Preventing People or Protecting Them?

Mar 4th, 2010 by wintercow20

During a series of conversations I have had with an acquaintance, I have heard the following two arguments.

The pressures that an increased population is (supposedly) putting on the environment is justification for the government to take measures to reduce population size.
Government has an interest in protecting its citizens on the roads. As a result, there should be extremely strict rules on when teens can drive and what they can do while driving.

I suppose you can reconcile these views, it just seems a little awkward to hold both. I don’t, of course.