Government is the system or group of people that rules an organized community, usually a country. Governments create and enforce rules that protect people and property, maintain order and justice, and provide services like education, health care, and an infrastructure for transportation. Governments also help people communicate with each other and with foreign governments, which can make it easier to trade or to solve problems and disagreements.
The type of government a society uses depends on the goals the society wants to accomplish. For example, a government might want to reduce socioeconomic inequalities and promote social welfare, which would mean it would raise taxes to pay for public schools, public transport, housing for the poor, and welfare services like food stamps. Governments can also protect their citizens from outside forces, such as hostile countries or terrorist attacks.
People may argue about the purposes of different types of government, but they can all agree that governments must have some kind of rules. Some governments are democratic, where citizens make decisions through representatives they elect to office; others are authoritarian, where power is concentrated in the hands of a small group or individual, or both. A few countries have forms of government that combine elements of democracy and authoritarianism, such as federalism.
One major function of government is regulating access to common goods, such as wildlife or natural resources. If too many people take too freely from these resources, there won’t be enough left for everyone. Governments can protect these goods by setting fees or by limiting how much people may use them.
Many people have jobs in the government, such as clerks who handle legal documents, or police officers who patrol streets. Governments can also communicate with other countries through diplomats, who try to solve problems and agreements between two countries. Governments can also make laws to prevent crime and keep the peace, and they can provide security for their citizens by using armed forces like police or military personnel to defend them against domestic and foreign threats.
Some people believe that governments should help the poor, by providing welfare programs such as unemployment benefits or national medical insurance. Others, however, believe that these programs encourage a dependency on the government and that people should be responsible for their own welfare, by getting work and taking care of themselves and their families.
In addition, government departments have to manage the budget, plan and execute projects, and provide information and advice on a range of topics. The government publishes Official Statistics on most areas of public life, and anyone can request information from the government by making a Freedom of Information Request. The Government also imposes laws on how businesses and organisations must record their activities, to avoid fraud or embezzlement, or report serious accidents. These laws are known as the Corporate Governance Acts and the Data Protection Act. The UK’s Information Commissioner oversees these laws and the enforcement of the Freedom of Information Act.