Do you view governments as entities rather than a consortium of individuals?

Question

At what point is a government more than the sum of the ideals of its people?

Answer 1

Basically all larger entities are an illusion.
For example. A guy from New York will very likely find more in common with people who live in one of the major European cities, yet he constitutes an nation with the Texan farmer, the second generation Latino emigrant and the Mormon guy in Utah.
There is no such thing as an identity for or the will of the people. Of all the individuals who are in the same nation as you, under the same government, you'll never meet but a few of them.
Things like flags, maps (a picture of coincidental lines drawn by history) national anthems, museums, help to create the illusion.

This chimera relies on us thinking that its there, thus creating a tradition, which will consequently install it and its morals in the minds of people as factual, thus it cant be more than the sum of the peoples thoughts and ideals. Its a matter of faith really. But definitely not the worst thing to believe in as long as the the illusion is build on a source that improves the chances peaceful coexistence

Check out:

Benedict Anderson, "imagined communities" brilliant study on the genesis of nationalism and smaller cultural entities.

Also: Hobsbawm, Eric J." Nations and nationalism since 1780"

Answer 2

Of course! Any group of people, however loosely organized, is more than the sum of the individuals. The group has common ideals, vision, leadership and mob mentality. Individuals who gain power within the group lead it to a common group Karma. To the degree individuals have the freedom to come and go from the group, so too are they individually responsible for its direction when part of the group. This applies to governments, religious organizations, businesses, clubs and families.

Answer 3

The common man not involved with government would look at it as an entity but from an unconscious view. It is only when he contacts it that he deals with specific segments of government that relate to his personal interest that he will deal with individuals.

The point I think is in time. Especially when hundreds of years or millennial have passed. We look back at the historical regions of the earth through the governmental or political power they had at that time. The individuals are analyzed through archeology. But they are representative of a governmental society.

Answer 4

I view them as a hive of killer bees, different only in the ability of humans to be greedy and act out of personal gain when possible without destroying the hive that hides and often encourages their activity.