单项选择题X 纠错Government is an institution resulting from man’s group way of life which maintains a set of social controls in order to prevent chaos. In a small, homogeneous, simple society, these social controls can be imposed and enforced by the family or clan. But in a large, heterogeneous complex society, the institution of government takes over this function. For purposes of analysis, social control may be divided into moral control and political control. Moral control derives from the internalized beliefs and values of a society and regulations, each individual’s behavior without the use of outside enforcement. Political control does involve enforcement from the outside since the individual is not always certain that the rule he is following is just and right. He follows it to conform, to avoid punishment, or to receive social rewards. Political control is an outgrowth of moral control, and its effectiveness depends on the willingness of the members of society to accept the government’s authority as just and right. A government that is forced to coerce or threaten most of its members into accepting political control not backed with moral control will not survive long. In addition, a wide discrepancy between moral and political control will result in a condition of general lawlessness. Such a condition has occurred in the United States on several occasions and is now evident among some groups of society according to "The Roots of Lawlessness" by historian Henry Steele Commangaer. Government, a major social institution, may be viewed as a set of procedures by which a society realizes a good portion of its goals. Government is further unique as an institution because it serves to reinforce the function of other institutions. Thus, individuals violating the rules and regulation of the economic, educational, or family institutions must ultimately face the punitive power of government.