I find I am often at odds with the writers of the SMH, however today I stumbled across a rare gem relating to the delusion we hold that we still live by the constitutionalist principles of small government. Somewhat bizarrely titled “Small government goes large on red tape to create an industry giant“, it perpetuates the idea that this regulation is something that goes hand in hand with small government. Of course, this a falsity. The figures presented are clear indication of the problem. 600 regulatory bodies, a budget running into the billions and 34 000 employees leads one to believe that perhaps we are not as free as many claim.
The statistics speak for themselves. To quote, “At the time of federation, it took 358 pages of federal legislation to unify the country. In 2006 it took 6786 pages just to keep the place ticking over.” The author attributes this rise to the “deregulation” of industry and privatisation of social services that occurred in the decade following 1980. I am not so convinced. We have moved away from the intentions of our founding fathers who wished to create a constitutionally limited small government, to this red tape behemoth governing every aspect of our personal and business lives. Gone are the days where the judiciary fairly interpreted and developed law to bring it to alignment with social values and norms, now it seems we are governed by a fused executive and legislature keen to autocratically push its ideologically tainted policy right down our proverbial throats.
Businesses are increasingly forced to dedicate an obscene amount of resources towards regulatory compliance. Few if any individuals could claim to be aware of the complex regulation governing every aspect of their day to day lives. This is not freedom. To quote the brilliant Johann Wolfgang Van Goethe, “None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.” Whether you agree that Australia could in fact be considered ‘enslaved’, to interpret the term as one of degree, we certainly are ‘enslaved’ in the sense that we have long foregone our individual autonomy. We have, as a result of our apathy towards politics, accepted the precedence of the will of government. This must change.
We sure are regulated, there are just too many laws, and i’m sure most of us are breaking some law everyday. I don’t think it’ll change, we like government taking care of us, the meddling in our lives is tolerated because it’s a necessary part of being looked after. Until they’re meddling in our lives that is, it’s alright whilst it’s meddling in others lives, just not ours.
Kudos to You Sebastian
“We have, as a result of our apathy towards politics, accepted the precedence of the will of government”
And mite I add: unrestrained Judiciary, But you’ve already said that of course, And this is what Mason writes about unrestrained Judicial rulings.“This ten miles square may set at defiance the laws of the surrounding states and may . . . become the sanctuary of the blackest crimes! Here the federal courts are to sit . . . what sort of jury shall we have within the ten miles square? The immediate creatures of government!”George Mason
Because we ourselves have wrongly considered that we are sufficiently not capable of defending or Amendments and by giving them away, to that of a Federal judiciary to be selectively assigned by this new agent of choice.