ABSTRACT
What is government anyway? Why do we need it? Why is it such a problem? How can we begin to define the problem? First I define government and administration in active terms, or ‘what it means to govern and to administer’. This raises the old questions of why communities and nations need to be governed at all, and how and why the first states arose. To govern well, and to be governed well, have entailed perpetual problems for diverse civilisations over history. These are primarily human, moral and political problems; they’re not technical or scientific problems with indisputable solutions. They’re also economic problems – but the economy is inherently political – and so the interrelationship between government and economy needs to be considered. Government is, moreover, a forward-looking and normative concern: what are we to do next in order to keep things running and meet threats in the face of uncertainty? So, what hazards are associated with making predictions and prescriptions?
