The Case against Paternalistic Regulation

Paternalistic regulation is the regulatory equivalent of micromanaging - and in many cases a great deal worse. The allure of the supposedly educated saying that they know better than the rest of us is rarely resisted by our political elite. I can't help but think that it's a bit ironic that many of my friends are elitist (and truth be told I can both be a bit of a micromanager and an elitist).

Ilya Somin (via Instapundit) presents a great case against paternalistic regulation. I think Glenn Reynolds summarizes it the best though when he says "my bottom line: Do you think politicians are smarter and more self-disciplined than the rest of society? And if not, why would they be better at deciding for us than we are at deciding for ourselves?"