Government is best which governs least or not at all

[ffr]

Well, we can put that claim to bed.

FAIL!

Noted nineteenth-century American writer Henry David Thoreau, opens his 1849 essay “Resistance to Civil Government,” one of the most famous political essays of all time, with the immortal lines:

“I heartily accept the motto,–“That government is best which governs least;” and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which I also believe,–“That government is best which governs not at all;” - PoliticusUSA

[Journeyman]

1. Let's be honest, and complete Thoreau's thought . . .

". . . and when men are ready for it, that is the type of government which they shall have."

[S.E. TN Liberal]

2. Less government can work.

But you need honest, caring citizens to work with each other so the government does not have to step in. Sadly, America requires much of government that our citizens, businesses and religious institutions fail to contribute for the good of all.

[misanthrope]

3. Yes, and you can't have a culture that worships economic Darwinism or

a society that teaches "Greed is good" and its peripheral beliefs and actions. If you're going to expect people to be craven and selfish then you have to have oversight or it becomes something very ugly, very unjust with little true freedom.