I recently read an article where the author claimed that, "Government, at its root, is an exchange of some amount of liberty for some amount of security." While that is definitely the sales pitch in school and media, this is a very poor definition, and for a couple key reasons.
First, there is no exchange. Governments demand obedience, and will rob, kidnap, or murder those who do not submit. Second, there is no security when any arbitrary government decree can turn a "legal" act or object into something "illegal" for which government enforcers will rob, kidnap, or murder people. In reality, a government is a group of people who claim a territorial monopoly in violence. Modern governments use the myth of representation as a veneer of legitimacy. They promise peace and prosperity if you submit to their demands, but the only real obligations are always imposed upon the populace. Governments are never held truly accountable, even if show trials and public wrist slaps occasionally occur.
A better definition of government, although still incomplete, just needs a slight rewording: "Government, at its root, is an exchange of liberty and security for illusions and lies." Don't fall for the propaganda spewed by busybody control freaks or their apologists.
Related posts:
The Real Church and State Divide
What if No One is In Charge?
Post Hoc Econ
Virtue, Vice, and Violence