Is the solution Liberty or Government?

Question

Which is a more plausible solution to the human condition - Liberty (which I would consider the freedom of individual choice, which implies an awareness and acceptance of consequence) or Government (which I would consider representative decisions that provide regulations regarding how individuals make their choices)

Answer 1

A delicate balance of both.

For example, what kind of road system would we have if everyone made their own roads? Or what kind of communications network would we have it was just left up to individual companies?

Some things do work better when centrally managed. These are usually services that apply across boundries and act in the common good.

However, some things work better when not centralized, such as a person's choice of religion or other beliefs.

Too much government and it becomes unmanageable and power hungry. Too little government and you have anarchy.

There is no easy way to find a balance other than trial and error. Whatever the system it needs to be flexible enough to change with time.

The founding fathers did a pretty good job, but presently I feel we have strayed too much to the government side.

~X~

Answer 2

First off, government isn't representative decisions blah blah blah, it's some unelected, unaccountable, politically-motivated, elitist bureaucrat forcing his decision down your throat because he thinks he's smarter than you and born to rule. It is tyranny acceptable to the people.

Is freedom good for humanity or is tyranny good for humanity?

Freedom and capitalism have done more to raise the base line of human existance than anything ever before. No government program created a society where labor and struggle have been replaced with unparalleled comfort and ease and the availability of almost anything you want or need.

Tyranny, whether accepted by the people or not, creates nothing but failure, poverty, and oppression. It always has and it always will.

Answer 3

I don't really think the two are mutually exclusive. Liberty can easily coexist with government, at least with intelligent government.

Government can also PROVIDE liberty. Government, through laws and the enforcement of them, works to keep criminals from overcoming society, works to help us be fairly sure our food is not contaminated, our cars reasonably safe, etc.

Depending on where one stands on an issue, government can be either a friend of liberty or a foe. For instance, many people who are against gun control (despising government "interference") are also against abortion rights (expecting the government to interfere with the medical decisions of someone else.)

I guess liberty is best preserved by intelligent government carefully watched by well-educated and well-informed citizens.

I think we oughtta try it.

Answer 4

we need a good balance of both. but that is understandably tricky with the issues we face today. My opinion leans more toward liberty....but we must have to courage and will to fight for it and take responsibility for ourselves and not wait for Big Government to solve all our problems. To have freedoms comes with a price. But if you want the security of Government providing everything be prepared to surrender much more.

Answer 5

"Give me Liberty or give me death!"

or

"Give me Government or give me death!"

Which sounds better? Personally, I prefer the former. However, it doesn't come without a price-tag, and that price-tag equates to PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. Unfortunately, our American culture has gotten away from this concept in favor of the "blame game" and the "I'm sorry" credo. In the olden days, a Man would accept the consequences of his actions and deal with them; nowadays, we have gotten accustomed to looking around for another scapegoat: "It's not my fault; society is to blame!", or "If only his parents had seen the signs...", or "What were the reasons that drove him to drink?"

In order for our society, as a whole, to achieve liberty, each individual must accept personal responsibility for his or her actions.

Answer 6

The correct solution is the proper balance of liberty and governance. Our Founders had it right. If we would only listen to them.

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Answer 7

to regulate morality is to neuter society's potential. We must assume government is filled with con artists and protect ourselves from them, but freedom needs something to make it the standard we live by

Answer 8

Liberty by far, government just creates more problems!

Answer 9

I agree with Jacob W. above. Our forefathers wrote a fascinating, beautiful document so that we could have both. Take one of those options out, and collapses.