I know Governments thoughtout history have been dictatorships but my question is how

[aid632007]

I know Governments thoughtout history have been dictatorships and many nations on earth are dictatorships but my question is how does bigger government mean less freedom for citizens.

[aid632007]

Also what do you all think of this quote ?

A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.
Gerald R. Ford

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/g/gerald_r_ford.html

[oyarde]

Also what do you all think of this quote ?

A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.
Gerald R. Ford

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/g/gerald_r_ford.html

Was that previously Jefferson ? And yes , it is true , whoever said it . What you want is a govt. with no entitlements .

[oyarde]

Bigger govt means less freedom because ..... guess who pays for more govt to tell you what to do ?

[Bruno]

What is your motivation?

[oyarde]

Wants to be dictator ?

[Bruno]

Wants to be dictator ?

Trolls can be dictators, too. ;)

[ChaosControl]

how does bigger government mean less freedom for citizens.
Well most likely to obtain bigger government one has to take away something. Whether it be the financial burden of maintaining various departments or the freedoms that are regulated that give the department meaning.

If people voluntarily wanted certain regulations or economic equality, they wouldn't need a government to enforce them.

[oyarde]

Trolls can be dictators, too. ;)

I was thinking that too . Hope I am wrong .

[oyarde]

I know Governments thoughtout history have been dictatorships and many nations on earth are dictatorships but my question is how does bigger government mean less freedom for citizens.

We can summarize like this : Give me half of your earnings and I will control what you can do with the rest , or you keep nearly all of your earnings and do whatever you like with it . Which sounds better ?

[1000-points-of-fright]

The easiest way to think about this is with the extremes.

A government that controls every aspect of your life from cradle to grave = you can't do anything without government permission.

Or

There is absolutely no government = you can do anything you want.

Then imagine a sliding scale in between the two extremes. Honestly, I can't believe this even needs to be explained.

[Live_Free_Or_Die]

Agriculture and farming allowed roaming bandits to become stationary.

[akforme]

Freedom equals choice. Government accomplishes things through force. Force is void of choice. More government, more force, more force, less choice, less choice, less freedom.

What does consent of the governed mean to you?

[Promontorium]

It isn't that bigger government exactly correlates to less freedom, rather the nature of expanding government generally implies expanding government cost and authority, both of which reduce liberty. Also, if a government gets larger without necessarily expanding its role, it will find some way to do it anyway, because that is the heart and soul of bureaucracy, to develop ever increasingly complex and taxing things for employees to do.


Certainly pound for pound a more authoritarian government might be smaller in personnel and finances than a huge bureacracy because it might provide little to no services and just pay to have soldiers stand around telling you what to do. However it's apples to oranges if you're not talking about one exact government where an increase in finances and personnel can have a measurable change.