"Government is a necessary evil"

[Ave]

I'm gonna write down some thoughts that I'm ruminating, this isn't meant to be a set in stone type argument or to convince anyone, really, this is just me rambling. Make of it what you will.

The quote in the title is, in my opinion, untenable.

A while back when I called myself libertarian I used to believe this. Basically, if you believe this, however, you will inevitably start thinking politics and political action of elected officials is not something that should concern you. In other words, "government is a necessary evil" leads to have a passive attitude towards politics, ime. Because if government is evil, then why participate in something that is evil? The natural consequence of this is anarchism, and while I can respect Ancaps for at least being consistent in their ethical stance, I don't think that a "stateless society" is desireable or even possible.

I also think the idea of "less government" is pretty vague. Less how? What I believe is desirable is "limited government" (through constitution), something like the American Bill of Rights which clearly says what the Federal government can - and can't do. There is no need for "less government" if government spending is spent on something necessary. Since the Us constitution was conceived as a social contract, I am aware this raises questions of the legitimacy of government from the standpoint of social contract theory but I don't wanna get into that here. I could write volumes on it and I just don't have the time to study it in depth, unfortunately.

While I wouldn't say I defend a "strong state" I don't want a weak one either. It needs to be strong enough to defend its citizens from outside attack on their lives, liberty and property.

Basically I think there is alot of confusion behind claiming that "government is a necessary evil". No, it is either a necessary good, or not necessary at all. Pick and choose.

Thoughts? Do you agree/disagree? With what and why?