Are Government Regulations Jeopardizing Your Liberty?
By Nozick Nightingale
- 2 minutes read - 304 wordsIf you’re like most people, then you’ve probably asked yourself: are government regulations jeopardizing my liberty? The answer is an undeniable yes. Governments, of all kinds, have a long history of creating more regulations in order to limit our liberty, from regulating currencies to violating our freedoms of expression.
Historically, governments have used their regulatory powers to stifle competition, create monopolies and shut out newcomers with costly and repetitive regulations. We can look at the United States’ 1800s railroad industry as an example; when the railroads were initially being built, the government adopted regulations which caused the rate of building to fall far below the critical rate needed to establish a comprehensive, national railroad network. This was done in favor of an existing railroad monopoly.
The government has consistently regulated industries to benefit entrenched interests and special-interest groups, while at the same time stunting the growth of creative, new ideas and businesses. Regulations are aimed at maintaining the status quo, often creating obstacles for any new competitors to challenge the privileged few in power.
On a more philosophical level, regulations of liberty denote the abandonment of self-governance and individual decision making in favor of governing from the top down. Such an imposition of uniformity ultimately results in the detriment of innovators, as well as entrepreneurs. By regulating freedom, we lose our capacity to make our own, informed decisions, and often find that certain sectors of society are disempowered and left behind.
To preserve the freedom, prosperity and economic opportunities that are at the heart of a free and open society, it is important for us to recognize and address the dangers of government regulations and their potential to arbitrary control. We must ensure that any regulations enacted serve to encourage competition and creative business models, not squash them in favor of existing power structures.