Who is Responsible?
Karlo Barrios Marcelo
Research Associate, the Center for
Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement
Actions not checked by the government live in the realm of personal responsibility, which the government can and sometimes must influence. Whether personal or governmental, the value society places upon any responsibility is a reflection of society’s preferences, though not always.
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In the context of an action, the similarity between personal and governmental responsibility is that both imply a universal good of sorts. The difference on a practical level is measured on which actions the government has lawful and reasonable justification to intervene.
Government influences and validates individuals’ choices through the restriction and protection of certain actions with varying degrees of intervention, a path determined by self-interest. Generally, the more personal a responsibility is perceived to be, the less government intervention is tolerated by society. All other actions not checked by the government in this way live in the realm of personal responsibility, which the government can and sometimes must influence. Whether personal or governmental, the value society places upon any responsibility is a reflection of society’s preferences, though not always.
Government intervention is most easily witnessed in the form of restricting and protecting the choices people make. Some restricted choices (negative intervention), such as drug use, have penalties that can range from a lowly misdemeanor to a Class A felony. Protected choices (positive intervention), such as the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v Wade, require the government to uphold constitutional rights. In other words, criminalizing drug use stripped away the responsibility an individual had over the body, while Roe v Wade ensured that the individual is responsible for their body.
For practical and constitutional reasons, government does not or cannot intervene in all actions. These actions — those free from government intervention but not necessarily free from government influence — are for the individual to decide, such as what values parents choose to impart to their children. Nor can government tell you if and when you will have children; government is not in the bedroom. These are the actions that fall into the realm of personal responsibility: the notion that, at minimum, it is incumbent upon the individual, through little or no foreign encouragement or intervention, to do what is in their self-interest without harming themselves or others.
Not all choices are created equal, and some choices require more thinking and planning than others due to the magnitude of the action. Parents have a serious personal responsibility to raise their children well from birth providing food, shelter, and love among other things. No parent-to-be shares the same profile as another; some people are better prepared than others to parent.
Still, parents care about their children and wish the best for them. Government could tap into this sense of personal responsibility to incentivize parents’ desired actions. For instance, it might create educational programs and materials to ensure that fi rst-time parents understand their new responsibility. This type of program does not infringe upon personal responsibility, instead offering a form of enrichment or reward to the individual so all parties benefit. Perhaps, selfishly, informed and prepared parents are desirable agents for a country to mold new citizens. Society benefits the most when all citizens have an equal opportunity to pursue life, liberty, and happiness; parents share responsibility in this endeavor.
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About the Author
Karlo Barrios Marcelo is a Research Associate for the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. Karlo’s research at CIRCLE focuses on community service/volunteering, the youth vote, and trends in civic engagement by gender and race/ethnicity. He has co-authored book chapters on the subjects of the 26th Amendment and non-voting youth, as well as a peer-reviewed article on the civic engagement of immigrants. In addition to his work at CIRCLE, Karlo serves on a subcommittee for The University of Maryland’s Coalition for Civic Engagement and Leadership and on the advisory board for HeadCount — a non-partisan organization devoted to using the multi-faceted power of music to enable voter registration and participation in democracy.
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