On government

From 

Ian Welsh

Government is the people who make choices about law and policy, plus those who implement the policies and enforce the laws.

The strength of a government can be measured by how much they can implement those policies and enforce those laws, and by how many non-approved actors are running shadow governments. It is normal for apparently non-governmental organization to implement the will of government.

In our society large firms actually enforce or fail to enforce most tax law, private companies build most buildings and weapons the government funds, and so on. These organizations are effectively arms of government.

Excerpt from his series on Political concepts

how I understand and use various political concepts, first because anyone who wants to know the standard usage can find it on the Web or in sociological and political science textbooks; and second because people who read me (and who gave to the fundraiser) will mostly find my understanding more useful and interesting. While these concepts cover only a small piece of my world-view, it’s an important one, and it’s a chunk of the model I use to understand and then explain the world when I write.