The Regulator

The debate between the libertarian/governmental control issue is one that rages every day in the United States. The libertarian view point favors an unregulated nation while the governmental side believes that high government regulation is the best route. On a lesser scale, this is one of the core debates between the Republican Party, who favor less government regulation, and the Democratic Party, who opt for more government regulation. As with the political parties, people call fall at several different spots along this view-point spectrum. For instance, Sameer Parekh, “believes that all governmental control should be stripped away” (Beedles 443) while others, “believe that human beings need to have their drives, desire, and impulses reined in – that the anarchy that would result from no governmental control would be a highly undesirable state” (Beedles 444).

While I definitely think that Parekh takes the absence of governmental control too far, I think that government regulation should be area specific. For example, the way that Parekh attempts to “fight the power” is by using a technology that can be used by child pornographers to get away with their atrocious crimes (McHugh 436). I think that the internet should be one of the most highly regulated arenas as there are so many online predators. While it is definitely important to preserve the Freedom of Press in all medium, internet included, I would much rather have the government catching child predators than being blocked from reading my English blog. Therefore, when it comes to matters of the law and national safety I believe that government regulation, to some degree, is necessary.

However, when it comes to the economic arena I really favor an absence of government regulation. The free market, to me, is the best and healthiest form of economy when dealing with a capitalist system. If the market is allowed to have free reign, then the good business will thrive while those with poor goods and services will quickly collapse. If, instead, the government gets closely entwined with the economy then there will be a mixing of interests. To me, it is very similar to the idea of the separation between church and State. Without such fundamental separations, then rights and freedoms are squashed. Due to my attitude that regulation is genre specific, I do not align myself with either the libertarian or governmental point of view. However, as I do favor less regulation in most arenas I would have to lean toward the libertarian side, but not to the extreme that Parekh does.