Or to put it another way:
The larger the government, the more likely there is to be abuse of power and corruption, and the more likely you are to be a victim of that abuse of power and corruption.
I want you to think about something really quickly here with me. When it comes to explaining government and abuse of power and corruption, the best way to describe it in that way goes something like this:
Government represents people who are in positions of power who, because they are in those positions of power are tempted to do things that could be defined as an abuse of power or corruption.
From this perspective, if you increase the size of government, you end up increasing the number of people who are in positions of power who could potentially abuse that power and act corrupt.
If that is the case, the best way to reduce the possibility of potential abuse of power and corruption is to reduce and limit the size of government, for by reducing and limiting the size of government, you are reducing and limiting the number of people that are in those positions of power who could potentially abuse that power and be corrupt. Right?
Unfortunately, there are many people, particularly on the political left, who don’t seem to understand this commonsense argument, and they think that the best way to decrease abuse of power inside the government is to increase government’s size and make it bigger!
In other words, they are increasing the number of people who hold positions of power, who could potentially abuse their power, and be corrupt, and are hoping that by doing so that they will see a reduction in abuse of power. And when more abuse of power happens, they become dumbfounded, like they don’t understand, even though the truth is right there!
Seriously, if you’re worried about abuse of power inside our government, reduce its size. Don’t make government bigger!
A Little Comparison
I want to make a comparison here for you to think about:
Imagine that we have a small, limited government with limited control over our lives, and that control represents only 10 percent of our lives. Now imagine that in this government, a whopping half, or 50 percent of it, abuses their power. That represents about 5 percent of your life.
Now imagine a very large, expansive government with much, much more control over our lives, and that control represents a full 50 percent of our lives. Now imagine that only one-quarter, or 25 percent of that government, abuses its power. That abuse of power represents 12.5 percent of your life. So, even though, in this imaginary comparison, a smaller percentage of the government abuses its power, that smaller percentage represents a larger portion of your life – in fact, it represents more than twice as much abuse of power compared to the smaller government where a larger portion of it abuses its power.
In Summary
So, what is the lesson learned here?
If you complain about abuse of power and corruption, and think that a bigger, more powerful government, with more control of your life, is the way to combat and work against abuse of power and corruption, then you’re wrong. You’re working against yourself. The best way to minimize abuse of power and corruption, and reduce the potential chances of being the victim of abuse of power and corruption, is to minimize the size of government and the amount of control it has over your life.
