By Diplomatic Council member Hubert Nowatzki*

In his work ‘Two Treatises of Government’, political scientist John Locke came to the conclusion as early as 1689 that a government is only legitimate if it has the consent of the governed and protects the natural rights of life, liberty and property. But today's governments have long since extended their protective wall to all areas of life. The modern state behaves like a mother who simply cannot accept that her offspring has long since outgrown the baby stage and wants to have its own experiences.

We humans have the desire to take our own destiny into our own hands, at least to some extent. When we feel patronised to such an extent that this very freedom of ours is taken away from us, we become angry, like a baby that is not allowed to babble, to crawl and to walk, and later to think independently and to do and to leave alone what gives it pleasure, as long as it does not harm other people in the process.

People want to enjoy their lives – but only enjoy them in the right way, the state wants to teach us throughout our lives. We should eat healthily – fat, sugar or carbohydrates and occasionally even meat are frowned upon – smoke as little as possible or not at all and ‘consciously enjoy’ alcohol. Mind you, unhealthy eating, excessive smoking and drinking to the point of collapse are not prohibited by law. But ‘those at the top’ know what is good for us and never tire of telling us so. This moralising even extends to our intimate lives. Sex is allowed, but only with protection, and preferably after a ‘contractual’ agreement. On cigarette packs, we see horror images designed to re-educate us to become non-smokers. And, of course, we should always pay attention to the correct language, which is appropriate for foreigners and genders.

We are too stupid and too weak, says the government

Added to this is consumer protection, an all-encompassing bundle of measures delegated by the government to specialised associations, so that we are not taken advantage of. Thus, we are constantly branded by politicians as too stupid, too weak and too prejudiced to be our own master – or our own woman.

We are supposed to buy our car to keep the economy going, but then it's best to leave it and switch to public transport to protect the environment. And if you do drive a car and pay attention to the sign madness on German roads, you get the impression that the omnipotent regulatory fantasies of the bureaucracy have come together with the profit-seeking of the sign industry. Until now, we have only occasionally been admonished with speed cameras when we have not adhered to them.

But to ensure that we pay homage to every sign in the future, the EU insists that all cars should soon be equipped with automatic systems that recognise the signs independently and control the car accordingly without our intervention. These include, for example, ‘intelligent speed limiters’: as soon as the car sees ‘30 km/h’, it automatically brakes. A major and, of course, EU-wide plan to regulate our lives – once again, only to protect us from ourselves, of course.

Of course, if a baby is not allowed to leave its cot even as an adult, it is better protected than if it marches out into the wide world. And if the legislature does not issue any binding rules, it at least wants to moralise with a wagging finger. To this end, the Federal Minister of Transport, for example, launched a nationwide poster campaign as early as 2019 to convince us of the benefits of wearing a helmet when cycling. That may well be, but the law does not provide for compulsory helmets, as the minister should know better than anyone. Why is he still using taxpayers' money to exert advertising pressure on the cycling population? Because he obviously knows better than us what is good for us.

In 2024, the state power even set out in all seriousness to compete with the church – as a pastor. The incumbent family minister had discovered “loneliness” among citizens as a new field that the government should address. She proudly presented the first German ‘loneliness barometer’ after having already claimed concern for people's souls for her department with 111 measures against loneliness in the previous year. The barometer of lonely hearts was only the first measure – so we can expect 110 more. The minister referred to model projects, such as a horse farm for children or excursions for pensioners with walkers. She also made it clear that the loneliness barometer should become a permanent institution. The government has set aside seven million euros until 2024 to combat loneliness. It is always good to do something good for your fellow human beings. But do we really need a ‘nationwide lonely hearts’ ball’ financed by taxpayers? Probably not!

Moralising even beyond the grave

The state continues to moralise even beyond the grave. Anyone who keeps their mortal remains to themselves and does not donate their organs to the community is acting amorally, or so the government would have us believe. The German Bundestag seriously debated whether organ donation should become mandatory – and it may even follow through on this in the future.

In view of the moral high ground occupied by the political functionaries, is it any wonder that people are resisting? Those who complain about political apathy should first realise what this political mothering from the cradle to the grave is actually doing to people. It seems that desire and passion, creative will and enjoyment have less and less place in this modern world. The balance between security and freedom has been thrown out of kilter: the state is taking away more and more of our freedoms, arguing that it is doing so to increase our security.

But this is not only disastrous for us as citizens, but also for democracy. Only the freedom to vote for those parties whose goals we support ensures that political parties compete for our approval. But in fact, we have been experiencing a moral component in the party system for some time now: those who vote for this or that party can count themselves among the good guys, while those who vote for another party are the bad guys – at least that's what the government and public broadcasters are trying to drum into us. It would go beyond the scope of this book to examine the freedom of parties in detail, but one thing is clear: the freedom to cast one's vote without coercion in the polling booth is one of the most important freedoms we have in a democracy.

* Hubert Nowatzki was a tax investigator in his ‘first life’ before changing sides and working as a tax consultant for many years. His ‘speciality’ is difficult cases, for which he does not shy away from taking to the Federal Finance Court or the Federal Constitutional Court.