a world in which "government and technology serve the world's people and not the other way around."

Let's begin our exploration of the intersections among politics and technology in today's globalized world with a TEDTalk from Ian Goldin, the first Director of the 21st Century School, Oxford University's think tank/research center. Goldin's talk will set the stage for us, exploring the integrated, complex, and technology rich global landscape upon which the political struggles for power examined by other TED speakers play out.

Navigating our global future

i. "Welcome to Revolution 2.0, Ghonim Says," CNN, February 9, 2011. http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2011/02/09/wael.ghonim.interview.cnn .

Relevant talks

Gordon Brown

Wiring a web for global good.

Clay Shirky

How social media can make history.

Wael Ghonim

Inside the egyptian revolution.

Wadah Khanfar

A historic moment in the arab world.

Evgeny Morozov

How the net aids dictatorships.

Maajid Nawaz

A global culture to fight extremism.

Rebecca MacKinnon

Let's take back the internet.

Julian Assange

Why the world needs wikileaks.

Global power shifts

Shashi Tharoor

Why nations should pursue soft power.

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Federalist Papers

By: History.com Editors

Updated: June 22, 2023 | Original: November 9, 2009

The Federalist Papers are a collection of essays written in the 1780s in support of the proposed U.S. Constitution and the strong federal government it advocated. In October 1787, the first in a series of 85 essays arguing for ratification of the Constitution appeared in the Independent Journal , under the pseudonym “Publius.” Addressed to “The People of the State of New York,” the essays were actually written by the statesmen Alexander Hamilton , James Madison and John Jay . They would be published serially from 1787-88 in several New York newspapers. The first 77 essays, including Madison’s famous Federalist 10 and Federalist 51 , appeared in book form in 1788. Titled The Federalist , it has been hailed as one of the most important political documents in U.S. history.

Articles of Confederation

As the first written constitution of the newly independent United States, the Articles of Confederation nominally granted Congress the power to conduct foreign policy, maintain armed forces and coin money.

But in practice, this centralized government body had little authority over the individual states, including no power to levy taxes or regulate commerce, which hampered the new nation’s ability to pay its outstanding debts from the Revolutionary War .

In May 1787, 55 delegates gathered in Philadelphia to address the deficiencies of the Articles of Confederation and the problems that had arisen from this weakened central government.

A New Constitution

The document that emerged from the Constitutional Convention went far beyond amending the Articles, however. Instead, it established an entirely new system, including a robust central government divided into legislative , executive and judicial branches.

As soon as 39 delegates signed the proposed Constitution in September 1787, the document went to the states for ratification, igniting a furious debate between “Federalists,” who favored ratification of the Constitution as written, and “Antifederalists,” who opposed the Constitution and resisted giving stronger powers to the national government.

The Rise of Publius

In New York, opposition to the Constitution was particularly strong, and ratification was seen as particularly important. Immediately after the document was adopted, Antifederalists began publishing articles in the press criticizing it.

They argued that the document gave Congress excessive powers and that it could lead to the American people losing the hard-won liberties they had fought for and won in the Revolution.

In response to such critiques, the New York lawyer and statesman Alexander Hamilton, who had served as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, decided to write a comprehensive series of essays defending the Constitution, and promoting its ratification.

Who Wrote the Federalist Papers?

As a collaborator, Hamilton recruited his fellow New Yorker John Jay, who had helped negotiate the treaty ending the war with Britain and served as secretary of foreign affairs under the Articles of Confederation. The two later enlisted the help of James Madison, another delegate to the Constitutional Convention who was in New York at the time serving in the Confederation Congress.

To avoid opening himself and Madison to charges of betraying the Convention’s confidentiality, Hamilton chose the pen name “Publius,” after a general who had helped found the Roman Republic. He wrote the first essay, which appeared in the Independent Journal, on October 27, 1787.

In it, Hamilton argued that the debate facing the nation was not only over ratification of the proposed Constitution, but over the question of “whether societies of men are really capable or not of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend for their political constitutions on accident and force.”

After writing the next four essays on the failures of the Articles of Confederation in the realm of foreign affairs, Jay had to drop out of the project due to an attack of rheumatism; he would write only one more essay in the series. Madison wrote a total of 29 essays, while Hamilton wrote a staggering 51.

Federalist Papers Summary

In the Federalist Papers, Hamilton, Jay and Madison argued that the decentralization of power that existed under the Articles of Confederation prevented the new nation from becoming strong enough to compete on the world stage or to quell internal insurrections such as Shays’s Rebellion .

In addition to laying out the many ways in which they believed the Articles of Confederation didn’t work, Hamilton, Jay and Madison used the Federalist essays to explain key provisions of the proposed Constitution, as well as the nature of the republican form of government.

'Federalist 10'

In Federalist 10 , which became the most influential of all the essays, Madison argued against the French political philosopher Montesquieu ’s assertion that true democracy—including Montesquieu’s concept of the separation of powers—was feasible only for small states.

A larger republic, Madison suggested, could more easily balance the competing interests of the different factions or groups (or political parties ) within it. “Extend the sphere, and you take in a greater variety of parties and interests,” he wrote. “[Y]ou make it less probable that a majority of the whole will have a common motive to invade the rights of other citizens[.]”

After emphasizing the central government’s weakness in law enforcement under the Articles of Confederation in Federalist 21-22 , Hamilton dove into a comprehensive defense of the proposed Constitution in the next 14 essays, devoting seven of them to the importance of the government’s power of taxation.

