individuals composing
them, therefore communities are selfish. A third reason appears, then, for
the organization of society, namely, _the common defense._

But this organization of society is the very thing that we call
government. We may, therefore, answer the two questions proposed at the
beginning in this way:

_Government is the organization of society to carry on public works, to
establish justice, and to provide for the common defense._

The term _government_ is also applied to the body of persons into whose
hands is committed the management of public affairs.

To show that government is a necessity to man, let us imagine a company of
several hundred men, women, and children, who have left their former home
on account of the tyranny of the government. So harshly have they been
treated, that they have ascribed all their misery to the thing called
government, and they resolve that they will have none in their new home.
They discover an island in the ocean, which seems never to have been
occupied, and which appears "a goodly land." Here they resolve to settle.

They help each other in building the houses; each takes from the forest
the wood that he needs for fuel; they graze the cattle in a common meadow;
they till a common field and all share in the harvest. For a time all goes
well. But mutterings begin to be heard. It is found that some are
unwilling to do their share of the work. It becomes manifest to the
thoughtful that community of property must be given up and private
ownership be introduced, or else that the common work must be regulated.
In the latter case, government is established by the very act of
regulation; they are establishing justice. If they resolve to adopt
private ownership, industry will diversify, they will begin to spread out
over the island, and public improvements will be needed, such as those
specified above. The conflict of interests will soon necessitate tribunals
for the settlement of disputes. And thus government would, in either case,
inevitably be established. A visit from savages inhabiting another island
would show the utility of the organization for common defense.

Thus government seems a necessary consequence of man's nature.

In this country we have the general government and state governments, the
latter acting chiefly through local organizations. For obvious reasons,
the common defense is vested in the general government. For reasons that
will appear, most of the work