Time Travel

Okay, let's have a little imagination experiment.  We're going to go back in time... so far back that anything resembling a government does not yet exist.  Think: caveman.  By the way, regardless of how silly you think this is, this is an absolutely necessary starting point when thinking about the role of government.  Note:  There is no need for historical accuracy in this situation, simply a quick mental visit of what you think life would be like.

The situation is a tribal sort of situation, or even more simply a small family.  Now, as has been the case for 10,000 years or more, there exist individuals who are willing to use violence against you to take anything you have that they want.  Maybe it's a fish, maybe it's a deer, your tools, your house, your daughter.  So you band together with neighboring families and appoint young men to be night watches, and you arm them with the weapons -- and the authority -- to protect you.  This is the policing power and it is one of the few legitimate reasons for government to exist.  Scaling that back up to the tribal situation, protecting your tribe from an invading tribe requires a military.  It need not be a standing military that trains constantly, but certainly those who are capable of fighting must know their role and standard operating procedures for when a situation arises.

When I do this, police and military come to mind instantly.... then I draw a blank for what else this primitive group needs a government for.  Use this prehistoric scenario as you analyze the necessity of various government programs, initiatives and existing policies.  Healthcare for everyone?  Provided by whom?

A final note:  I can hear some of you crying, "This makes no sense.  Things are different now.  You can't act like what worked then will work now!"  Let me say that I know life has changed quite a bit since the first humans walked the earth.  Skyscrapers, airliners, cars, computers.....We even have clean water!  All sorts of scientific advancements have made this a far different, and far better world.  However, I would argue (and I'd be right) that human beings have not advanced AT ALL in the way that we deal with one another in the last 10,000 years.  The way we relate to each other is what all of this is based on.