Madison followed with 20 essays devoted to the structure of the new government, including the need for checks and balances between the different powers.

'Federalist 51'

“If men were angels, no government would be necessary,” Madison wrote memorably in Federalist 51 . “If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.”

After Jay contributed one more essay on the powers of the Senate , Hamilton concluded the Federalist essays with 21 installments exploring the powers held by the three branches of government—legislative, executive and judiciary.

Impact of the Federalist Papers

Despite their outsized influence in the years to come, and their importance today as touchstones for understanding the Constitution and the founding principles of the U.S. government, the essays published as The Federalist in 1788 saw limited circulation outside of New York at the time they were written. They also fell short of convincing many New York voters, who sent far more Antifederalists than Federalists to the state ratification convention.

Still, in July 1788, a slim majority of New York delegates voted in favor of the Constitution, on the condition that amendments would be added securing certain additional rights. Though Hamilton had opposed this (writing in Federalist 84 that such a bill was unnecessary and could even be harmful) Madison himself would draft the Bill of Rights in 1789, while serving as a representative in the nation’s first Congress.

HISTORY Vault: The American Revolution

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Ron Chernow, Hamilton (Penguin, 2004). Pauline Maier, Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788 (Simon & Schuster, 2010). “If Men Were Angels: Teaching the Constitution with the Federalist Papers.” Constitutional Rights Foundation . Dan T. Coenen, “Fifteen Curious Facts About the Federalist Papers.” University of Georgia School of Law , April 1, 2007.

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By the People: Essays on Democracy

Harvard Kennedy School faculty explore aspects of democracy in their own words—from increasing civic participation and decreasing extreme partisanship to strengthening democratic institutions and making them more fair.

Winter 2020

By Archon Fung , Nancy Gibbs , Tarek Masoud , Julia Minson , Cornell William Brooks , Jane Mansbridge , Arthur Brooks , Pippa Norris , Benjamin Schneer

The basic terms of democratic governance are shifting before our eyes, and we don’t know what the future holds. Some fear the rise of hateful populism and the collapse of democratic norms and practices. Others see opportunities for marginalized people and groups to exercise greater voice and influence. At the Kennedy School, we are striving to produce ideas and insights to meet these great uncertainties and to help make democratic governance successful in the future. In the pages that follow, you can read about the varied ways our faculty members think about facets of democracy and democratic institutions and making democracy better in practice.

Explore essays on democracy

Archon fung: we voted, nancy gibbs: truth and trust, tarek masoud: a fragile state, julia minson: just listen, cornell william brooks: democracy behind bars, jane mansbridge: a teachable skill, arthur brooks: healthy competition, pippa norris: kicking the sandcastle, benjamin schneer: drawing a line.

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Writing in Government

How do i write a gov paper .

Expos teaches you about the fundamentals of writing an analytical argument. As you write papers in Gov, you are adapting the elements of argument to a particular audience: readers in the social sciences. These readers have specific expectations about how to present arguments and supporting evidence. Writing successfully in Gov requires you to identify those expectations in assignment prompts and then respond to them by making well-supported and clearly reasoned arguments.

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"Everybody's work has to stand or fall on the basis of the arguments presented and the evidence." - Prof. Eric Nelson

Do the Exercise

In these exercises, you have two goals: to identify the common elements of essay prompts, and to learn strategies for developing arguments that respond effectively to the expectations presented by a given prompt.

Decoding Prompts

Developing a thesis.

What to Do:

Prepare by reading about the elements of paper prompts in the "Tips" tool to the right.
Read the three sample prompts below and select one to work with.
Answer the questions in the text boxes below the sample prompts.
Write a 1-sentence version in your own words of the prompt you have selected. You can do this in the first “Re-write” box below the questions.
Try re-writing the other two prompts in a single sentence.

Please note that these forms are not monitored; no feedback will be sent at this time.

Sample Prompts

1. The traditional definition of democracy is captured by Schumpeter’s statement that democracy is the “institutional arrangement for arriving at political decisions in which individuals acquire the power to decide by means of a competitive struggle for the people’s vote.” Is Schumpeter’s “free competition for the free vote” a sufficient conceptual and normative definition of “democracy”? What else, if anything, would you add to this definition?

2. The majority of Gov 97 has focused on state actors, but the Internet is a whole new non-state world that currently has little to no formal governance. Should the Internet be governed democratically? What does it mean to have democratic governance of the Internet? (Will there be elected bodies? Will the Internet be governed by democratic principles?) If you were on a committee to develop Internet governance, what democratic processes (if any) would you recommend? Why?

3. How do new technologies affect democratic politics? We have read a number of accounts of traditional forms of democratic participation and democratic institutions – choose one topic or outcome (e.g. elections, campaign finance, regime change, economic institutions, the welfare state, democratic peace etc.) that we have read about, and think about how new technologies challenge or add to traditional theories about that outcome.

( Taken from Gov 97, Spring 2015)

Understanding Prompts

Design and purpose.

Instructors have two main goals with most prompts: First, they want to test how well you’ve understood assigned material for the course and gauge your progress over the term. Second, they want to encourage you to think about certain questions in a way that may not be directly covered in the course materials themselves. In this way, prompts facilitates guided learning through writing.

In most cases, the instructor will have both of these goals in mind. Depending on the assignment, though, one goal may carry greater emphasis than the other.

