Government has a very big task to do without getting into the running of industry: 1. Government has to keep the finances of the country sound. That is government's prime job; only government can do that. It should be able to get inflation down and keep it down. That is a matter of your money supply, and keeping the money supply such that it's enough to finance your production and a certain amount of growth. It should keep public expenditure under control. Everyone knows what that means. You have to keep your expenditure as a family within your income and as a business within your income. So why shouldn't governments also operate the same way? Government has to keep taxation such that there is incentive for everyone working at every level to work harder, knowing that the level of tax they pay is reasonable and the lion's share of it comes to them to look after their families and their future. That is the whole of the financial aspect. 2. Only government can see that the nation is properly defended. That is government's duty. 3. Government must see that there is an adequate and proper education system. That is how the ordinary person pulls themselves up by having the chance of a good education regardless of their background. 4. Of course you must have a basic safety net for people who just can't find a job in our sophisticated economy. 5. I should have perhaps put this much higher up: You must have internal order through a system of justice. You can't have freedom without law. That means you have to have a properly equipped police force, independent courts of law, and a clear framework of law which your parliament must make after full and open discussion. If government did all of that properly, it wouldn't have time to get into things it ought not to be in.