Temba A Nolutshungu | Director | Free Market Foundation | mail me |
Vice President | South African Institute of Race Relations |
As with the bosomy among the fairer sex, big government inevitably stimulates public interest and invites frenetic courtship and unrelenting pursuit. The pursuers are usually rent-seekers, lobbyists and representatives of all sorts of sectional interests.
In some cases, big government may also provoke alienation, dismay and sometimes a sense of powerlessness, but seldom indifference. In this context, critical engagement is appropriate, especially by those who are ever concerned and vigilant about the risks of government expanding at the cost of individual liberty.
The phenomenon of big government requires rigorous ongoing scrutiny, especially as it relates to the economic welfare of a country. The inquiry must start with an analysis of the original concept of government.
Prior to the advent of modern democratic forms of government, monarchs or oligarchs ruled most states. These rulers protected the inhabitants from external aggression and regulated internal conflict within defined geographic boundaries. They also exacted taxes or tribute, which they used for themselves, for public works and later on misappropriately rewarding loyal followers and close associates. The expansion of government is characterised by the progressive usurpation of functions that have traditionally fallen within the realms of individual freedom and personal responsibility.
Historical research and political theory depict the original role of government to have been the protection of a country against external aggression and the protection of people and property within the country from assault, theft, and malicious damage to property. It is plausible to posit that in the quest to ensure stable communities, the enforcement of contracts was strictly observed, and the common practice of voluntary exchanges became entrenched as the common law of the day.
An overriding concern was to ensure that…
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Read the full article by Temba A Nolutshungu, Director, Free Market Foundation and Vice President, South African Institute of Race Relations, as well as a host of other topical management articles written by professionals, consultants and academics in the June/July 2023 edition of BusinessBrief.
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