Central Question

This is the main question that the instructor wants you to answer. It may be a yes/no question, where you need to agree or disagree with a given statement. Or it may be an open-ended question, where you need to develop your own line of argument. Either way, the central question is the core of the paper, i.e., the question your instructor is asking in order to test your knowledge about material from the course or to encourage you to develop a reasoned opinion based on that material. Your thesis statement should respond directly to this central question.

Example of a central question:

What do you think is Aristotle’s strongest justification for participatory citizenship?

Example of a multi-part central question:

What do you think is Aristotle’s strongest justification for participatory citizenship? Does it translate from ancient democracy to the present; does it apply today?

Supporting Questions

In addition to the central question, prompts typically include additional points to consider as you write your paper, and these points often come in the form of secondary or supporting questions. Supporting questions are meant to prompt your thinking and can help remind you of important debates that may exist within the topic you are writing about.

That being said, prompts made up of more than one question can be harder to decode. For one thing, the first question in the prompt is not always the central question, and it might be possible to interpret more than one of the questions as the central question. This ambiguity might be intentional (to allow students to write a range of essays), or it might be unintentional. For these reasons, it is always helpful to try putting the prompt in your own words. What is the central question being asked? And what is the central question your paper is answering with its thesis? What are the supporting questions being asked? And how will your paper answer those questions in relation to your thesis?

In the following example prompt, notice how the first set of questions (greyed out and in italics) form a multi-part central question about an idea of Aristotle and its relevance to the present day. The subsequent supporting questions provide a number of possible directions in which to elaborate on this question, but none of these supporting questions should be the main focus of an argument responding to this particular prompt.

Example:

What do you think is Aristotle’s strongest justification for participatory citizenship? Does it translate from ancient democracy to the present; does it apply today? How do modern democracies define citizenship? Do modern democratic institutions (representation, voting and elections, political parties) and/or the organized groups of civil society (voluntary associations, demonstrations, social movements) provide arenas for political participation? If so, how and why is participation valued? If not, why not, and how is the division of political labor justified?

Additional Cues

Prompts often provide cues about what should or shouldn't be the focus of a writing assignment. For instance, there may be debates or themes that have been raised in the course, but which are not meant to be the particular focus of the paper at hand. In the following excerpt from a prompt, you can see that Aristotle's definition of "citizen" is crucial, but the goal of the essay is to use the definition to make a further point, rather than getting bogged down in the definition itself.

Example from a Gov prompt:

In the Politics , Aristotle defined a citizen as someone who takes turns in ruling and being ruled, identified who was eligible (and ineligible) for citizenship, gave an account of citizens’ judgment, and set out reasons for popular political participation.

Restrictions

Prompts often include additional requirements that either guide or limit a writing assignment. These restrictions are usually straightforward requirements for the essay's form (how long it should be) or for its content (what question(s) it should answer and which sources or cases it should use).

You must analyze Aristotle’s text
You may pick just one or two government institutions or civil society groups to  illustrate your answer.
You must refer to at least two authors (in addition to Aristotle) in composing your  response.
Prepare by reading about the elements of thesis statements in the "Tips" tool to the right.
Read the sample prompt below.
Answer the questions in the text boxes below the sample prompts.

Sample Prompt & Theses

Making reference to the cases of Rwanda and Yugoslavia, construct an argument that addresses the following questions: When you consider the various theories you've encountered about the emergence of ethnic politics in your readings as well as in lecture, how well (or how poorly) do specific elements of these two cases fit those theories? What is the strongest explanation overall for why ethnic violence broke out in these two cases and eventually assumed the proportions it did? Does the same answer apply to both cases, or do different answers best explain Rwanda and Yugoslavia separately?

The Rwandan and Yugoslav genocides were similar in some ways. In other ways, though, they were different.
Ethnic politics leads to the emergence of ethnic violence.
I argue that ethnic politics is important for understanding violence in Rwanda and Yugoslavia and for explaining the genocides there.
Rwanda and Yugoslavia both experienced similar levels of ethnic politics and ethnic violence during the 1990s and followed similar paths to genocide.
Ethnic politics does not always lead to ethnic violence, but in cases where the state collapses like it did in Rwanda and Yugoslavia, the path from ethnic politics to genocide will be similar.

Taken from Gov 20, Fall 2015

What is an Argument?

In the social sciences, an argument typically make claims about the way the world works. It argues that the world is one way rather than another, and explains why it is that way .

The first part of the bolded statement above is really important. In social science courses, you will rarely be asked to just summarize a set of facts. You will instead be asked to make assertions about how something came to be or how some phenomenon caused another.

This implies a counterfactual , which is a statement about how the world would have been, if something else had happened. For example, you might argue that polarization in American politics is caused by people moving to areas where most people share their political beliefs. This implies that if people didn't move to neighborhoods or cities with like-minded people, there wouldn't be polarization. But they do , so there is .

The first part of the bolded statement above also implies that you will give evidence to show us that your argument is correct.

The latter part of the statement, in turn, implies that you will show us the "why" of the phenomenon you're looking at: how exactly does it work?

Thesis Requirements

A thesis statement will be in response to a specific question, whether that question is explicitly asked in a prompt or is a question you have yourself developed in response to course readings or class discussions. Therefore, your thesis statement should clearly be an answer to a question!

