do we need a government system to be civilized?

Answer 1

Well picture this: no protection from cops, no military, no money towards roads, buildings, ect.

Answer 2

Yes. By definition, to be civilized is to have an organized society - which means to have a government of some form or another.

However, not all governments are what we would consider civilized - Pol Pot and the Kymer Rouge come to mind as a relatively recent example of an uncivilized goverment.

Perhaps a better question would be what kind of government system should we have if we are to be considered civilized?

The problem, of course, is that if there is no government at all, then society cannot exist, and neither can civilization. In any group of people there are always a few who will use force to simply take what they want instead of participating in society through trade or agreement - the assorted brigands and bandits of history are still very much with us. As individuals it is difficult to protect ourselves from groups of such men, so we form our own groups to better resist their preditations - governments.

BUT - "Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force.
Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master." - George Washington

In essence, the government is the biggest, baddest group around. Whenever this ceases to be true, that government ceases to exist, being replaced by the next biggest, baddest group. In the rare instances where there is no established government that the majority of the people accept (however grudgingly), then society degenerates into chaos - Somalia and it's warlords being a recent example.

However, historically, governments have be equated with Rulers - whether Kings or Congress. The United States of America came closest to creating a civilized government - not because of Democracy, but because of the Constitution. The idea that there were absolute limits on what a government should be allowed to do was truly unique in history and resulted in the fastest growing and most powerful civilization in history.

Those limits have steadily been subverted since the original formation of that government and often just plain ignored, and the acceleration in the decline of American civilization can be directly blamed on the decreasing respect accorded to the idea of limited government.

There must be an organized group capable of enforcing the basic rules of society if the society is going to survive, but it must not be allowed to dictate the rules - for it then becomes a Ruler - a cancer that feeds on the society, eventually destroying it.

It is much better to live under a King limited in power by a Constitution that forced him to respect human rights than in a Democracy where the elected representatives have no effective limits. Hitler was quite properly elected and a lynch mob is popular democracy without a limiting constitution.

In a perfect world, there would be no need for force, but as long as there are some who would prey on others, there must be governments to oppose them. The trick is to limit governments to that function only and not allow that force to be used for any other purpose, lest the cure become worse than the disease.

Answer 3

There are several things that must exist in a society before it is regarded as a true civilization:
agriculture, division of labor, an organized system of religion, an organized system of government, writing, and cities.
A society can be advanced and quite refined but still not be a true civilization. (Example: The culture of the Incas, which lacked a system of writing.)
Government (ideally) protects the people in general from invasions, it protects individuals from crimes such as theft, it organizes projects for the common good. Bad politicians (and administrators) make bad government. Every so often, some need to be tossed out!

Answer 4

Good question, and to answer, yes and no. The Amerikan [sic] people would first have to be "weaned off" from complete control. Suble changes in law enforcement would have to come before a complete (or close to it) abandonment of the Police force. As people were givin more freedom they would also learn to accept responsibility for their actions. This process could take years. As people started becoming more responsible there would be a disbandonment of the central government leaving just the state governments. Eventually they too would be tossed away leaving but small groups of people who would loosley decide what is considered okay in their town or city. Those decisions could be openly disputed and revised unoficially with no need for release to the public (after all it was the public who made these laws). So, in conclusion, the Amerikan populace is far too diverse in its thoughts and ideals to completely do away with all governing but could, with time, do away with the police force (for the most part) and the fedral government.

Answer 5

I personally think we will always need some sort of government because if not people would do to many stupid things like kill each other and stuff like that but it would be great if one day people could get educated to avoid this sort of thing and we could live under anarchy this way we could avoid all the conflicts that governments in the world seem to cause and in general I think if could live with peace and anarchy we would be better of.

Answer 6

NO- we need a functional congress dedicated to serving and PRESERVING the nation.
instead we have self seeking squabbling greedy twits bent on playing power games and collecting $$ for their re-election.

There ARE some people and things that never understood civility or choose to destroy/kill--- as it is far more effective than trying to make nice..easier to get what you can take...and not have to mess with the previous population...

Answer 7

Follow the Yellow Brick Road! FANTASY!!!

Answer 8

No, we ALL need to carry guns.
When you know EVERYBODY is armed,
You either get REAL CIVILIZED real quick,
Or you get REAL DEAD real quick.

Answer 9

MY EYES ARE BLACK & BLUE FROM ACCEPTING LIFE WITH OUT REVENGE

Answer 10

Unfortunately, it appears that we do.