written 3 August, 2025
published 10 August, 2025
A long-standing Republican goal is to make government into a business, implying government should make a profit. But the business ideal is about money, a concept relatively disconnected from reality, whereas the government ideal is about servicing the real needs of the larger society.
For example, a half century ago the stock market closed at 821, while it recently closed at 43,589, 53 times greater. Is the economy really worth that much more, or is the value of the dollar smaller? In contrast, a single glass of clean water was as refreshing then as it is today, without any consideration of price. That is the contrast between concept and reality.
The entire business model is narrowly defined. Most corporations have limited liability by design, protecting investment capital against total collapse. Consequently, significant business errors are not paid by those who profited from the errors, but are shifted to the larger society. This capitalizes the profits and socializes the losses.
It is possible to build infrastructure, products, and systems that are relatively safe and long lasting, but it is cheaper to cut corners. In the siloed framework of capitalist accounting, where each part is considered independently, this makes quick money for some and leaves the problems for someone else, as if the business people aren't part of the larger society.
Furthermore, fraud is very profitable, substituting materials and products that are not just a little less that required, but may be completely inadequate to the task. Products with long term liabilities, such as addictive or toxic materials, can generate massive profits before the consequences are acknowledged, and may still be produced after discovery if sufficient lawyers are hired. At the extreme, outright theft is profitable, just taking value from others without even pretending there is an equitable trade.
The point is that by primarily considering short term, limited fiscal gain, businesses are manifesting separation, acting as if they are fundamentally disconnected from their larger consequences. This may work temporarily for the lucky few, but it creates wide spread misery and may eventually destroy the whole society. Capitalism is as primordial as fire, converting potential into useable form. But like a fire storm, unrestrained capitalism will destroy everything before it stops.
One response to these business excesses is creation of government with sufficient perspective and power to restrain unwanted activity. At its finest, government works for the benefit of the whole. Reality has a socialist bent, because we really are all in this together, much as conservatives try to deny this fact.
When some in our society are sick, impoverished, or hungry, this eventually impacts everyone. Resources have to be applied to eradicate or control those not nourished by the system. As the problem grows, increasing the economic burden, the society weakens from within and becomes more vulnerable to external assault. Like illness in our bodies, it is more cost effective to maintain health and harmony in the first place, quickly treating issues as they arise, rather than trying to fix the body once decay has set in and threatens the whole system.
Functional government regulates business activity. For example, theft, and fraud are illegal and punishable to take the profit out of these actions. Standards are established and enforced for product quality, supporting wide spread marketing. Functional government takes long term goals into account against the urge for short term gain, such as building codes for durability, seismic and fire safety, and preserving open space for future generations. Functional government invests in the future, supporting education, basic research, and universal health care. At local levels, government invests in the basics of modern social life: potable water, safe sanitation, and adequate transportation.
Most of these functions can be supplied by businesses, and are in some locations, but rather than profit, government has a goal of inclusive service, providing quality necessities, accessible to all members of society, at the lowest possible cost.
Admittedly, what I have described is an ideal, and the reality of government can fall short. As we see in our current Federal leadership, individuals in government can be just as greedy and unprincipled as in business. But business will never deal with the whole of society. It isn't profitable. To mindlessly eliminate government, pretending it is a problem rather than a necessary balance to business, will destroy society as well as businesses. Unfortunately, we are witnessing this unfolding today.
