Everything about Nanny State totally explained
Nanny state is a
derogatory term that refers to state
protectionism,
economic interventionism, or
regulatory policies, and the perception that these policies are becoming
institutionalized as common practice.
Overview
Its usage varies by political context, but in general it's used in reference to
policies where the
state is characterized as being excessive in its desire to protect ("
nanny"),
govern or control particular aspects of society.
Which particular aspects are considered to be
excessively protected depends on usage. The term can refer to:
- national economic and social policies (regulation and intervention) that affect large and state-favored businesses, or
- international trade policies that favor native corporate industries (protectionism).
For example, politically
conservative or
libertarian groups in the
United States (especially
paleoconservatives that support the
free market and
capitalism) object to excessive state action to protect people from the consequences of their actions by restricting citizen options.
Liberals on the other hand have used the term to describe the state as being excessive in its protections of businesses and the
business class —protections ostensibly made against the
public good, and the good of
consumers. This usage applies to the international context as well, where the "public good" is used to refer to
people in general, and where the state is viewed as being excessive in its protection of native business over foreign (rival) businesses.
The term "Nanny State" was probably coined by the
Conservative British
MP Iain Macleod who wrote "what I like to call the nanny state . . ." in his column "Quoodle" in the
December 3,
1965 edition of
The Spectator.
American foreign policy critic
Noam Chomsky regularly uses the term "nanny state" to refer to U.S. protectionist policy.
Various uses of term
Policies such as mandatory helmet laws and bans on
smoking in
public places, high taxes on
junk food, bans on
recreational drug use,
gun control, a
legal drinking age or
legal smoking age that's higher than the
age of majority,
political correctness, censorship, and content regulation are criticized as nanny state actions. Such actions result from the belief that the state (or, more often, one of its
local authorities) has a comprehensive duty to protect the citizenry from their own harmful behaviors, and that the state knows best what constitutes harmful behavior.
A related category of decisions claimed to represent a nanny state are those which emerge from application of public health, risk management of health and safety policies. The
European Commission has been criticized as acting like a nanny state by banning
mercury in
barometers as of June 2007. Other nanny state policies include banning
conker fights in schools for fear of eye injuries.
Conservatives and
libertarians tend to use the term to oppose new government regulations, although many traditional conservatives may also advocate
paternalism, which some
liberals and
socialists regard as being much the same as a nanny state. A common criticism of nanny state policies is that they're less concerned with the welfare of citizens than with preventing litigation, and promoting the careers of politicians. One criticism of such policies is that they're over-protective and prevent children for example, developing skills of avoiding problems, skills that that'll need in adult life.
The British
Labour Party politician
Margaret Hodge is perhaps the best known defender of the nanny state, saying at a speech to the
Institute for Public Policy Research on
26 November,
2004, that "
some may call it the nanny state but I call it a force for good".
Singapore
The
city state of
Singapore has a reputation as a nanny state, owing to the considerable number of government
regulations and restrictions on its citizens' lives.
Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, the architect of the modern Singapore, has observed that "if Singapore is a nanny state, then I'm proud to have fostered one."
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