Preview

oppressive government is more desirable than no government at all

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1535 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
oppressive government is more desirable than no government at all
Debate: An Oppressive government is more desirable than no government at all
Argument: An oppressive government provides safety and asylum while man in a natural state without government is not assured these things, and is also therefore denied peace. A government, however oppressive, provides safety and justice. Man is in a natural state of war and, as Hobbes said, "In a state of nature there are continual fear and danger of violent death, and the life of man solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." By this and former evidence it is clear that the human race, when without government, is also without peace, but a government provides a common power that can protect and mollify its citizens, and provide justice to them.
Facts:
If a government is not powerful and strong, it will not have the capacity to rule its citizens and enforce the law to prevent crime. According to the United Nations World Crime Survey, countries entrenched in turmoil like Columbia and South Africa have homicide rates 63 and 51 per 100,000, respectively. Compare this to the homicide rate of the US, "5.5 homicides per 100,000 people." Countries that are in turmoil obviously do not have a strong government that can enforce the law and bring safety to its citizens. As you can see, lack of a government means that there is no law to be enforced. This puts the lives of a country's citizens in danger. However, an oppressive government will be strong enough to enforce the law and ensure the safety of its citizens, making an oppressive government more desirable than no government when it comes to assuring safety and stability.

---A country with no powerful government cannot provide municipal and federal services, such as hospitals, firefighting services, etc., and must rely on other countries, becoming a burden to the world. In fact; uncontrolled Somalia piracy of the Coast of Aden has already cost the world $150m in bribe money and over 95 attempted attacks on freighter vessels.

---A

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    According to Hobbes, a government is needed to create social order. Because humans are naturally self-persevering, they are always in a state of conflict with one another. There are fundamental laws that a government set is place to restrain natural human…

    • 789 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the beginning of his pamphlet, Thomas Paine discusses the differences between government and society. He states that society is a positive thing to have, and that it stems from the things people want in life. Government, however, stems from the darkness inside of people. Paine says in his book, “Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil.” He goes on to say that the only purpose a government has is to protect, and should want to do that at any cost. Paine then compares America to stranded people on an island, saying that the people are bound to create laws for themselves.…

    • 416 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to Gregory S. Kavka, “government is necessary to constrain people’s conduct toward one another, because people are not sufficiently virtuous to exercise the requisite degree of control on their own” (G. Kavka). In other words, government is created to control the faults of human nature for example, greediness and unfairness. “Framing a government which is to be administered by men over men” (R. Higgs). However, government is made of men with human faults and will act selfishly for their own gain if necessary. This is why constraints are put on government systems preventing absolute power to reign over citizens. If men were born without faults, if men were born perfect,…

    • 493 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This quote is very controversial because many people think that if there was no government in our lives, then there would be nothing but chaos. This is somewhat false and true though because there would not be a force of order, but already, the government cannot control one single mind.…

    • 562 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In his 1651 Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes observed that without government, life would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” Justify his argument. With this justification, justify the existence of government as it presently operates in the United States today.…

    • 1200 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to Hobbes, government is needed so that society will not collapse into violence due to humanity’s selfish desires and self-interest. Hobbes believes that humanity’s natural state is motivated by self-interest and will do everything they can to succeed in their endeavors. People will do whatever it takes to fulfill what their idea of ‘good ’is. When everyone acts this way it quickly devolves into chaos, war, and violence.…

    • 266 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1.Why do we have government? As the colonist declared their independence from Great Britain, many did not want a political system, due to England’s horrid political structure. This resulted in a conflict between those who wanted to live free from rule, and those who saw the need for a system. The colonists’, who did not want to be ruled, compromised because they wanted their natural rights and liberties to be protected.…

    • 930 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A government is meant to rule the people so there isn't anarchy and chaos. However, the people, for their sake, should control the same government. A government that is not connected to its people is a government ripe for disaster. Marie Antoinette, for example, ruled but did not know who she was actually ruling. She did not understand that they were starving. She was not connected to her people and her people made her pay for her ignorance.…

