Justin Webb's America

Getting cosy with government

• Justin Webb
• 21 Nov 07, 02:15 PM GMT

The news that the British government has lost computer disks with the personal and financial details of nearly half the population will lead many Americans to wonder two things: 1) why are the Brits and their government so cosy, and 2) is this not further proof that this such cosiness only leads to bad things in the long term?

It is living proof, is it not, of the Ronald Reagan view that government is the problem not the solution? This is not just a Republican view either; Americans of all political stripes are much less likely than Brits to blame the government for their problems or look to the government for solutions. And yet... I detect an intense yearning among many Americans for a government that actually works, and a falling out of love with entirely private sector solutions to the nation's problems.

Of course no-one in the UK will ever trust the child benefit system again - but private companies gather data with even greater relentless efficiency and are just as capable of losing it or sharing it without our permission. I am typing this on a train between New York and Washington DC and no-one on the train can see what I am writing (most are on early Thanksgiving journeys and are asleep!) but plenty of companies (Google, Microsoft, the BBC itself) have the power to access my actions this morning on this computer.

The torch of freedom in America used to be waved with great gusto by those who knocked government of all kinds, and would have seen the child benefit fiasco of further proof that they were right. And yet, after Katrina, there is a notion here that it is a little more complex than that. I suppose real libertarians would point out that you can choose which private sector entities to deal with, a choice not available when the State comes knocking at your door, but realistically can you? Should you?

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