Some People are too Stupid

A Georgia legislator has publicly stated what is often implied by those defending paternalistic government policies. The short version is that some people are too stupid to make decisions about their own lives. Government officials know what is best for you, and they will force you to act accordingly.

During a hearing regarding a school choice bill before the legislature, Democrat Rep. Lydia Glaize said,

I see parents being able to direct their child’s education and they already in the lower 25-percentile, meaning a lot of those parents did not finish high school — could not finish their own education. I am extremely concerned that we would put money in their hands and that entire piece of life in the hands of parents who are not qualified to make those decisions.

According to Glaize, politicians and bureaucrats are qualified to make decisions about your children, but if you are poor, you aren’t qualified. While this particular comment was directed at a particular group of parents, it applies to a wide variety of issues, from Social Security to seat belts, from anti-drug laws to mask mandates. In each of these issues, and countless others, government officials treat us like children. To them, we are incapable of making rational decisions regarding our own lives.

Some defend paternalistic policies by proclaiming that most people will make rational decisions, and they are just trying to protect those who won’t. But their policies make no such distinction. These policies apply to the rational and non-rational alike. Which means, the rational can’t act as their own judgment dictates, but only as government officials allow.

Underlying these policies is the belief that there is a particular way that every individual should act. Certainly, there are certain principles to which everyone should adhere. But those principles can result in a wide variety of different actions. This is true of our career, our hobbies, and every other aspect of life, including education.

Certainly, some people will make choices with which others disagree. Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Steve Jobs, and countless others had many critics. However, when individuals are free to act, they can prove their detractors wrong. When individuals are free to act, they do not have to accept the status quo. But when government officials believe that we are too stupid to make wise choices, we get paternalistic policies like government schools.