Nanny state
Nanny state is a term of British origin (and primary use) that conveys a view that a government or its policies are overprotective or interfering unduly with personal choice.[1]
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[edit] Background
The term nanny state was probably coined by the Conservative 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.[2]
[edit] 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.
[edit] New Zealand
The term was used frequently by the New Zealand National Party to describe the policies of their political opponents, the Fifth Labour Government, who were in power from 1999 until 2008.[3] The child policies of the National Party's Paula Bennett were later given the nanny state label by a Maori Community Law Service manager.[3]
[edit] Singapore
The city state of Singapore 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."[4]
[edit] United Kingdom
In 2004, King's Fund, 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; this was reported by the BBC as the public favouring a nanny state.[5]
The British Labour Party politician Margaret Hodge has defended policies she acknowledged had been labelled as nanny state, 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".[6]
The European Commission has been called a nanny state by Martin Callanan for their banning of mercury in barometers as of June 2007.[7]
[edit] United States
Although the term is undefined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it has entered use in the United States over the past decade by some political commentators. Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research think tank has used the term to describe conservative policies protecting the income of the rich.[8]
David Harsanyi has also used the term to describe food labeling regulations, the legal drinking age and socially conservative government policies. [2]
[edit] See also
- Big government
- Welfare state
- Paternalism
- Social engineering (political science)
- Criticisms of welfare
Contrast:
[edit] References
- ^ "nanny, n.1 and adj.". OED Online. Oxford University Press. December 2011. http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/124968?redirectedFrom=nanny%20state#eid35308746. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
- ^ a b Harsanyi, David. (2007) Nanny state: how food fascists, teetotaling do-gooders, priggish moralists, and other boneheaded bureaucrats are turning America into a nation of children. p 7 Random House, Inc. ISBN 0767924320
- ^ a b Collins, Simon (2012-01-27). "Child policy smacks of nanny state, says critic". New Zealand Herald. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10781444. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
- ^ http://www.straitstimes.com/Pioneers+Of+Singapore/Lee+Kuan+Yew/Quotes/Quotes.html
- ^ "UK public wants a 'nanny state'". BBC News. 2004-06-28. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3839447.stm. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
- ^ "'Nanny state' minister under fire". BBC News. 2004-11-26. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4044815.stm.
- ^ Banks, M.; Jones, G. (2007-07-06). "Barometer makers lose battle over mercury". London: Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/06/06/nmercury106.xml. Retrieved 2007-07-23.
- ^ Baker, Dean (2006). The conservative nanny state : how the wealthy use the government to stay rich and get richer. Washington, D.C.: Center for Economic and Policy Research. ISBN 9781411693951. http://www.conservativenannystate.org/cnswebbook.pdf.
[edit] External links
- Nanny State - A comical glance at the Nanny State
- Coote, Anna (26 May 2004). "Nanny madness". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2004/may/26/guardiansocietysupplement.politics1.
