IRVINE, CA--Our government increasingly views individuals as incapable of making rational choices, says the chairman of the board of the Ayn Rand Institute; consequently, it is imposing on us an enslaving paternalism.
      "The government, in effect, has declared that you are not responsible for your decisions--only 'society' is," says Peter Schwartz. "The recent class-action lawsuit against fast-food restaurants, blaming them for making their customers fat, is the latest manifestation of this paternalistic philosophy. It's a philosophy that leads to the destruction of individual liberty, because it restricts your freedom to make decisions--e.g., to drive without a seat belt, to risk your money on gambling or to smoke cigarettes. Once your life is deemed to be the responsibility of the state, you are no longer permitted to incur 'social costs' by making unapproved choices."
      This paternalism, Schwartz says, is most evident today in the vast array of controls on the availability of cigarettes. For example, in order to prevent adults from freely electing to smoke, tobacco ads are prohibited on billboards or on tee shirts, and it is illegal to sell fewer than 20 cigarettes per pack. "The government tyrannizes the tobacco industry for having the audacity to make products that so many people willingly buy," Schwartz observes.
      What's next? Schwartz asks. "The food industry is now being blamed for the 'disease' of obesity, and there are proposals for special taxes on 'junk food.' The same ideas, and some of the same people, behind the crusade to restrict people's choice to smoke are now fueling the campaign to control people's choices in eating."
      He concludes: "The foundation of freedom is the premise that adults are rational beings, responsible for their own lives and capable of making their own decisions. Our paternalistic government is, tragically, repudiating this crucial premise."

Peter Schwartz, chairman of the board of directors of the Ayn Rand Institute, is available for interviews on this topic.