Your answer should not just contain a "what is" statement, but a statement of "how" your argument works. What is the "mechanism" of your argument? If you say that wealth causes democracy, make sure the “how” or “because” is also clearly previewed in your thesis.

This is also your introduction to the reader of what the paper’s really about, and it is your chance to explain how the paper will work. It should prepare them for the direction the paper is going, so they know what kinds of evidence they should expect.

In college-level papers, thesis statements can be more than one sentence long. Being concise is good, but it's ok to have a slightly longer thesis statement if your thesis is somewhat complex, e.g., if there are two or three steps in the "how" part of your paper.

Scope Conditions

Most papers are not about making universal arguments that showcase everything you know, but about making an valid argument within a set of parameters that are either provided by the assignment itself, or that you decide to keep your argument clear and effective.

In writing, be clear: what are the “scope conditions” of your argument? In other words, under what conditions or in which cases is your argument valid?

Example: “In democracies,” i.e., not for every country we’ve looked at, but only for democracies.

Example: “Among late developers” i.e., only in those countries that developed recently.

Make sure your these boundaries are clearly stated in your thesis statement . Do you think it will be intuitive to the reader why you used these scope conditions in particular? If not, you may need to briefly explain why you're using them, either in the thesis statement itself or just before (or after) your thesis statement.

Evaluating Theses

Can readers take your thesis statement and test it like they would a hypothesis? Would they know what to look for in order to evaluate how well your argument is made? If so, it's probably a strong thesis.

A hypothesis is a statement that can be tested . For example, in the statement "wealth leads to democracy," we can imagine testing it by looking for wealthy countries that aren't democratic.

If readers can look at your thesis statement and come up new evidence to refute your claim, it might mean there's room for healthy debate on the topic--and it might mean there's a genuine weakness in your argument--but it also means you probably have a clearly written thesis statement!

A really common thesis-related problem for students is that readers don't know how to evaluate whether the argument is right or wrong . This idea of being able to test arguments against new evidence is what makes political science "scientific."

Additional Tips

Be direct, and own your answer. Don’t say, “The purpose of my paper is to show that economic development causes democracy.” Say, “Economic development causes democracy, because…”

But it is OK to use the first-person voice in political science! (Example: "Wealth is a necessary condition for democracy. I show this by examining all countries with an average GDP above $6,000 per year")

Make it clear where your thesis statement is. You don’t have to put the thesis statement at the end of a short, first paragraph...but this is common, because it keeps you from writing too much/too little introduction, and it’s often where your reader will look first (because it is so common!)

Avoid the word “prove,” which implies definitive proof (which is rarely possible in social sciences)

Avoid overly stylized language in your thesis statement, and keep it as clear, specific, and unambiguous as possible.

It’s ok to argue that sometimes things work one way, and sometimes another. For example, “wealthy countries are usually democratic, but sometimes they aren’t.” However, it’s much stronger to try and make this difference part of your argument---”Wealthy countries are usually democratic because [reason], but oil-rich countries are an exception because [reason].”

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Write an Essay on Government Policy

Students write essays about the role of government in their lives and how different policies have affected them directly.

Goal: Students think critically about government policy.

Learning Objectives: Students learn about the role of government in their lives and how different policies have affected them directly. Students think critically and do research to find evidence to back up their arguments for or against an issue.

Time: 4-5 classroom periods depending on class size and time available. Students work individually or in groups.

Teachers may use their own example or the example of federal versus states’ policies regarding marijuana. This has been a hot topic for years and high school students will be aware of the unusual nature of policies surrounding the medical and recreational use of marijuana.

Lead class in a discussion of the pros and cons of the policy as well as the creation of the law in their state. If using federal versus state regulations of marijuana, explain the creation of the Drug Schedule and the evolution of drug policy at the federal and local levels in the 2000s.

Have students choose a policy and write an explanatory essay. They may do so in groups or individually. Students will then research and write an essay about the legislation. Have each student include examples of two or three pros and two or three cons about the legislation and how it affects people’s lives.

Questions to Consider:

Choose a policy.
What were the arguments for and against this policy?
What were/are the social and political implications of that policy?
What do you view as some of the pros and cons for the policy?
What effects has the policy had on the United States and the world today?
Was this a good policy to enact? Why or why not?
Provide at least 5 examples to support your argument.

Examples of a policy to discuss:

Changing marijuana laws in students’ home states
Pure Food and Drug Act
Seatbelt laws
Legal drinking age
Legal voting age
Controlled Substances Act

Evaluation: Educators will ask student groups to present to their peers about what they learned and their essay’s.

Lesson Plan PDF

The Man versus the State, with Six Essays on Government, Society and Freedom (LF ed.)

Herbert Spencer (author)
Eric Mack (foreword)

This volume contains the four essays that Spencer published as The Man Versus the State in 1884 as well as five essays added by later publishers. In addition, it provides “The Proper Sphere of Government,” an important early essay by Spencer.

Spencer develops various specific disastrous ramifications of the wholesale substitution of the principle of compulsory cooperation - the statist principle - for the individualist principle of voluntary cooperation. His theme is that “there is in society … that beautiful self-adjusting principle which will keep all its elements in equilibrium… . The attempt to regulate all the actions of a community by legislation will entail little else but misery and compulsion.”

EBook PDF This text-based PDF or EBook was created from the HTML version of this book and is part of the Portable Library of Liberty.
Facsimile PDF This is a facsimile or image-based PDF made from scans of the original book.
Facsimile PDF small This is a compressed facsimile or image-based PDF made from scans of the original book.

