# Why does the left love big government so much? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 17, 2010, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-left-love-big-government-so-much/539728 "2010-05-17T05:26:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-left-love-big-government-so-much/539728/61 "2010-05-19T12:46:31Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > The examples given for the right either cost relatively less (the cultural stuff) than the general welfare of the left… or are pretty clearly national defense issues which we see as clearly the realm of the federal government. Yet somehow it’s the Right that always keeps pushing up the nation debt. Wars are expensive. Police and prisons are expensive. Corporate giveaways are expensive. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-left-love-big-government-so-much/539728/62 "2010-05-19T14:07:21Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > The examples given for the right either cost relatively less (the cultural stuff) than the general welfare of the left… or are pretty clearly national defense issues which we see as clearly the realm of the federal government. Wrong. 1. The cost of having Ministry-Of-Culture policies is not less; it’s just less visible – read your [Bastiat](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric_Bastiat) if you need the concept explained in detail. (Example: It was pure dumb luck that the British government caught Alan Turing later rather than sooner, and that they are not therefore speaking German in London today. Costs don’t come much higher than “losing a war to a nation that wants to destroy your way of life”.) 2. Actual national defense is clearly the proper realm of the federal government. Wars of choice in countries most people couldn’t find on a map is an entirely different matter. The cost differential between the two is immense, and can be entirely counted toward the Right-Wing Big Government tab. [The bottom-line results.](http://blogs.venturacountystar.com/vcs/greenberg/qqxsgFiscalConservative.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-left-love-big-government-so-much/539728/63 "2010-05-19T15:10:28Z")
> [@emacknight](#): > > Examples: I mentioned the power grid (3 phase across the country), the highway system (everyone on the right hand side of the road) was also mentioned, education (everyone learns English) Sorry, I had to stop and laugh at that. It is quite possible in large portions of the USA to get a high school diploma and never learn to speak, read or write English. The Houston Independent School District is a prime example. They very happily “graduate” illiterates, no matter where they were born. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-left-love-big-government-so-much/539728/64 "2010-05-19T15:30:30Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Sorry, I had to stop and laugh at that. It is quite possible in large portions of the USA to get a high school diploma and never learn to speak, read or write English. The Houston Independent School District is a prime example. They very happily “graduate” illiterates, no matter where they were born. OTOH, of course, there are countless people in America who **can** read and write English, and who could not if public education were not available. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-left-love-big-government-so-much/539728/65 "2010-05-19T17:58:38Z")
Government (at least in the US) control or regulation implies that it is enforcing the “will of the people”. Of course there are 300 million people and clearly their will is not in agreement on most topics. In contrast, corporate interests are typically alligned with making money for their employees and shareholders while presumably providing some service to their customer. Even if you are not in either of those groups, you can still be affected by their actions and policies. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-left-love-big-government-so-much/539728/66 "2010-05-20T14:28:59Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Sorry, I had to stop and laugh at that. It is quite possible in large portions of the USA to get a high school diploma and never learn to speak, read or write English. The Houston Independent School District is a prime example. They very happily “graduate” illiterates, no matter where they were born. Naturally, you can provide a cite demonstrating that this is a fact. And no, the World Nut Daily doesn’t count. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-left-love-big-government-so-much/539728/67 "2010-05-20T14:41:12Z")
> [@](#): > > It is quite possible in large portions of the USA to get a high school diploma and never learn to speak, read or write English. I’m sorry – I had to stop and gape at that. Aside from orator’s hyperbole and nostaligic writers yearning for the past, I’ve never encountered such a statement, which seems to be against my experience, and would be a major scandal if true. Really – “large portions of the USA”? To echo **RTFirefly** , can you back it up? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-left-love-big-government-so-much/539728/68 "2010-05-20T17:02:53Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > It doesn’t. It loves things like Social Security and universal health care and protection of the environment so much, and it would like some other things like good mass transit and high-speed intercity rail. Nowadays it loves things like gay marriage and abortion that it cannot easily get from its fellow citizens and therefore wants to get from unelected government officials like judges. I am not talking about principled lefties here - I mean the folks who are not in favor of more government, but are in favor of more social spending, more debt, more regulation, more government-controlled healthcare, higher taxes, and unlimited power for judges. But not more government. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-left-love-big-government-so-much/539728/69 "2010-05-21T16:16:24Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Nowadays it loves things like gay marriage and abortion Er, if you’re trying to argue that leftists love big government, maybe you should avoid citing examples of attempts to remove rightist big government… ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-left-love-big-government-so-much/539728/70 "2010-05-28T21:51:25Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > I am in favor of stronger “bigger” government because I want the biggest, meanest organization to be something regular people can control. If a pharmaceutical company was stronger than the government, they would fuck us. If a bank was bigger than the government, they would fuck us. Ditto for any private company. If a private organization has nobody to answer to, they WILL poison us and lie to us and steal from us and murder us and exploit us. The only sure thing history has taught us is that if an opportunity is available to exploit people, SOMEONE will take that opportunity. The only way to prevent it is for the majority of people to have the majority of the power. The only way for common people to have the power is for their government to be democratically elected, and stronger than any private interest. This this this. I’m actually worried that the Federal Reserve as presently constructed is _too_ private for this reason. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-left-love-big-government-so-much/539728/71 "2010-05-28T22:59:51Z")
They don’t actually fuck us, they have people for that. They hire people to do the actual fucking, but with a shield of disconnect. Like Carnegie had his Frick, the Caliph has his Grand Vizier, they are the cut-outs, the blindly ambitious and hence, expendable. The company hires the man known for being lean and mean, gonna cut the fat from the employment rolls. Investors smile and approve, the stock price goes up, lean and means stock options get fatter. But the investors aren’t fucking anybody, they are simply making shrewd investments. Lean and mean regrets the necessity, but he has a responsibility to the shareholders, a sacred trust, so he’s not really fucking anybody. A marvelous device, the deed gets done, but nobody does it. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-left-love-big-government-so-much/539728/72 "2010-05-28T23:22:57Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > A marvelous device, the deed gets done, but nobody does it. Mistakes were made. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-left-love-big-government-so-much/539728/73 "2010-05-29T00:16:12Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Nowadays it loves things like gay marriage and abortion that it cannot easily get from its fellow citizens and therefore wants to get from unelected government officials like judges. We couldn’t get our fellow citizens to desegregate schools in the South, either. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-left-love-big-government-so-much/539728.md?page=3)