A Caring State Is a Controlling State

By  •  Thursday January 29, 2009 2:46 PM PDT  •  3 Comments

I have often argued that a state charged with caring for the people has an interest in regulating personal behavior. If the government takes the role of parent for all its subjects, it will not just provide for them, but set rules on what they can do. Government that provides health insurance will, both in authentic concern in the tradition of the humanitarian with the guillotine, as well as in an effort to cut costs, treat people as if they do not own their own bodies. So I am glad to see one of my favorite papers, the Christian Science Monitor, publish Paul Hsieh’s outstanding article along these lines, “Universal healthcare and the waistline police.”

Tags: Civil Liberties, Fascism, Healthcare, Insurance, Nationalization, Personal Liberty, Regulation, The State

2 Comment(s)

  1. It would seem like plain old common sense wouldn’t it? If you pass the responsibility of looking after your health and economic welfare to the government, you give the government the right to have a say in what you eat, how you spend your money, where you work, and where you live.

    And yet corporations and banks are not just allowing government involvement in their businesses, they are begging for it. And the American people seem to be not only letting government get control of their lives, they are demanding it. It is extremely saddening.

    RickC | Jan 29, 2009 | Reply

  2. Robin Hanson has an explanation for the particularly meddlesome preferences people hold when it comes to health care. In short, evolutionary psychology:

    http://www.overcomingbias.com/2008/03/showing-that-yo.html

    Dain | Jan 29, 2009 | Reply

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