The Man versus the State, with Six Essays on Government, Society and Freedom, ed. Eric Mack, introduction by Albert Jay Nock (Indianapolis: LibertyClassics, 1981).

Read the Liberty Classic on this title from Law & Liberty

This work is copyrighted by the Institute for Humane Studies, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, and is put online with their permission.

Political Theory

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Introduction to the Study of Liberty - Works to Begin with
Socialism and the Classical Liberal Critique
Books Published by Liberty Fund
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Critical Responses

Patrick J. Deneen

Deenen heavily criticizes classical liberalism and its contradictions, such as valuing both equal rights and allowing for inequality, have led to the failure of liberal societies and large social discontent. Deenen argues against Spencer’s individualism and believes that individualism inherently…

Alberto Mingardi

Classic at Law & Liberty) Mingardi explores the changing nature of the term “liberal,” and reminds us that, “At best, scholars often view Spencer as a magnificent dinosaur…this is a mistake.”

Connected Readings

Herbert Spencer

Explore this three volume collection of Spencer’s essays which cover political philosophy, sociology, science, and current affairs.

Robert Nozick

Nozick discusses how any expansion of a minarchist state inherently violates rights, expanding on Spencer’s opposition to centralization.

Friedrich A. Hayek

Hayek’s most famous and impactful work seeks to verify the predictions made by Spencer’s The Man Versus the State through discussing the increasing central planning and statist corruption in democracies, inevitably leading to totalitarianism.

Milton Friedman

Friedman demonstrates how Spencer’s warnings of the uncontrollable expansion of laws and regulations and the failures of government intervention have harmed personal freedom and economic prosperity in the United States.

Thomas Leonard and Russ Roberts

EconTalk Podcast

Leonard and Roberts discuss the link between progressive state overreach in the economy and infringements upon the rights of minorities such as the eugenics movement.

Frédéric Bastiat

Bastiat examines the hypocrisy of the state in enforcing laws, emphasizing the predatory nature of an expansionary government Spencer is concerned with.

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Essays on Government

There are many ways to write a government essay, depending on whether your study is political, legal, or social. Any society needs people in power who will take on the leadership, so people could peacefully coexist, knowing that their needs and needs of the country are being considered. The government can take many forms: democracy, monarchy, republic, anarchy, and many others. Writing government essays will help you learn more about the role and functions of government and its inner structure. Government essay samples, provided below, will benefit your essay by letting you observe government from different vantage points, that other people’s essays on government will feature. Critical analysis of various samples of essays will make your work more multidimensional and comprehensive.

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UK housing industry has improved tremendously over the last decade. The industry has expanded and increased its capacity, making home ownership affordable for a large segment of the population. Even though provision of housing facilities has risen in the past, high house prices continue to plunge individuals into huge debts...

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Tourism in Cuba is an essential economic factor to the country development structure. The tourism in Cuba revolutionize immediately Raul Castro took over the country as the President after his brother. However, Cuba has faced a huge challenge of Communism, which has left the country in an economic crisis. The...

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There have been different views about the role of humanitarian action in the process of peace building and the role it plays in prolonging conflicts. Consequently, this section will examine how humanitarian action affects the regions affected by civil war negatively in terms of how it causes more harm than...

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Essays on Government Policy and Food Safety

Food safety is important to prevent foodborne illnesses that can negatively affect public health and the economy. Preventative measures can be taken by government agencies, food-related workers, and consumers to reduce the occurrence of such illnesses. This paper examines the impact of government policies on food safety from the perspective of consumers, restaurant employees and employers, and food processing workers. The first essay explores how food safety recalls affect consumer behavior. The second essay studies the impact of minimum wage policies on service quality in the restaurant industry. The third essay investigates the effect of minimum wage policies on product food safety in the meat and poultry processing industry.

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Home — Essay Samples — Government & Politics — American Government — US Government And Politics

Us Government and Politics

Categories: American Government Policy

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Published: Aug 16, 2019

Words: 1021 | Pages: 2 | 6 min read

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The Role of the Legislative Branch in Government

This essay is about the essential role of the legislative branch in government. It explains how the legislative branch is responsible for creating and passing laws, monitoring and evaluating the executive branch, and controlling the national budget. The essay highlights the importance of representation, where elected legislators bring the concerns and needs of their constituents to the national stage. It also discusses the legislative branch’s role in fostering public debate, shaping national identity, and maintaining democratic principles. The essay emphasizes the need for a transparent and effective legislative process and the importance of a political environment that supports open debate and accountability.

How it works

The parliamentary branch stands as a cornerstone of any operative democracy. Its principal function lies in formulating and enacting laws, yet its obligations transcend mere legislative activity. It constitutes the governmental entity where the multifarious interests and requisites of the populace find representation and deliberation, ensuring that governance transcends the purview of those in authority to encompass the citizenry they serve.

Foremost among its duties, the legislative branch assumes responsibility for crafting statutes. This entails a convoluted process encompassing proposition, deliberation, modification, and endorsement of assorted bills.

These legislative proposals span a vast array of domains, ranging from healthcare and education to national security and environmental preservation. The objective is to promulgate legislation that serves the common weal, addresses societal dilemmas, and mirrors the values and needs of the populace. In jurisdictions such as the United States, the legislative branch assumes a bicameral configuration, comprising two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Each chamber bears distinct functions and responsibilities, fostering a more comprehensive and equitable legislative procedure.

