PEACE, FREEDOM AND JUSTICE: THE THREE GREAT NEGATIVES
The main idea is that a government's job in a free society is mostly negative, meaning it prevents harm rather than trying to achieve specific goals. This is because no one can know everything needed to direct people's actions. The government should set up general rules that protect people’s rights, allowing them to follow their own interests without interference. The three important ideals—peace, freedom, and justice—are essential for a good society. These ideals only exist when the government makes sure to keep them safe from conflicts. Many people wrongly think of "positive" as good and "negative" as bad, forgetting that peace comes from the absence of conflict. A strong authority does not need to command people or enforce specific outcomes; instead, it should maintain order and protect individual rights through basic rules. This authority doesn’t have to have all powers, since its main role is to stop interference, not to tell people what to do.
The main idea is that a government's job in a free society is mostly negative, meaning it prevents harm rather than trying to achieve specific goals. This is because no one can know everything needed to direct people's actions. The government should set up general rules that protect people’s rights, allowing them to follow their own interests without interference. The three important ideals—peace, freedom, and justice—are essential for a good society. These ideals only exist when the government makes sure to keep them safe from conflicts. Many people wrongly think of "positive" as good and "negative" as bad, forgetting that peace comes from the absence of conflict. A strong authority does not need to command people or enforce specific outcomes; instead, it should maintain order and protect individual rights through basic rules. This authority doesn’t have to have all powers, since its main role is to stop interference, not to tell people what to do.