Summary
Most people accept that some things are legitimately the responsibility of the government while others are private matters. The private realm was defined by the hearth and home, remaining the place of family, comfort and individual identity. In non-authoritarian countries the encroachments take a more benign character, frequently motivated by the same sense of superior knowledge and desire to protect that people associate with mothers and their children, or at least child carers. Hence they are commonly referred to as signs of the Nanny State. Governments are not super parents with superior knowledge, but public servants and politicians acting with legal authority. Moreover, citizens are not children who are incapable of making rational choices and accepting responsibility. These days, politicians are protected by armed guards at taxpayers' expense and the well-heeled hire armed security guards. Everyone else takes his or her chances. Even non-lethal alternatives like pepper sprays and mace are banned.
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Extract
Navigating the Nanny State
Most people accept that some things are legitimately the responsibility of the government while others are private matters. Indeed, this distinction was well known to the ancient Greeks. Aristotle described the public realm of the polis, state, city or republic as the site where people consent to or contest the laws, contracts, covenants, or principles of community that govern personal and social conduct.
The private realm was defined by the hearth and home, remaining the place of family, comfort and individual identity. He viewed the family as the primary and immediate unit of society, f...See the full content of this document