The legislative enactment process is devised to be circumspect and exhaustive. It is not solely about expediting the passage of statutes; rather, it entails ensuring that said statutes are meticulously considered and debated from manifold perspectives. Hence, bills frequently undergo multiple readings and are susceptible to amendments and protracted debate. The objective is to refine and enhance legislation so that it endures the test of time and efficaciously addresses the quandaries it was designed to resolve.

In addition to its legislative duties, the parliamentary branch assumes a critical supervisory role. This entails overseeing and assessing the executive branch’s actions to guarantee the correct implementation of laws and the transparent and ethical conduct of governmental operations. Through diverse committees and hearings, legislators can scrutinize governmental undertakings, interrogate officials, and hold them accountable for their actions. This oversight is indispensable for upholding the integrity of governance and ensuring that it operates in the best interests of the populace.

One of the most formidable powers wielded by the legislative branch is its control over the national fiscal blueprint. While the executive branch advances a budget proposal, it is the legislature that scrutinizes, modifies, and ultimately endorses it. This “power of the purse” constitutes a fundamental check on executive authority, ensuring that taxpayer funds are expended in alignment with citizen priorities and requisites. Budget deliberations frequently entail meticulous analysis and negotiation, as legislators endeavor to reconcile available resources with public demands and policy objectives.

Moreover, the legislative branch assumes a pivotal role in representing the populace. Legislators are elected to serve as advocates for their constituents, articulating the concerns, requisites, and perspectives of the latter on the national stage. This representative function guarantees that governance mirrors the will of the populace and remains responsive to their evolving needs. Regular elections and the possibility of voting representatives out of office engender accountability among legislators.

Furthermore, the legislative branch serves as a forum for public discourse and the articulation of diverse viewpoints. It constitutes the arena where disparate perspectives are propounded and debated, fostering democratic participation and engagement. Through debates, public hearings, and consultations, legislators engage with the public and each other to forge consensus and formulate policies that cater to the broader community. This deliberative process is pivotal for engendering concordance and ensuring that laws and policies are comprehensive and efficacious.

The legislative branch also assumes a cultural and emblematic role. Through its deliberations and determinations, it contributes to shaping national identity and values. The principles and ideals that emerge from legislative deliberations, such as justice, equality, and freedom, can impact societal norms and attitudes. This cultural influence underscores the significance of maintaining a legislative body that is diverse and inclusive, representing the entire spectrum of society.

The efficacy of the legislative branch hinges on several factors, encompassing the caliber of its members, the structure of the legislative process, and the political milieu. Effective legislators are erudite, ethical, and dedicated to public service. They bring expertise and commitment to their roles, laboring assiduously to serve their constituents and the nation as a whole. The legislative process itself ought to be transparent, characterized by clear rules and opportunities for public participation. This engenders trust and ensures that the legislative branch operates equitably and effectively.

The political milieu assumes paramount importance. A robust democracy necessitates a political ethos that champions open discourse, respects divergent viewpoints, and esteems compromise and consensus. This necessitates legislators’ willingness to lend ear to one another, to their constituents, and to the experts informing their decisions. It also necessitates the public’s sustained engagement and enlightenment, holding their representatives accountable and participating in the democratic process.

In summation, the legislative branch transcends its role as a mere legislative entity. It constitutes a vital institution that represents the populace, monitors the government, controls the budget, and provides a platform for public discourse. Through these functions, it ensures governmental accountability, transparency, and responsiveness to the needs and values of the populace. Its role is indispensable for fostering a robust democracy where all voices are heard and respected. As we grapple with novel challenges and opportunities, the legislative branch must adapt and evolve, but its fundamental mission—to serve the populace and uphold democratic principles—remains unaltered.

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The Man Versus The State, with Six Essays on Government, Society, and Freedom

By herbert spencer.

The Man Versus The State by Herbert Spencer was originally published in 1884 by Williams and Norgate, London and Edinburgh. The book consisted of four articles which had been published in Contemporary Review for February, April, May, June, and July of 1884. For collection in book form, Spencer added a Preface and a Postscript. In 1892 the book was reissued with the addition of a few notes in reply to criticism of the first edition…. [From the Publisher’s Note]

First Pub. Date

Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Fund, Inc.

Foreword by Eric Mack. Introduction by Albert Jay Nock is not available online. Essays published 1843-1891.

Portions of this edited edition are under copyright. Picture of Herbert Spencer courtesy of The Warren J. Samuels Portrait Collection at Duke University.

Publishers Note
Foreword, by Eric Mack
Introduction, by Alfred Jay Nock
Authors Preface
The New Toryism
The Coming Slavery
The Sins of Legislators
The Great Political Superstition
Essay: The Proper Sphere of Government
Essay: Over-Legislation
Essay: Representative Government--What is it Good For
Essay: The Social Organism
Essay: Specialized Administration
Essay: From Freedom to Bondage

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

This Liberty Fund edition contains the entire text of the 1892 edition.

The Man Versus The State was maintained in print for many years in various editions. In 1892 an edition was issued in the United States by D. Appleton and Company. In 1940 one was issued in Great Britain as part of The Thinker’s Library.

Two editions have circulated in the United States in the last forty years. In 1940 Caxton Printers, Ltd., of Caldwell, Idaho, issued an edition with an Introduction by Albert Jay Nock. In this edition, two more essays, “Over-Legislation” and “From Freedom to Bondage,” were added to the original four.

