At times the market system will produce items which some people think are wrong or bad. At times the market will provide some people with lots of goods and services and at the same time others will have none. We often get upset with the market when it does this. When we think the market is unfair we often ask the government to do something about it. We ask the government to stop the production of bad items or see that needed items are distributed in a more equal manner.
Governments provide public goods when they use tax dollars to buy items for people.
As the government answers more of our economic questions, and provides more of our goods and services, we move away from a market system and more toward a command economic system. One of the topics in politics which gets the most discussion centers on the question of what the government should do in the economy. One purpose of government is to promote the general welfare of the people. It can often do this by simply providing a safe place for people to live, work and play. Given their freedom, people will individually choose how to work and how to spend their money in a way that provides each with his or her greatest happiness.