What is the Proper Role of Government? – NYC Debate — VOICES for REASON

ARC president Dr. Yaron Brook will be engaging in a lively debate on March 10 at the NYU Skirball Center in NYC.  He will debate Miles Rapoport, of the think tank Demos, on the question: “What is the Proper Role of Government?”  This debate is the first of a three-part series called “First Principles,” in which fundamental issues in politics will be discussed.

The debate will be moderated by Brian Lehrer of The Brian Lehrer Show from WNYC, a chapter of NPR.  To build up to the event, WNYC is publishing blog posts that illustrate the starkly different views of the two debaters on what the government should and should not do.

In the first blog post, for example, Mr. Rapoport contends that government should provide the “basic opportunities . . . every person [should] have access to in order to live a dignified life,” such as health care, education, and financial security in old age.  In contrast, Dr. Brook argues that a proper government would recognize “that each individual’s life morally belongs to him, and its sustenance and happiness are his [own] responsibility,” not the government’s.  In Dr. Brook’s view, government should be limited to “protect[ing] the rights of each individual against coercive interference with others.”

Check out their remarks in full here.

And stay tuned for more blog exchanges on this issue from Dr. Brook and Mr. Rapoport!

Also be sure to RSVP to the event if you are in NYC on March 10.  If you won’t be in town, watch the event live on ARC’s Facebook page!  (You won’t need an account)