Peter Ubel

Reprinted by permission of Harvard Business Press.

Excerpted from
Free Market Madness: Why Human Nature is at Odds with Economics and Why It Matters.
Copyright (c) 2009 Peter A. Ubel; All Rights Reserved.

From Chapter 13:
Can Government Combat Obesity Without Becoming a “Nanny State”?

THE DECATUR , Georgia, sports bar Mulligan’s offers its patrons
a sandwich that I would have sworn existed only in the imaginary
world of Homer Simpson: a hot dog, wrapped in a beef patty, deep
fried in oil, slathered in melted cheese, topped with chili, a dash of
onions, and, to top it off, a fried egg. Known as “the Hamdog,” this
particular meal, on its own, probably keeps four Georgia cardiologists
gainfully employed.

David Harsanyi lovingly describes the Hamdog in the opening
paragraphs of his libertarian manifesto, Nanny State. In the book,
Harsanyi decries the “officious activists who would like to deny me
the self-determination and pleasure of eating a Hamdog.” He then
goes on to describe the terrible things that happen when nanny
states get carried away protecting the people under their charge,
creating regulations designed to do “whatever they can to stop us
from eating.”1

In criticizing government regulations, libertarians like Harsanyi
frequently draw on the metaphor of the nanny state, knowing that
this rhetorical device will conjure images of overbearing, prudish
people who, while perhaps well intentioned, can’t seem to let children
be children. Even worse, this particular nanny, the nanny
state, treats adults like children. If a grown man wants to indulge in
a Hamdog, why should the government intervene? If he wants to
drive a motorcycle without a helmet or an SUV without a seat belt,
shouldn’t he, as an adult, be free to do as he pleases? When the
government enacts laws to criminalize such behavior, Harsanyi contends
that it is treating them like children.

Google the phrase nanny state, and you’ll quickly find hundreds
of antigovernment links. Grover Norquist will show up, naturally,
as he has made a point of referring to the nanny state while promoting
his book Leave Us Alone.2 You’ll also find other emotive phrases
recurring across these sites. One of my favorites is a book titled A
Nation of Sheep, in which the government isn’t portrayed as treating
people like children but, instead, as if they were mindless animals.3

You’re probably wondering what the nanny state was doing to
prevent Harsanyi from swallowing a Hamdog. Did the Georgia legislature
outlaw the sandwich? Were Decatur police jailing overweight people? Were
the feds denying Social Security and Medicare
benefits to people with high cholesterol?

Harsanyi is worried that all these kinds of things might happen.
After all, the government ultimately relies on coercion to enforce
its laws. And governments do use such powers to protect citizens
from each other. Crimes against person and property can lead to
imprisonment and loss of some rights.

But this level of coercion is rarely used by governments to control
behaviors that affect only the people engaging in the behaviors.
If I vandalize your property, the government will punish me,
maybe even imprison me. But if I destroy my own property in a fit
of rage, the government usually leaves me alone.

What, then, does Harsanyi say that the nanny state is doing
to influence our waistlines? The worst he can say is that the

government is “scaremongering,” even (gulp) threatening to tax
food manufacturers. This may sound mild, but Harsanyi is concerned that
the Twinkie fascists, as he calls them, are just warming
up, “gaining momentum and influence at a startling pace.”4

Political extremists of all persuasions are often paranoid about
the slippery slope, worrying that any tiny concessions they make
will lead to complete absolution of their position. Gun rights
activists worry that if the government requires businesses to conduct
criminal checks on customers before selling them guns, law-
abiding citizens will soon not be able to purchase hunting rifles.
Pro-choice activists worry that if a state imposes a waiting period
for women and girls requesting abortions, all abortions will soon
be illegal.

Flaming moderate that I am, I don’t live in paranoia of the slippery
slope. I know we can sensibly regulate gun sales and abortions
without banning either activity. I recognize that there is no middle
ground that will satisfy extremists. Good policy making rarely
makes everyone happy. But I hope and believe that the government
can help us tackle a problem like obesity without causing us to slide
toward a cholesterol-free police state.