“If Men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and the next place, oblige it to control itself.”
―James Madison
If we take Madison at his word, government is to control its citizens. Then he goes on to say that government is to control itself. That’s a lot of control I would say. And the more important question, is it working to the benefit of all. Another important question, Why aren’t we angels? Or at least angel like.