As I live through each day, one of the reactions I cannot shake is, “gosh, is there any part of my life that doesn’t have government all over it?” From the second I pour the milk in my coffee (FDA approved) to the time I turn my car on (the registration, emissions inspection and license information, among others), to driving on the roads (virtually every road is publicly owned and administered) to the bills that I pay (all include myriad taxes) to seeing government police in the neighborhood to walking on NYSDEC trails, etc. there is nothing I do in my day that does not have the government involved in any way.
However, imagine you are someone who does not have the inclinations that I have and they were asked to reflect on the very same set of facts and circumstances … my belief is that they would not respond with my query, they would instead respond, “thank God for the government – how in the world would we ever get through our lives if they did not take care of these things.”
No amount of education, I believe, can alter that. And for this belief, people call me a misanthrope. Well, what is more misanthropic – the belief that a coercive institution is alone capable of making sure the world runs smoothly, or a belief that the voluntary efforts of millions of heterogeneous people can do a better job
