The role of governments in social systems has been of exclusive analysis and sometimes controversial debates depending on the nature of intended outcomes. Unlike the phenomena of communism, fascism, and socialism, capitalism does not take the role of being a centralized and coercive mechanism to accomplish predefined governmental roles. Therefore, it is important to conduct an in-depth analysis of the role of government in specific social settings due to the belief that capitalism cannot exist without the state. This is because capitalism today is being perceived as the system of organizing the society in terms of private ownerships, voluntary trade and shaping of social phenomena to align to the previous central tenets.
Adam Smith has also focused on government influence on political economies particularly when dealing with social and power relations that mutually form the process of distribution, production, and consumption of commodities. This interrelation has specific practical value as it focuses on how commercial entities and social structures work to an extent of involving the government in various aspects. The more generalized ambitions and roles of governing authorities involve control and management of elements that enhance survival in social life. Most of the time, governmental roles in capitalistic societies constitute social organization of relations within communities through survival processes that are primarily economic.
Political economies have consistently placed an understanding of social change through the transformation of priority for effective administrative structures. Classical political economists like Adam Smith, John Stuart, and David Ricardo have emphasized on understanding dynamic forces with capitalistic societies, as well as their relations with other polio-economic organizations. On the other hand, contemporary polio-economists have proposed an understanding the actual roles of governments in capitalist society especially from the perspective of reforming intellectual traditions within political economies. Such rationale forms the basis for discussing the role of government as per this subject matter.
Among the core roles in varied political economies is the development of structures that facilitate the existence of moral philosophies as per social needs within capitalist societies. Using government resources, it is possible to create values and social behaviors that provide guidelines for change. Based on knowledge from Adam Smith in the book, “The Wealth of Nations”, this means that fulfilling this role from the government perspective requires understanding factors like materialism, self-interests, and individual freedoms that contribute to the rise, maintenance, and sustenance of capitalism. Other individuals like Thomas Malthus have further explained this role as necessary since it emphasizes on managing mutual interactions between states and their respective societal structures.
In addition, most of the core roles tend to favor philosophical standpoints that promote the extension of democracy in all aspects of social life. With this line of thought, such roles are supposed to go beyond the political realm in order to guarantee rights for participation in government within social, cultural, and economic domains; particularly, where supporters of democracy call for social equalities. In the end, governing authorities fulfill their mandate to provide easy access to public services such as education, participation in cultural production, and guaranteed rights to operate freely as long as individuals do not violate the laws of the land.
Other literature like the rise of economics towards scientific economies further outline on the role of governments in streamlining interests through modernization, or, adoption of developmental theories. Governments attempt to incorporate technological aspects like communication and other elements that support social development through various means. Typically, the role of authorities, in this case, is to formulate policies and incentive mechanisms that allocate resources in sectors that mutually stimulate social, economic, and cultural sectors such as education, urbanization, and cultural modernization in the face of intensified social forces.
The process of commodification is another aspect that has gained sufficient focus in political economies since there are no disciplinary boundaries between social, economic, and political subjects of study. Instead, it leverages on the more holistic approach to social development through rational embedment of social contexts, as well as mutual reinforcement of states and their respective social spaces. This answers the question of why political economies are preferential even if their governments have unquestionable control over their operations. The answer is that the whole system emphasizes the importance of institutions that shape capitalist social processes.
Moreover, the existence of government influence makes capitalism and markets possible through the formulation of effective regulatory frameworks. Capitalist societies, just like governments, are social constructs whose behaviors are shaped by enforceable rules. In this case, the role is to generate limited liability rules since capitalism requires efficient governance mechanisms. Without liability laws, people are bound to misuse the essence of capitalism with possible outcomes of eventual ruin of the current support systems. In other words, lack of effective legal structures means that capitalist societies do not have sufficient access to resources and support infrastructure requisite for growth, prosperity, and functional stability.
As discussed by various social scientists, social systems cannot work without law and order in spite of their fundamental constructs. Most of them are based on cultural values with capitalism defining their structural existence. In this case, the role of government is to institute functional systems to manage conspicuous consumption or erosion of ethics so that unwanted tendencies cannot take over in major sections of the community and business. Without the rule of law, societies resemble mafia capitalism which is detrimental to developmental capabilities. Due to such possibilities, it has become essential for governments to play this role so that ideas and ideologies can exit amidst moral philosophies.
On the other hand, state authority is meant to develop infrastructure for dealing with problems that accompany capitalist social settings. As the society progresses, problems such as pollution, economic bubbles, exploitative tendencies, and resource depletion take center stage because every entity is focused on development, increased income, and profitability. According to Jean-Jack Roseau, the government plays the role popular sovereignty against private interests to regulate, create of minimum thresholds, offer guidelines for resource management, and incentive programs for alternative solutions that seem to introduce unhealthy competition among diverse social settings. As such, the government has been proven of immeasurable importance in regulating social processes in order to work within acceptable margins.
It is also important to associate political economies with diverse but related approaches such as economics, population behaviors, and social activities that compose the fundamental assumptions of capitalism. There are several factors that challenge the phenomena and the way different systems influence each other towards achieving common goals. Hence, it is important to examine how governments make propositions, especially when intending to alter prevalent intellectual traditions. One of the most preferred modes of proposal is utilization of public choice theory so that individuals can select the most effective solutions to their social challenges.
Utilization of fundamental constructs that make up constitutional political economies is another way of proposing and altering intellectual traditions as they major on accumulation of power. The association is usage of rational choice approaches so that capitalist societies can succeed in examining phenomena beyond economics, make complex decisions, and handle traditional topics such as institutionalization, public protection of rights, and distribution of resources as needed in political economies. In fact, empirical analysis is indicative of the role of governments in influencing choices, policies, and shaping societal dynamics, especially in capitalistic environments as per their individual specifications at national levels.
