BRUSSELS, Belgium (PNN) - September 17, 2018 - 589 days. That’s how long Belgian residents were forced to live without an elected government between 2010 and 2011. Due to disagreements between the Flemish and Walloons, a coalition could not be formed. While the two political Parties fought out their many differences, a former prime minister oversaw a bare bones government that handled the basic day-to-day operations.
Apocalyptic predictions abounded of what would happen to the rudderless country. A debt crisis would be inevitable, doom-mongers asserted. The fallout would affect Europe, they foretold. There would be anarchy. Chaos. Blood in the streets. The reality proved to be more banal. Nothing happened. Life went on as normal. By the time Belgium had entered the record books for its 589-day governmentless stint (a feat recently surpassed by Northern Ireland) its people had learned a lesson: the solution to a better life might actually be less government.
Government can be likened to the bezel surrounding your smart phone screen: you want it to be as small as possible - ideally invisible. The invisible hand of government, with its system of checks and balances, is meant to serve the people through providing justice for all and supporting the most disadvantaged members of society. So how did we reach a state of affairs where the people are instead serving their government? Bloated civil service, ballooning government expenditure, and a creeping barrage of laws have resulted in a top-heavy, tax-heavy behemoth that takes from the lowest rungs of society to prop up the top.
Libertarians catch a lot of flak for their idealistic dream of small government that largely leaves the populace alone. The idea isn’t that radical though; all its advocates are rooting for really is a return to the low taxation, low governance model that was the norm until the mid 20th Century. Following decades of intrusion into every last facet of our lives, however, rolling back the clock, repealing the laws, and downsizing the number of elected officials is untenable to those who have come to rely on government handouts, from the feckless claiming lifelong benefits to the fat cats, bloated off government contracts awarded by their cronies. Government is the world’s biggest ponzi scheme.
We think of them as sprawling, soulless entities, but what is a government but a collection of people armed with a mandate to make themselves known? That’s where the problem begins. Every newly elected government believes its first role upon entering office is to stamp its authority. This means rushing through a slew of laws within the magical First 100 Days. Like a newly appointed middle manager compelled to stamp his or her authority, governments just can’t resist governing. They are whores for laws, enacting legislation with wild abandon, and all the while seeking ways to further entrench their power.
The solution to myriad problems facing people all over the world is simple… less government, more freedom.