    • 597 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    By understanding what went wrong in the Congo’s case, we can apply what and why to avoid forming more weak states. Samuels credits the difference between Botswana, a successful African state, to Zimbabwe, a disaster similar to the Congo, to “diamonds, civil war and political leadership” (Samuels 49). Through the corruption and exploitation of natural resources, the Congo’s profits were never returned back to the people. Unlike Botswana, the Congo’s post-independence government failed to use the natural resources, like diamond, to improve infrastructure and stabilize the interior of their nation. Through a poor legacy from the colonial government, the Congo was not equipped with enough educated people nor the self-sustaining intuitions to govern themselves. The lack of qualified political leadership contributed to their failures and perpetuation of a weak state. And finally, because the Congo started as a weak state internally, it opened opportunities for external violence to invade as well as civil war. The lack of enforced borders leads to violence destroying infrastructure and stealing valuable potential income. By understanding these factors, today’s new states can learn how to avoid these pitfalls and the international community can…

    • 970 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    It is a brutish and violent nature. In the absence of culture, arts, science, reading or writing, humans, possibly, are more related to animals, since animals also live in the state of nature, and who always fight for domination. This rather negative view is Hobbe’s main reason why there should be a government. There should be an authority to establish peace. In peace, numerous achievements can be obtained. In peace does humanity progress. It might be argued that Hobbes demands a despot, an autocracy. Still, is not that better than the state of nature? There might be many opposing arguments especially that of the anarchists, yet Hobbe’s examples might not be conquered because they are succinct and feasible. They are plausibly impregnable because they are factual, not idealist. Leviathan does convincingly argue, and this monster in the state of nature does devour…

    • 1395 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    U.S government

    • 544 Words
    • 3 Pages

    One of the governments objectives is to establish justice and insure domestic tranquility. The citizens agree to a social contract in which they are provided protection of lives and property in exchange for being regulated in tax. These principles help avoid groups of individuals from settling their conflicts by rioting and fighting. For example, Somalia never had a stable central government which led to many civil wars that eventually took over the government. In addition, the government provides for the common defense. Warfare has been linked to the origins of government in order to be protected by other civilians wanting to take over. A country that does not have a secure government, fails to control violence and endangers human lives and property within the country.…

    • 544 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When governments ignore their citizens the violence of a realm will increase. This reality is displayed in “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift, “Violence Vanquished” by Steven Pinker, “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell and other historical facts. When a government ensures that the basic needs of their people are met, poverty decreases and crime and violence decrease. When the government doesn’t do this the opposite happens. By ignoring citizens they will be left with meeting their own basic needs. In theory people can do this, but not when others hold them back. Once a government stops protecting its people and starts exploiting them it becomes difficult to avoid poverty. This apathy on the government’s part causes…

    • 1207 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He describes it as a reflection of our own human nature. If man is naturally dominant, greedy, and controlling, in turn government will be as well. If I had to answer his question, I would say government is what keeps order and justice. Though, this is not always a guarantee because every man, political view, and judgement varies. There is no guarantee in government. In general, I feel government is starting to overstep their line and boundaries. They are beginning to overstep their place too much, possibly due to the general voting public not participating at all. Allowing, government to step in even…

    • 915 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    There cannot be no security without development if people do not own enough land as they do not have social security or do not have land to grow crops, meaning a lack of economic and food security. Afghanistan is a unstable country and is prone to civil wars lasting over 30 years. Only 12% of it's land is farmable meaning that Afghans are competing for the best land. However, instead of growing crops, they crop poppies that can be used to produce heroin, which generates much more income than crops. This can give some economic security, but defects food security due to the lack of crops grown.…

    • 523 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hobbes

    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages

    2. Hobbes claims that without a government to enforce law and order, we would find ourselves in a “war...of every man against every man.” What reasons does he give for believing this? Do you think he is right?…

    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays