What Is the Purpose of Government?

 To distribute goods and services fairly,

protecting everyone’s right to equal
opportunity and bettering the lives of all
members of society (liberalism: Rawls)
 To protect the right to own that which one

is entitled to (libertarianism: Nozick)

 To foster a sense of community rather than

individualism (communitarianism: Sandel)

 John Rawls: Justice as Fairness
 All citizens should share in a society’s wealth
and be given equal economic opportunities
 In a just society, rational individuals under a
veil of ignorance about their original position
in the society should endorse a theory that:
 gives everyone as much liberty as possible
 allows for the unequal distribution of wealth only

when the existence of such inequalities benefits

everyone and is accessible to everyone
Libertarianism (Entitlement/Minimal
State Theory): Robert Nozick
 We are entitled to use our property as we see
fit. The State’s legitimate power is limited to
preventing harm and protecting property rights
 Taxation for anything other than protection
(e.g., to impose a pattern redistributing wealth)
is unjust because it ignores how goods are
acquired fairly through trade, labor, gifts, etc.
 Communitarianism:
Michael Sandel
 We do not form governments to promote our
individual self-interests; such a view treats
our sense of community only instrumentally
(Hobbes) or sentimentally (Rawls)
 The purpose of government is to encourage
us to recognize how we are constituted in our
communal relations to one another