Now, I learned soon enough, that among the three, two don't

Shimon Peres, the statesman whose life spanned the very birth and growth of modern Israel, once spoke with candor about the uneasy dance of power between three great forces of society: “Now, I learned soon enough, that among the three, two don't trust the third one—the third one is the government. Both industry and unions feel the government is a talking organization and a spending organization.” In these words, Peres exposes an eternal tension. Industry wields the power of wealth. Unions wield the power of labor. And government, meant to balance them, is often mistrusted by both. For to the captains of commerce and the workers of the factories, government seems less a creator of value than a consumer of it—a talking body, a spending body.

The ancients, too, knew this mistrust. In Rome, the Senate was the voice of the state, but the patricians (the wealthy) and the plebeians (the workers) often scorned it. The rich saw the Senate as a body that taxed their fortunes without producing anything tangible. The poor saw it as a body that promised protection but often delivered little. And yet, without the Senate, Rome could not endure; it was the fragile bridge between classes. Peres, with the wisdom of a man who lived in the arena of politics, simply observed in modern form what has always been true: government walks a narrow road between suspicion and necessity.

Consider the history of the Industrial Revolution. In England, the rise of factories brought enormous wealth to industrialists but terrible conditions to workers. When the government tried to intervene with laws to protect children or limit working hours, industry resisted, seeing it as intrusion, taxation, and inefficiency. At the same time, unions distrusted government for siding too often with the wealthy, using soldiers and police to break strikes. Thus, both sides saw government as a body of endless speeches and costly decrees—rarely as a trusted ally. This is the pattern Peres describes, one repeated across nations and centuries.

Yet, there is a deeper truth hidden in his words: government, though mistrusted, is essential. For without it, the war between industry and labor becomes a fire without restraint. Unions would strike endlessly, industries would exploit ruthlessly, and society would fracture. Government, even if clumsy, even if seen as wasteful, serves as the mediator—the one that speaks when others clash, the one that spends to protect the common good. Peres’s insight is not only criticism; it is also recognition of the government’s lonely role: mistrusted by both sides, yet indispensable to all.

There is heroism, too, in the one who accepts such a role. For to be in government is to endure constant suspicion, to be accused of waste by the wealthy and of betrayal by the poor. And yet, someone must carry the burden. Someone must be the talking organization, speaking the language of compromise, and the spending organization, channeling resources toward the survival of the state. Peres himself bore this weight, often caught between competing interests, yet always striving to preserve balance. His words come not from bitterness, but from the seasoned recognition of reality.

So what lesson shall we take from this? It is this: do not despise government lightly, even when it seems inefficient or flawed. For it is the vessel of balance in a sea of competing powers. Industry and unions, wealth and labor, will always mistrust the referee. But without a referee, the game collapses into chaos. Government, though imperfect, carries the burden of order. To weaken it utterly is to endanger all.

Practical wisdom follows. As citizens, we must hold government accountable, yes, but also recognize its necessity. Industry must not see it only as a leech, nor unions only as a betrayer. We must all learn to demand integrity from government, while granting it the trust required for society to stand. Support honest leaders, reject cynicism, and understand that compromise is not weakness but the foundation of peace.

Thus Shimon Peres’s words endure across generations: two do not trust the third, yet the third holds them both in balance. Government is fragile, mistrusted, and burdened—but it is also the unseen glue that binds industry, labor, and the people into one society. Honor this truth, and act with vigilance and responsibility, so that the mistrust of government may become, not a source of ruin, but a call to make it worthy of trust once more.