Lesson Two of this new series moves from the human person to the purpose of government — and it changes how everything else makes sense.

In this episode, I ask a foundational question most people have never actually examined: What is government for?

Rather than starting with modern assumptions, we walk through how the Founders understood government as a limited institution designed to restrain evil, protect liberty, and preserve justice — not to create virtue, manage meaning, or guarantee outcomes.

This lesson contrasts three competing worldviews:

- The Biblical–Classical worldview which sees government as a delegated authority under moral law, necessary because humans are fallen but dangerous when unchecked.

- The Modern Secular worldview treats government as a neutral problem-solver that protects individual rights through institutions, while slowly expanding its scope.

- The Progressive/Postmodern worldview increasingly views government as a moral agent responsible for correcting injustice, enforcing outcomes, and reshaping society — which radically alters the meaning of power, authority, and freedom.

Lesson Two makes this clear: how you define the purpose of government determines how much power you’re willing to give it.

This episode lays the groundwork for every future conversation about rights, law, state authority, and conscience by showing that government is never neutral — it always reflects deeper beliefs about human nature, morality, and who gets to decide what justice means.

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Resources Mentioned

Hillsdale College’s Free Online Classical Courses

https://online.hillsdale.edu/courses

The Western Heritage Course itself (The Book of Genesis to John Locke):

https://online.hillsdale.edu/courses/promo/western-heritage

This is the specific course we referenced that explores the intellectual, cultural, and philosophical roots of Western civilization — from ancient Hebrews and Greeks through the rise of modern political thought.

Western Heritage - A Reader

https://shop.hillsdale.edu/products/western-heritage-em-a-reader-em

This is the reader edition published by Hillsdale College Press, a collection of primary source documents spanning Western history that complements the curricula you mentioned.