There is an ongoing debate about whether governments should decide about
people
’s lifestyles and habits. Supporters of
this
stance argue that
this
would effectively take the burden off certain public sector
services
, like NHS, improving the well-being of the whole society.
However
, in my ,view
this
would only damage citizens’
right
to privacy and breach the rule of
law
.
To begin
, the government should respect
people
’s
right
to private life. Everybody lives
accordingly
to their views and likes, with which others may disagree.
However
,
this
variety makes our culture stand out and a platform for different worldviews.
Therefore
, as far as
people
respect each other’s opinions, the state should not take them under concern. Yet, if someone
for example
starts to harm others, public institutions ought to act and combat aggressive behaviours. Take,
for example
, Adolf Hitler’s stance on Jews. If the Weimar Republic took action earlier, perhaps the holocaust would never have happened.
It should be
also
underlined that the state does not have the competency to take interest in our lifestyle. The current political system prohibits the legislature to pass a
law
that would try to shape
people
’s behaviour or custom. Nowadays, lawmakers are only entitled to devise a
law
that bans certain activities in society.
Therefore
, everything
that is
not enshrined in the statutes is legal. To illustrate
this
, the government cannot produce a
law
that would force
people
to play basketball but
instead
bans certain activities that may harm players on the field. If the government were to order
people
to take on certain habits, it would be a breach of
law
.
Some could raise the argument that the state should have competencies to shape
people
’s lifestyles, as there are public
services
, which could benefit from it.
This
point is
however
only half true. Public administration should encourage
people
to change their habits to make the public
services
sector more efficient, yet not force them to do so.
To conclude
, governments should not have a
right
to tell
people
what to do, as
this
would be a clear violation of the rule of
law
and
people
’s
right
to privacy.
Although
some may argue that it would have beneficial effects on public sector
services
, it should not underestimate the freedom of society as a whole.