What is the role of government in a modern society? At its core, government exists to protect people’s rights and safety, maintain order, provide essential public services, support a stable economy, and ensure that no citizen falls below a minimum standard of living. But these responsibilities aren’t random, they are the very foundation that makes a capitalist economy possible in the first place.

I believe firmly in capitalism. It rewards innovation, fuels economic growth, and empowers individuals to shape their own financial destiny. But I do not believe in laissez-faire capitalism—the idea that markets should operate entirely without government involvement. History has shown repeatedly that when government abandons its responsibilities, the market does not become more efficient or freer. Instead, it becomes more fragile, unequal, and prone to collapse.

The Great Depression is the clearest example of this. In the 1920s, the dominant philosophy was that markets could regulate themselves. There was little oversight of banks, no meaningful consumer protection, and a blind faith that speculation would sort itself out. The result wasn’t prosperity, it was systemic failure. Only when the government intervened with financial regulations, public works programs, and social safety nets did the economy stabilize and rebuild.

This is why the government's essential functions, protecting rights, maintaining order, and providing public goods, cannot be separated from debates about the economy. Without rules, capitalism becomes reckless. Without safety nets, downturns become disasters. Without public investment in infrastructure, education, and health, the private sector cannot function efficiently or fairly.

Government’s job is not to control the market, but to prevent the market from destroying itself.

A healthy capitalist system relies on five core government functions:

1. Protecting Rights and Safety

Businesses can only operate when contracts are enforced, property is protected, and citizens are safe. A functioning legal system and public safety framework are the bedrock of economic activity.

2. Providing Order and Predictability

Markets hate chaos. Rules, regulations, and institutions create stability—allowing businesses to plan, invest, and grow.

3. Delivering Public Services

From roads to clean water to environmental stewardship, many of the most important economic inputs are things the private sector cannot or will not provide sufficiently. Government fills those gaps.

4. Supporting the Economy During Crises

Recessions and financial bubbles are inevitable. But without government stabilizers—monetary policy, fiscal stimulus, unemployment insurance—ordinary people suffer the consequences of market failures they did not cause.

5. Ensuring a Minimum Standard of Living

A society where people can’t afford healthcare, housing, or food is not just unjust it is economically inefficient. Basic protections create a workforce that is healthier, more productive, and more capable of participating in the economy.

These roles are not anti-capitalist. They are what allow capitalism to function.

This is why I support a capitalistic system with government intervention when problems emerge. Not heavy-handed control, not micromanagement—just sensible oversight and timely action. Think of government as the referee, not a player. The referee doesn’t score points, invent products, or run companies. But without a referee, the game collapses into chaos.

The idea that capitalism works best with zero rules is appealing in theory, but history has proven it wrong. Time after time, economic crises have been preceded by periods of excessive deregulation and unchecked risk-taking. When the government waits too long to step in, people get hurt—not the wealthy speculators who caused the mess, but the workers and families who depend on a stable economy to survive.

So the role of government and the role of markets are not opposing forces. They are complementary. Capitalism thrives when the government protects rights, enforces rules, invests in public goods, and steps in when the system’s weaknesses become dangerous. And government performs best when it trusts markets to innovate and grow within those guardrails.

The real debate should not be “government or markets,” but how government can best create the conditions for capitalism to succeed without letting its excesses lead to disaster.

That balance of not laissez-faire extremism and not government domination is what history shows works. And it’s the role of government that a stable, prosperous society demands.