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That's literally what it means. "Small government" is about limiting institutional power, because only through power can a government impose tyranny and/or barb

That's literally what it means. "Small government" is about limiting institutional power, because only through power can a government impose tyranny and/or barbarism. Opression requires power, which people have the capacity to limit in first world democracies, and to a lesser extent in non democratic nations through various forms of resistance. Of course this assumes that less violence, barbarism, and/or government opression represents the will of the populace...

azinman2 8y ago
You’re incorrectly assuming government is the only source of violence or tyranny.
- dgzl 8y ago
  I don't see anywhere that they're assuming that.
- fromthestart 8y ago
  From my comment: >Of course this assumes that less violence, barbarism, and/or government opression represents the will of the populace... Not at all. However, what you seem to be assuming is that government size is independent of measures of tyrrany and opression. I contend that the the size of government is directly proportional to tyranny and opression. We should take a moment to define terms here: by size in this context I refer to scope of operations and, by necessity, authority. In which case a larger government is by definition more opressive, in that authoritarianism past some point is itself opression, as it requires involuntary imposition of rules and restriction of freedoms. Small government is a hedge against authoritarianism and the tyranny that naturally follows when your life is increasingly micromanaged.
  - tim333 8y ago
    The most common measure of size of government is spending as a percent of GDP. Some examples Finland 56% of GPD Afghanistan 12% I don't buy your contention that size of government is directly proportional to tyranny and opression.
    - fromthestart 8y ago
      >The most common measure of size of government Well sure, if you define size of government as such. What about instead number of regulating agencies and their relative budgets? What about legislation and imprisonment? I would argue that, at least by the classical conservative definition, small government is less about GDP and more about restriction of freedoms and invasion of privacy. Not to imply that some degree of both may be necessary for a functioning society.
    - dgzl 8y ago
      Using terms like 'big' and 'small' when referring to governments doesn't necessarily have to mean just financially or regulatory. In more serious terms, it can be used to mean tyrannical, such as becoming 'bigger' than our human rights. How's this for a thought: How 'big' do we want our government to become? Personally I would have liked to stop before Bush signed the Patriot Act, or before we bum-rushed the middle-east with no intention of leaving, or before the NSA created their god machine, or before Obama resigned the Patriot Act several times. Don't get me wrong, I'm not in favor of immediately stripping regulations and defending redundant agencies, but I am interested in immediately cutting off the hand that's reaching up Lady-Liberty's skirt.
      - tim333 8y ago
        Well, it's one of those age old debates as to what the powers of government should be. I quite like set ups like Jersey in the Channel Islands where the max tax is 20% and the government is more like a town council that limits itself to fairly basic stuff.

azinman2 8y ago

You’re incorrectly assuming government is the only source of violence or tyranny.

dgzl 8y ago
I don't see anywhere that they're assuming that.
fromthestart 8y ago
From my comment: >Of course this assumes that less violence, barbarism, and/or government opression represents the will of the populace... Not at all. However, what you seem to be assuming is that government size is independent of measures of tyrrany and opression. I contend that the the size of government is directly proportional to tyranny and opression. We should take a moment to define terms here: by size in this context I refer to scope of operations and, by necessity, authority. In which case a larger government is by definition more opressive, in that authoritarianism past some point is itself opression, as it requires involuntary imposition of rules and restriction of freedoms. Small government is a hedge against authoritarianism and the tyranny that naturally follows when your life is increasingly micromanaged.
- tim333 8y ago
  The most common measure of size of government is spending as a percent of GDP. Some examples Finland 56% of GPD Afghanistan 12% I don't buy your contention that size of government is directly proportional to tyranny and opression.
  - fromthestart 8y ago
    >The most common measure of size of government Well sure, if you define size of government as such. What about instead number of regulating agencies and their relative budgets? What about legislation and imprisonment? I would argue that, at least by the classical conservative definition, small government is less about GDP and more about restriction of freedoms and invasion of privacy. Not to imply that some degree of both may be necessary for a functioning society.
  - dgzl 8y ago
    Using terms like 'big' and 'small' when referring to governments doesn't necessarily have to mean just financially or regulatory. In more serious terms, it can be used to mean tyrannical, such as becoming 'bigger' than our human rights. How's this for a thought: How 'big' do we want our government to become? Personally I would have liked to stop before Bush signed the Patriot Act, or before we bum-rushed the middle-east with no intention of leaving, or before the NSA created their god machine, or before Obama resigned the Patriot Act several times. Don't get me wrong, I'm not in favor of immediately stripping regulations and defending redundant agencies, but I am interested in immediately cutting off the hand that's reaching up Lady-Liberty's skirt.
    - tim333 8y ago
      Well, it's one of those age old debates as to what the powers of government should be. I quite like set ups like Jersey in the Channel Islands where the max tax is 20% and the government is more like a town council that limits itself to fairly basic stuff.