Nanny state
Encyclopedia
A nanny state is the perception of a situation characterised by governmental policies of over-protectionism
, economic interventionism
, or heavy regulation
of economic, social or other nature.
The subjective
term nanny state is typically used pejoratively, expressing an anxiety that these policies are being institutionalized
as common practice. Opponents of such policies use the term in their advocacy against what they consider to be uninvited and damaging state intervention.
British MP
Iain Macleod
who referred to "what I like to call the nanny state" in his column "Quoodle" in the December 3, 1965, edition of The Spectator
.
Usage of the term varies by political context, but in general, 'nanny state' is used in reference to policies
where the state
is perceived as being excessive in its desire to protect (as a nanny
would protect a child), govern
or control particular aspects of society
.
Which particular aspects are considered to be excessively protected depends on usage. The term can refer to:
For example, politically conservative or libertarian
groups in the United States
(especially those that support the free market
and capitalism
) object to some state action which protects people from the consequences of their actions by restricting citizen options.
has been criticised as acting like a nanny state by banning mercury
in barometer
s as of June 2007.
The British Labour Party
politician Margaret Hodge
is a defender of some so-called nanny state policies, saying at a speech to the Institute for Public Policy Research
on November 26 , 2004, that "some may call it the nanny state but I call it a force for good".
has a reputation as a nanny state, owing to the considerable number of government regulations and restrictions
on its citizens' lives. Former Minister Mentor
Lee Kuan Yew
, the architect of the modern Singapore, observed, "If Singapore is a nanny state, then I am proud to have fostered one."
, an independent think tank, conducted a survey of more than 1,000 people and found that most favoured policies that combated behaviour such as eating a poor diet and public smoking.
Initiatives created by individual organizations, especially schools, have sometimes been characterized by the British media as "nanny state" government policies from either the Westminster Parliament or the European Parliament
: for example, the Health and Safety Executive
describes the assertion they had banned conkers in schools as a classic myth; and likewise, local government or business decisions, such as Great Somerford
removing a swingset for exceeding EU height regulations by 20 inches (50.8 cm), have likewise been blamed as intervention by Brussels, although removal was not compulsory.
Contrast:
Protectionism
Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between states through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other government regulations designed to allow "fair competition" between imports and goods and services produced domestically.This...
, economic interventionism
Economic interventionism
Economic interventionism is an action taken by a government in a market economy or market-oriented mixed economy, beyond the basic regulation of fraud and enforcement of contracts, in an effort to affect its own economy...
, or heavy regulation
Regulation
Regulation is administrative legislation that constitutes or constrains rights and allocates responsibilities. It can be distinguished from primary legislation on the one hand and judge-made law on the other...
of economic, social or other nature.
The subjective
Subjective
Subjective may refer to:* Subjectivity, a subject's personal perspective, feelings, beliefs, desires or discovery, as opposed to those made from an independent, objective, point of view** Subjective experience, the subjective quality of conscious experience...
term nanny state is typically used pejoratively, expressing an anxiety that these policies are being institutionalized
Institutionalism
Institutionalism can refer to:* Old Institutionalism: An approach to the study of politics that focuses on formal institutions of government* New institutionalism: a social theory that focuses on developing a sociological view of institutions, the way they interact and the effects of institutions...
as common practice. Opponents of such policies use the term in their advocacy against what they consider to be uninvited and damaging state intervention.
Background
The term nanny state was probably coined by the ConservativeConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
British MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Iain Macleod
Iain Macleod
Iain Norman Macleod was a British Conservative Party politician and government minister.-Early life:...
who referred to "what I like to call the nanny state" in his column "Quoodle" in the December 3, 1965, edition of The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
.
Usage of the term varies by political context, but in general, 'nanny state' is used in reference to policies
Policy
A policy is typically described as a principle or rule to guide decisions and achieve rational outcome. The term is not normally used to denote what is actually done, this is normally referred to as either procedure or protocol...
where the state
State (polity)
A state is an organized political community, living under a government. States may be sovereign and may enjoy a monopoly on the legal initiation of force and are not dependent on, or subject to any other power or state. Many states are federated states which participate in a federal union...
is perceived as being excessive in its desire to protect (as a nanny
Nanny
A nanny, childminder or child care provider, is an individual who provides care for one or more children in a family as a service...
would protect a child), govern
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
or control particular aspects of society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
.
Which particular aspects are considered to be excessively protected depends on usage. The term can refer to:
- Public healthPublic healthPublic health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
interventions such as disease surveillance, quarantineQuarantineQuarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....
s, mandatory or government-subsidized vaccinationVaccinationVaccination is the administration of antigenic material to stimulate the immune system of an individual to develop adaptive immunity to a disease. Vaccines can prevent or ameliorate the effects of infection by many pathogens...
, food labeling regulationsFood labeling regulationsMany countries have Food labeling regulations -- see the following articles for more information:*United Kingdom food labeling regulations*Fair Packaging and Labeling Act -- a 1966 law passed in the USA....
, school lunch programs. - Consumer protectionism that enforces (or discourages) certain behaviors such as bicycle and motorcycle helmet laws, anti-smoking laws, speed limits on roadsSpeed limitRoad speed limits are used in most countries to regulate the speed of road vehicles. Speed limits may define maximum , minimum or no speed limit and are normally indicated using a traffic sign...
, bans on texting, and other laws seen by some as interfering in personal choices and/or personal privacy. - Creation and enforcement of laws that prohibit victimless crimes, such as gun controlGun controlGun control is any law, policy, practice, or proposal designed to restrict or limit the possession, production, importation, shipment, sale, and/or use of guns or other firearms by private citizens...
, building codes, and prohibitions on drug prohibitionDrug useDrug use may refer to any drug use; or:* Drug abuse* Drug addiction* Entheogenic drug use* Medication* Performance-enhancing drug use* Recreational drug use* Self medication...
, gamblingGamblingGambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
, and prostitutionProstitutionProstitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
, - National economic and social policies (regulation and intervention) that affect large and state-favored businesses
- International tradeTradeTrade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
policies that favor native corporate industriesIndustryIndustry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
(protectionism).
For example, politically conservative or libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
groups in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(especially those that support the free market
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
and capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
) object to some state action which protects people from the consequences of their actions by restricting citizen options.
Various uses of term
Some governance claimed to represent a nanny state are those that emerge from application of public health, risk management of health and safety policies. The European CommissionEuropean Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
has been criticised as acting like a nanny state by banning mercury
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
in barometer
Barometer
A barometer is a scientific instrument used in meteorology to measure atmospheric pressure. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather...
s as of June 2007.
The British Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
politician Margaret Hodge
Margaret Hodge
Margaret Hodge MBE MP, also known as Lady Hodge by virtue of her husband's knighthood, is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Barking since 1994. She was the first Minister for Children in 2003 and was Minister of State for Culture and Tourism at the Department...
is a defender of some so-called nanny state policies, saying at a speech to the Institute for Public Policy Research
Institute for Public Policy Research
The IPPR is the leading progressive think-tank in the UK. It produces research and policy ideas committed to upholding values of social justice, democratic reform and environmental sustainability. IPPR is based in London and IPPR North has branches in Newcastle and Manchester.It was founded in...
on November 26 , 2004, that "some may call it the nanny state but I call it a force for good".
Singapore
The city state of SingaporeSingapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
has a reputation as a nanny state, owing to the considerable number of government regulations and restrictions
Law of Singapore
The legal system of Singapore is based on the English common law system. Major areas of law – particularly administrative law, contract law, equity and trust law, property law and tort law – are largely judge-made, though certain aspects have now been modified to some extent by statutes...
on its citizens' lives. Former Minister Mentor
Minister Mentor
Minister Mentor is a Singapore cabinet position created in 2004 as part of a leadership transition.The newly appointed Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong , announced Lee Kuan Yew's new title together with the naming of his Cabinet on August 12, 2004...
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades...
, the architect of the modern Singapore, observed, "If Singapore is a nanny state, then I am proud to have fostered one."
United Kingdom
In 2004, King's FundKing's Fund
The King's Fund is a charitable foundation in England. Founded as the Prince of Wales Hospital Fund for London in 1897, the fund changed its name in 1902 to King Edward's Hospital Fund after the accession to the throne of King Edward VII...
, an independent think tank, conducted a survey of more than 1,000 people and found that most favoured policies that combated behaviour such as eating a poor diet and public smoking.
Initiatives created by individual organizations, especially schools, have sometimes been characterized by the British media as "nanny state" government policies from either the Westminster Parliament or the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
: for example, the Health and Safety Executive
Health and Safety Executive
The Health and Safety Executive is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom. It is the body responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare, and for research into occupational risks in England and Wales and Scotland...
describes the assertion they had banned conkers in schools as a classic myth; and likewise, local government or business decisions, such as Great Somerford
Great Somerford
Great Somerford is a village within Dauntsey Vale, Wiltshire, England, situated next to the river Avon. It lies approximately west of London and west of Swindon.-Amenities:* Church of St. Peter & St...
removing a swingset for exceeding EU height regulations by 20 inches (50.8 cm), have likewise been blamed as intervention by Brussels, although removal was not compulsory.
See also
- Big governmentBig governmentBig government is a term generally used by political conservatives, laissez-faire advocates, or libertarians to describe a government or public sector which they consider to be excessively large, corrupt and inefficient, or inappropriately involved in certain areas of public policy or the private...
- Welfare stateWelfare stateA welfare state is a "concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those...
- PaternalismPaternalismPaternalism refers to attitudes or states of affairs that exemplify a traditional relationship between father and child. Two conditions of paternalism are usually identified: interference with liberty and a beneficent intention towards those whose liberty is interfered with...
- Social engineering (political science)Social engineering (political science)Social engineering is a discipline in political science that refers to efforts to influence popular attitudes and social behaviors on a large scale, whether by governments or private groups. In the political arena, the counterpart of social engineering is political engineering.For various reasons,...
- Criticisms of welfareCriticisms of welfareThe notion, and the extent of, the modern welfare state has been criticised on both economic and social grounds, from both the Left and the Right of the political spectrum.- Libertarian & Conservative criticisms :...
- United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Contrast:
- Small governmentSmall governmentA Small government is one which minimizes its own activities. It is a concept important to classical liberalism and libertarianism.-In Hong Kong:...
- Limited governmentLimited governmentLimited government is a government which anything more than minimal governmental intervention in personal liberties and the economy is generally disallowed by law, usually in a written constitution. It is written in the United States Constitution in Article 1, Section 8...
- Night watchman stateNight watchman stateA night watchman state, or a minimal state, has been variously defined by sources. In the strictest sense, it is a form of government in political philosophy where the state's only legitimate function is the protection of individuals from aggression, theft, breach of contract, and fraud, and the...
- MinarchismMinarchismMinarchism has been variously defined by sources. It is a libertarian capitalist political philosophy. In the strictest sense, it maintains that the state is necessary and that its only legitimate function is the protection of individuals from aggression, theft, breach of contract, and fraud, and...
Further reading
- David Harsanyi Nanny State: How Food Fascists, Teetotaling Do-Gooders, Priggish Moralists, and other Boneheaded Bureaucrats are Turning America into a Nation of Children ISBN 0767924320 ISBN 978-0767924320
- 1 Pierre Rosanvallon, La nouvelle question sociale, Éd. du Seuil, 1995, p. 45