In 1969 Penguin Books issued an edition with an Introduction by Donald Macrae. In this edition, “From Freedom to Bondage” was also included along with three other essays, “The Social Organism,” “Representative Government—What Is It Good For?,” and “Specialized Administration.”

For this Liberty Fund edition we have included the Introduction by Nock. In addition, we have printed in a separate section the five essays included in either the Caxton or Penguin editions. Following in the tradition of these earlier publishers we have also added an essay, “The Proper Sphere of Government,” which has not, to our knowledge, been reprinted in any book for over one hundred years. Data on original publication are provided at the beginning of each essay.

The Man Versus the State: The Coming Slavery

Essay on Politics for Students and Children

500+ words essay on politics.

When we hear the term politics, we usually think of the government, politicians and political parties. For a country to have an organized government and work as per specific guidelines, we require a certain organization. This is where politics comes in, as it essentially forms the government. Every country, group and organization use politics to instrument various ways to organize their events, prospects and more.

Politics does not limit to those in power in the government. It is also about the ones who are in the run to achieve the same power. The candidates of the opposition party question the party on power during political debates . They intend to inform people and make them aware of their agenda and what the present government is doing. All this is done with the help of politics only.

Dirty Politics

Dirty politics refers to the kind of politics in which moves are made for the personal interest of a person or party. It ignores the overall development of a nation and hurts the essence of the country. If we look at it closely, there are various constituents of dirty politics.

The ministers of various political parties, in order to defame the opposition, spread fake news and give provocative speeches against them. This hampers with the harmony of the country and also degrades the essence of politics . They pass sexist remarks and instill hate in the hearts of people to watch their party win with a majority of seats.

Read 500 Words Essay on Corruption Here

Furthermore, the majority of politicians are corrupt. They abuse their power to advance their personal interests rather than that of the country. We see the news flooded with articles like ministers and their families involving in scams and illegal practices. The power they have makes them feel invincible which is why they get away with any crime.

Before coming into power, the government makes numerous promises to the public. They influence and manipulate them into thinking all their promises will be fulfilled. However, as soon as they gain power, they turn their back on the public. They work for their selfish motives and keep fooling people in every election. Out of all this, only the common suffers at the hands of lying and corrupt politicians.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Lack of Educated Ministers

If we look at the scenario of Indian elections, any random person with enough power and money can contest the elections. They just need to be a citizen of the country and be at least 25 years old. There are a few clauses too which are very easy.

The strangest thing is that contesting for elections does not require any minimum education qualification. Thus, we see how so many uneducated and non-deserving candidates get into power and then misuse it endlessly. A country with uneducated ministers cannot develop or even be on the right path.

We need educated ministers badly in the government. They are the ones who can make the country progress as they will handle things better than the illiterate ones. The candidates must be well-qualified in order to take on a big responsibility as running an entire nation. In short, we need to save our country from corrupt and uneducated politicians who are no less than parasites eating away the development growth of the country and its resources. All of us must unite to break the wheel and work for the prosperous future of our country.

FAQs on Politics

Q.1 Why is the political system corrupt?

A.1 Political system is corrupt because the ministers in power exercise their authority to get away with all their crimes. They bribe everyone into working for their selfish motives making the whole system corrupt.

Q.2 Why does India need educated ministers?

A.2 India does not have a minimum educational qualification requirement for ministers. This is why the uneducated lot is corrupting the system and pushing the country to doom. We need educated ministers so they can help the country develop with their progressive thinking.

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A steel engraving shows the Second Continental Congress adopting the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

The US has always had ‘big government’ – even in the Colonial era

Frank U. Fletcher Chair in Law, Wake Forest University

Professor of Law, University of Cincinnati

Disclosure statement

Sidney Shapiro is affiliated with the Center for Progressive Reform

Joseph P. Tomain does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Wake Forest University provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.

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Paralyzed by its most radical members, the House of Representatives passed just 27 bills that became law in 2023 — down nearly 90% from the previous year. Republicans who see big government as a threat to liberty view this failure as a “success.”

The idea of small government, however, is a myth at odds with U.S. history. In our new book, “ How Government Built America ,” we explore the extent to which the U.S. government has intervened in markets since the Colonial era. It turns out the country has always had big government.

Big government, 18th-century style

Small-government advocates claim that the idea of limited government is foundational to the United States. But the Founding Fathers – including the ones who appear on today’s US$1 and $10 bills – called for the new government to intervene in markets.

Consider the situation in the late 18th century . After the U.S. won independence from Great Britain, two political groups – the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists – struggled to divide power between the federal and state governments.

While the Federalists favored a strong national government – which the Anti-Federalists opposed – both sides agreed that government should have a substantial role in the new nation. The Anti-Federalists weren’t opposed to strong government, but they wanted to keep it at the local level.

The Federalists, including Alexander Hamilton, George Washington and John Adams, won out. They led the federal government’s efforts to manage the economy and invest in infrastructure, including the building of canals, bridges and roads. To this day, the federal government makes similar investments to promote prosperity.

Thomas Jefferson and other Anti-Federalists did believe that a powerful centralized federal government was more likely to be corrupted than if government were kept local. In his inaugural address , Jefferson called for “a wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement.”

But Jefferson didn’t campaign against the widespread regulatory activities that were taking place at the state level. At the time, almost every aspect of early American economy and society, from Sunday observance to the operation of taverns , was regulated by the states, and, before them, the colonies. This was “big” government.

