text: what is the purpose of government?   government is the ordering of the unwilling by the incompetent for the ungrateful.  actually, the purpose of government is to do that which is socially necssary but which all people cannot or will not do willingly.  i mean, if you had to go around for a collection box to pave a road, would everyone who drives on that road contribute?  how many people would chip in on a voluntary basis to build a prison?  would the majority agree that police should be stopping speeders?  everybody likes to speed.  and, of course, government is the legitimator of force.  only with government permission may one adult use physical force against another.  and that's the way it should be.