There are a lot of ways to measure the goodness of a given government, of which, one of the fairest ways is to see how that government treats those that are most disadvantaged and vulnerable. Of course, another way to measure a government is by virtue of what that government does or does not do on behalf of a given individual and society, in whole. So too, governments should be measured by how prudent they are, in the distribution and the usage of monies collected through taxes of all types. The bottom line is that while most governments profess that they are agents of good, the reckoning about how good a government is or is not, should be best adjudged by the people who are the subjects of that government.
Indeed, when we look upon our governance, it has to be determined as to whether or not what is occurring to the people is to their direct or indirect benefit in the sense of infrastructure, education, healthcare, safety, employment, shelter, and so on. That is to say, there are fundamental things that people need in order to have the semblance of a good life, and to the degree that our governance helps to provide access to those necessary things, the better that government actually is. Additionally, we need to know as to whether or not our government plays favorites, which presupposes that by doing so, there are obviously those other people and entities that are unfavored.
While governments are prone to stating that they as a government are only as good as the people that they govern, it is fairer to state, that what the people possess and the quality of their respective lives have an awful lot to do with the governance that they have to contend with, of which, the best governance isn’t necessarily that which governs least, but rather the best government is that which does its best to provide a level playing field, to be fair to all, and to lend a helping hand to those that need it most.
When we take an honest look at our government, we want to believe that the laws as initiated and implemented are fair, necessary, applied correctly, and wise – for if the laws of the state are corrupted then the end result will be a corruption in which the connected few will have all the advantages and the many will not. So too, a good government isn’t necessarily a representative government but rather is a government in which the people collectively have a true voice, as opposed to that governance selling the illusion that it answers to the people, when, in fact, it answers to a small cabal that have an undue influence upon it.
In sum, a good government is one that does its best to provide the people with the tools of the trade that will give those same people a fair opportunity to live a wholesome and valued life. On the other hand, a bad government is that which seeks its own good for those that are its principal power brokers, at the expressed detriment of those that it governs, by cheating the people of opportunity, fairness, equality, and a pathway to a good life, by manipulating and controlling the population to its own preferred ends.