Governments are for the benefit of people. Sometimes they are only for the benefit of some people and not others. Other times they work for the benefit of nearly everyone. But something to keep in mind is that any collective organization(like a government) is going to find it difficult to cater to individualists. Individualism and community are naturally at odds with one another, we do make it work but it’s an imperfect compromise.
A few examples with dates:
15 June 1215 - Magna Carta
27 May 1679 - Habeas Corpus Act
16 December 1689 - English Bill of Rights
9 April 1866 - Civil Rights Act
10 June 1963 - Equal Pay Act
