Thread: Nanny State Strikes Again!

Originally Posted by fpessanha

Hum... looks like I managed to kill another thread with a lengthy post. Sorry about that.

No, I don't think so. There really is not a lot to add to what you have said really. Strange, I am on the other side of the pond from you in Canada and I think you are basically correct about definitions being different. Never had a great fear of government that had socialist overtones as I live in such a country. What I fear is the extremists at both ends of the political spectrum and the possibility that they may be in power some day. The amount of regulating and control of individual citizens from either of these extremes amounts to the same thing in the end and would be unbearable.

Bob

Originally Posted by BobH

No, I don't think so. There really is not a lot to add to what you have said really. Strange, I am on the other side of the pond from you in Canada and I think you are basically correct about definitions being different. Never had a great fear of government that had socialist overtones as I live in such a country. What I fear is the extremists at both ends of the political spectrum and the possibility that they may be in power some day. The amount of regulating and control of individual citizens from either of these extremes amounts to the same thing in the end and would be unbearable.

Bob

I agree. Every government that is democratic and values and therefore promotes quality of life for its citizens is, by itself and detached of all political banners is social-ist - as in society...
The problem is, indeed, the extremist positions that fools often take when trying to agressively defend what they think is right and achieve what they want. Most often what these people want is very far from what the people needs.
We, in the past century, have fought long and hard for liberty, freedom and democracy. When we allow non-political elements dictate what governments do or when to have a general election, democracy itself is at stake. That is happening in Europe as we speak. The result will be misstrust, the rise of nationalism and violence. None of these things have served the world well over the decades. It's not the nanny state that I am afraid of - is the instrumentalization of the state, turned into an overbearing nanny, that will keep us from growing up and standing our own ground as a civilization of humanism against greed. But I digress... again.