Government is not reason:It is not eloquent; Itis <span title="force.Likefire,itisadangerous">force.Likefire,itisadange...</span> servant anda fearfulmastr?

Question

Can someone help explain this quote? Elaborate. sorry about the cramping, i didn't have anymore characters left.

Answer 1

What do you think it means?

Answer 2

&quot;Government is not reason; it is not eloquence. It is force. And force, like fire, is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.&quot; — George Washington

Government equals Law, and Law is enforced. Meaning, if you break the law you get punished by force. The danger is that Law can become isolated from the welfare and wishes of the people, and instead become an instrument of repression by a government.

Answer 3

Government is force because they can force you to do things by passing laws or regulations and if you don&#039;t follow them they can fine you, put you in jail, or worse, and it&#039;s totally legal for them to do so.  It&#039;s a &quot;dangerous servant&quot; because we all need government to some degree for certain things that individuals cannot provide for themselves, such as an armed forces, police force, etc.  However if it gets out of control they can begin to do more them what we want them to do, they can step on our rights.  Since they have force on their side they can usually accomplish this.  This is why an adequate protection such as seperation of powers, the bill of rights, impeachment, etc. are needed in order to check the power of those in charge.  It is also why most government should be at the local level instead of the national level because politicians at the local level are more responsive to the concerns of its constituents.