Reddit mentions of Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics (Arkosh Politics)

The US is lots of different governments and voting styles layered atop one another. We directly elect our representatives but not our President. However, at the state level, we do typically elect our representatives and our governor. We directly elect our city councillors and our mayors, but not always by plurality voting, because the local level is more open to experimentation and less bound by the constitution. In some places, we elect our judges, and in others they're appointed, and in others they're selected by a legislature. We also have a large number of unelected officials with real power, usually employees of the executive, sometimes under the scrutiny of people we do elect and sometimes not. The systems used for direct power projection (private security, the police, and the military) are typically some combination of "regular employer" and "elected officials". And that doesn't even get into other types of private businesses who are contracted to do work for one or more different layers of government.

When you talk about government being good for the people, you need to specify which branch and which level. My town board does a great job, I think. My garbage is picked up from the roadside, the roads and parks are kept clean and in good repair, the area is generally well-lit and safe, and the schools are successful.

In other words, it's complicated.

Edit: Also, Reinhold Niebuhr's most influential book is Moral Man and Immoral Society, where he discusses how working within established systems and bureaucracy can subvert the actions of an entire government full of well-meaning people. This is what MLKJr cited in Letter from a Birmingham Jail when appealing to the white moderates who didn't support segregation but also didn't oppose it. We are often more immoral as a group than as individuals.