If men were angels, no government would be necessary. . . . In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place, oblige it to control itself.

The quote says that if people were perfectly good (“angels”), government would not be necessary. Since people are not perfect, government is needed to control behavior and must also be limited so it controls itself. The correct choice is “is needed.”

AI-written and checked against the verified answer.