Background -- Chapter 5, Civic Education Volume

Responsibilities of the Government

By Fredricka L. Stoller

The theme of this chapter, governmental responsibilities, has the potential of being examined from numerous perspectives. In this chapter, students will consider what life would be like without government and then will focus on select governmental services that citizens around the world often take for granted. While exploring these perspectives on governmental responsibility, students will learn vocabulary and concepts associated with the theme. As students improve their language skills, they will develop an understanding of some of the challenges that governments face while serving the citizenry of their countries. The 50-minute lesson which follows can be used in a variety of ways: teachers can use it as a single, stand-alone lesson; they can design a series of connected lessons that explore the topic in more detail; or they can develop a thematic unit that examines the topic from a variety of perspectives over a longer period of time. The lesson-plan ideas presented here are meant to serve as a starting point for teachers interested in introducing this topic to their students.

Background Information

A civil society depends on the active and ethical participation of both its citizenry and government--at local, regional, and national levels. Governments that provide for the safety, security, health, and basic necessities of all citizens, rather than particular groups or individuals, help nurture civil societies. Ideally, all citizens in civil societies share in the benefits of economic growth. When governments work for the benefit of society as a whole, instead of catering to private, self-seeking interests of class, dynasty, race, religion, or ethnicity, it is said that they are working toward the "common good." Basically, attending to all citizens, rather than a select few, is the hallmark of governments attempting to work toward the common good. (See Quigley & Bahmueller, 1991, for a more detailed discussion of the common good.)

How can a government cater to the common good? What responsibilities does a government have toward its citizenry? The answers to these questions are largely dependent on how one defines government. Consider the following definitions:

Government can be described as the people and groups within a society with the authority to make, carry out, and enforce laws; to manage disputes about laws; and to provide for the defense of the nation (National Standards for Civics and Government, 1994).
Government, when directed toward worthy purposes and conducted effectively in accord with basic principles of justice, can be a powerful force for the protection of personal, political, and economic rights of individuals and the promotion of the common good (National Standards for Civics and Government, 1994).
Government is the formal institution of a society with the authority to make and implement binding decisions about such matters as the distribution of resources, allocation of benefits and burdens, and the management of conflicts (National Standards for Civics and Government, 1994).

Based on these definitions alone, one can see that governmental responsibilities are monumental. A few moments of contemplation lead to the realization that differing ideas about the purposes of government can have profound consequences for the well-being of individuals and the society. In this chapter, the focus is on select governmental responsibilities and corresponding services, including public health, safety, transportation, education, and the protection of individual rights and freedoms.

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