In the Land of the Blind, the Man with One Eye is Nowhere to be Found

Not only that, but any blind man with sufficient charm can convince everyone else that he has one eye. Allow me to explain. The modern nanny state is built on the premise that human beings are myopic, and that because of this myopia, government ought to step in and correct for the irrationality of the citizenry. What the presupposition of the nanny state fails to take into account is the irrationality of the bureaucracy itself.

CS Lewis strongly made this point when he wrote, 

"I am a democrat [proponent of democracy] because I believe in the Fall of Man. I think most people are democrats for the opposite reason. A great deal of democratic enthusiasm descends from the ideas of people like Rousseau, who believed in democracy because they thought mankind so wise and good that every one deserved a share in the government. The real reason for democracy is just the reverse. Mankind is so fallen that no man can be trusted with unchecked power over his fellows. Aristotle said that some people were only fit to be slaves. I do not contradict him. But I reject slavery because I see no men fit to be masters. "

The stench of elitism surrounds many of the policies of the modern nanny state. Whether its requiring people to buy health insurance that they do not desire, or levying taxes on "sins", the thought process is the same. As a democracy, the United States must resist the urge to control the lives of the citizenry. It is fundamentally anti-american to suggest that a government official knows what is the right rate of consumption of a given good or service.


mendacious- untruthful

torpid- Mentally or physically inactive