Eight Thousand years ago in Sumer there were a group of very rich and powerful families that were competing with one another to control the greatest asset in their land. That asset was not material wealth, it was the productive capacity of the people.
After fighting with each other for generations they decided that it would be in their best interest to stop fighting and focus their attention on extracting as much of the wealth as possible from the people living in their land.
By threatening the people with violence for non-compliance, the power elite were able to tax the people and solidify their positions while enslaving their subjects.
The rich and powerful overlords offered the people safety and security in exchange for a portion of that which they were able to produce. The people became slaves on their government's plantation and traded their liberty for the illusion of security.
Governments are monopolies created by the rich and powerful. The purpose of these monopolies is to make as much money as possible for the participating banks and financial institutions. One of our government's primary responsibilities is to protect us from abusive corporate monopolies, but instead it is our government which has gone into partnership with the financial institutions to collectively pick the pockets of the American people.