To a reasonable degree, yes, but recent governments around the world have made it their number one priority; see the responses to Covid, where preventing one mo

To a reasonable degree, yes, but recent governments around the world have made it their number one priority; see the responses to Covid, where preventing one more death from Covid seemingly was worth whatever the cost may be. Maybe it's just my inner American, but I believe government was not formed to protect me from my own decisions, and me from the decisions of others provided that they do not directly and materially harm me. The more reasonable explanation, I suppose, is that government seeks to preserve and grow its own power, and often does so in the guise of public safety.