JOY: How far should a state have a right to monitor the actions of people within its borders?

States have a right to monitor the actions of the people within its borders when these actions affect it in areas such as state welfare or security. While people who belong to a certain state should be held accountable for what they do within the territory, the government should take care of members of the state by being concerned with the welfare of the general population by monitoring the actions of its people so that society is kept peaceful. An example would be the monitoring of drug abuse in various states around the world, such as in Singapore. The population is tightly monitored and drug abusers are often given harsh sentences, such as a fine of $2000 and a jail term of 3 years. This is because drug abusers tend to not only harm their families by draining family finances to obtain drugs, but they also often turn to illegal activities such as stealing from the public, so as to afford the drugs they need.

Of course, such a right should not be given and misused by the government for their own selfish intent as at times, states over-monitory the actions of the people within its borders only because they want to ensure they have full control over its people. They invade in the privacy of the people who lose their freedom and rights as a human. A popular example would be North Korea, a communist state. The government controls the population, even to the extent of regulating and monitoring the type of television shows they watch. Reason being they do not want the population to be influenced by external cultures and to always be supportive towards the North Korean government.

Therefore, states should be allowed to monitor the actions of its people in circumstances where such actions will affect the states and its population negatively. However, such monitoring by the states should be limited as people should be allowed their rights and freedom and be accorded their privacy.