What does this quote mean?

Question

"The proper function of the government is to make it easy for people to do good and difficult for them to do evil."
~Jimmy Carter
I need to respond to this for an assignment in my political science class, but it seems too self explanitory to really say anythin about. Any ideas?

Answer 1

Personally, I would delve into whether or not you believe it. Is that to say that left alone, people would be inherently evil? That opens up a whole can of worms about the nature of man. Seems to me that Carter is implying that the government knows better how to take care of people than they do for themselves. Is that a typically American statement? A capitalist one? What does that say about Carter's beliefs about the nature of man? If left to their own devices, would man be good or evil? Do they need a government to save them from themselves? Good luck!

Answer 2

This Quotation by Jimmy Carter means that Carter believes that the Government, under Ideal Circumstances, is SUPPOSED to make 'Proper' Laws, which keep people from doing 'Evil' things, by making it 'Difficult' to do 'Evil' things. This is Ideally SUPPOSED to make it 'Easy' for people to do 'Good' things.

This is what the Government was originally for!! And the Laws are supposed to prevent 'Evil' Acts!

When Carter says 'Proper', he means Correct. He also is making a Statement to say that the Purpose of the Government is to keep us 'Good', or keep us "In-Line".

He is also trying to make a piont: That this is what the Government SHOULD be doing. And that the Governments Basis written on Every US Coin (In God we Trust) is to keep Everyone 'Good', and to get rid of 'Evil', as this is what "God" would Do!

This is a Very Strong Statement, because everyone complains about the Government NOT doing these things!!

That this is the 'Proper function of the Government', even though that is not exactly how it is functioning.

This puts an Emphasis on how the Government ORIGINALLY was, and how it is NOW! And how much it has changed, evern though we still use the SAME Constitution as we did.

Answer 3

I guess one approach would be to contrast Carter's opinions with those of others. For instance, The Libertarian Party states that the government's responsibilities should be limited to the protection of individual rights from the initiation of force and fraud. That's a long way from Carter's statement.

I think this "purpose of government" question is the central one to political science, so I suspect your professor is hoping you will explore it in depth.

Answer 4

The most essential duty of the government is to develop education and programs for self improvement. The thought being that if people are well prepared for the challenges they will face in life, they are less likely to end up with a criminal mindset because they will have the opportunities the this country has to offer which far outweigh criminal lifestyles.

Answer 5

A necessary and proper duty of the government is to allow opportunities for its citizens to aid and assist one another, and equally importantly, act strictly within the law, effectively protecting their rights and the rights of others. Through a careful balance of freedoms and restrictions, the government should be able to encourage and facilitate postive action (such as volunteer work and monetary donations) while simultaneously guarding against harmful, criminal actions.

I hope that works for you. I know that it does seem repetitive and obvious, but I don't know what else you could do with that quotation. Good luck.

Answer 6

it is self-explanatory, as you suggest. The purpose of your paper then is to provide examples. What is "good" here? Obeying laws, making a living, encouraging innovation, supporting individual freedoms, life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, right? How would good govt. help people do that? SAme idea on the evil part...you get it!

Answer 7

i would think by providing laws and rules and regulations as outlined by the constitution and the laws etc this makes it easier for everyone to focus on doing the things that are good ,like knowing the boundaries to something if you push the limit like with parents you get into trouble right so this is how it is with the laws if we stay in the limits that we know we don't get into trouble good luck hope this helped some.

Answer 8

Talk about how easy it is to commit white collar crime in this country, such as tax fraud, insurance fraud, embezzlement, all that crap that went on with Enron that costs the economy billions of dollars. Then talk about how its racist that the government cracks down on the "evil" done disproportionately by minorities and poor people such as drug dealing, but won't crack down on the "evil" done disproportionately by whites and the affluent.

Answer 9

it's simple..it explains the opposite of what the goverment does...they make things difficult for people to do goodn so they can do evil like corrupt things...u know the goverment doent play by the rules...thats why this quote explains how everything should work...but in the present it is not being done

Answer 10

its saying that the goverment is suposed to let people be good and discouarage or not let them be evil. the government is not doing this so that means that the government is not doing a good job.