I've been meaning to blog about Jonah Goldberg's new book, Liberal Fascism, I haven't read it, but isn't that an awesome title? Evidently he has a blog under the same name. In it he offers a key libertarian insight,

the one thing libertarians grasp better than conservatives or liberals is the danger of the category error when it comes to the role of government. While there are certainly plenty of radical individualists swelling the ranks of libertarianism, libertarianism is not in fact an ideology of radical individualism. Or at least it need not be.

The fundamental insight of libertarianism is that the government is the government. It cannot be your mommy, your daddy, your big brother, your nanny, your friend, your buddy, your god, your salvation, your church or your conscience. It is the government. A big bureaucracy charged with certain responsibilities, some of which it is qualified to carry out, many of which it is not. [link]

Quite right. As Cato's vice president David Boaz put it, "Conservatives want to be your daddy, telling you what to do and what not to do. Liberals want to be your mommy, feeding you, tucking you in, and wiping your nose. Libertarians want to treat you as an adult." In our part of the world of course, all political parties want to be both your mom and your dad. The only claim they make is that, they can do it better!

For related stuff, see this piece by Amit Varma for the Mint:Mommy-Daddy, go away!.