Why state capacity must match the tasks a country undertakes

There is no useful ideal size of government apart from the jobs a state chooses and needs to perform. A country mobilizing for the Second World War requires much more complex institutions than a small island community. Standardized roads and infrastructure, defence, a foreign service, taxation, parliamentary oversight, and education all require coordination and accountability. British state involvement in education developed partly in response to serious problems with what some schools were teaching. Universal health care can also work as an economic investment because earlier treatment may improve wellbeing and productivity while reducing the cost of neglected illness. Wartime capacity depends on the broader institutions that sustain a functioning state and economy.