Jefferson, like other founders, was influenced by a political philosophy, republicanism – not to be confused with today’s Republican Party – which understands the furtherance of the public good as a key goal of good government. These lowercase republicans put the government in charge of organizing economic and social activity.

Some of that government, Jefferson conceded, had to be at a national level. As president, he supported key elements of the national government established by the Federalists, including the national bank.

Three centuries of big government

A similar pattern has played out throughout American history. Markets produced an Industrial Revolution during the 1800s, but they also introduced dangerous workplaces, products, slums and poverty , which restricted individual opportunity and threatened people’s lives. The federal government responded by taking over from the states, for the first time, the function of regulating consumer markets, including railroad regulation, antitrust enforcement and food and drug safety.

And when market freedom led to the Great Depression of 1929-1939, it was government that restored economic opportunity and helped people to live and work in the meantime.

More recently, when Wall Street crashed the economy in the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis, government had to act again to restore markets . When COVID-19 hit, government hastened the development of vaccines and thus the restoration of people’s freedom to live and work.

A question of values

We believe the myth of small government not only goes against the realities of American history, but it also threatens the basic political values of the country. It has taken both markets and government to build a country truer to American values of liberty, equality, fairness and the common good.

Take liberty, for example. Markets are celebrated for promoting individual liberty when individuals purchase a car, start a business and make countless other market decisions. According to this understanding, market participants are free to make their own choices, and as they do so, markets build wealth and prosperity for the country.

The internet revolution is a good example . Consumers have endless choices of programming, software, podcasts and other social media as entrepreneurs seek their attention and business.

But as history shows, markets can also limit the liberty of consumers and workers, and when this happens, the public interest is not served. Consider how the internet can threaten the safety and well-being of children .

The U.S. can shrink its government, as its most determined political opponents demand, but history shows that the dangers markets pose will not go away. For example, the world is facing the “existential threat” of climate change – a problem that can’t be solved with free markets alone.

The exact mix of government and markets has been contested throughout American history, and preference for “small” government is a perennial campaign theme. But the idea that the country is best served by “big markets” unsupervised by “big” government, as far-right House members insist , ignores centuries of American history.

Small government
Free markets
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Essays On Government

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School of Government launches budget officer certification course

The three-week program is a partnership between the school and the state budget office.

Students in lecture hall listen to a speaker

Through a partnership with the North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management , the UNC School of Government is launching a  new certification program  for state budget professionals in May. With consultation from an advisory board composed of chief financial officers, budget directors and other state budget professionals, the  N.C. Certified State Government Budget Professional Program  offers a first-of-its-kind in the state certification, awarded by the state budget office, to students upon successful completion of the program and final examination.

Segmented into a three-week curriculum, the program addresses budget officers’ needs as identified and curated by state budget office staff, state agency leadership, school faculty and career-long state budget professionals.

“This innovative partnership between our School of Government and the Office of State Budget and Management offers wonderful opportunity for professionals to gain expert education from leaders in their field. As a former state budget director, I know first-hand the promise of a program like this one and its value to the people of our great state,” said Interim Chancellor Lee H. Roberts.

In collaborating with the state budget office to design the curriculum, lead school faculty member  Whitney Afonso found an equally determined partner.

“This is a really exciting undertaking and I have been extremely fortunate to have a great team,” she said. Among the skillsets she hopes the certification will develop are “data analysis, a better understanding of the law, governmental accounting and much more.”

Interim Chancellor Lee H. Roberts talks with State Budget Director Kristin Walker on the first day of the new program. Roberts previously served as state budget director. (Johnny Andrews/UNC-Chapel Hill)

State budget office project lead Hallee Haygood, found collaborating with the school similarly enriching.

“Working with the School of Government has been a fantastic experience,” said Haygood, a Carolina Master of Public Administration alumna. “From the start, they have been communicative and ready for all stages of the planning and implementation processes.”

The three-week program provides, she said, “a set of courses packed with skills and knowledge budget professionals across the state will find valuable.”

Week 1 (May 20-24) foundational introduction to the state budget process.
Week 2 (June 24-28) applied data analysis.
Week 3 (Oct. 14-18) systems and language of budgeting.

When planning the curriculum, Afonso worked with the state budget office to design a training that could meet budget professionals wherever they are on the spectrum of career progression.

“This course is going to provide a critical toolkit for both seasoned budget professionals and those just starting out in their careers,” she said. “The breadth of the course covers everything from how to read and apply the relevant laws to performance management to state and federal grants management. It will be helpful for all in the field.”

While North Carolina will not require completion of the program to determine eligibility for state budget positions, its creators aim for it to serve as a preferred credential and benefit career progression for graduates.

“Certification serves as tangible proof of an employee’s skill and knowledge, positioning them as a beneficial part of any agency. For managers, a Certified State Government Budget Professional becomes a trusted resource in their agency,” said Kristin Walker, state budget director. “Hiring managers gain confidence in certified applicants, knowing they possess requisite skills and knowledge. This program empowers graduates to stand out in their field, which will help advance their careers.”

Afonso wants to see participants improving both their career trajectories as budget professionals and the good of the state’s public sphere.

“These weeks will cover high level concepts and get into how you can actually apply them and use them in your work.  It is really exciting, and I am confident that this program is going to serve our mission and state.”

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