"Government cannot and must not replace private initiative"
About this Quote
The assertion draws a bright line between the roles of the state and the creative energy of citizens. The word cannot points to the practical limits of bureaucracy: government struggles to match the agility, local knowledge, and risk-taking that drive entrepreneurship and community problem-solving. The phrase must not adds a moral and political caution: if the state crowds out private initiative, it can dull responsibility, innovation, and pluralism, leaving society more centralized and less resilient. The healthiest public sphere, by this view, relies on voluntary action, enterprise, and civic organizations, with government setting rules and providing foundations rather than directing every outcome.
Kim Campbell voiced this perspective in a specific historical moment. As Canadas prime minister in 1993 and a Progressive Conservative inheriting a recession, rising deficits, and the aftershocks of free trade and globalization, she stood in a lineage that emphasized fiscal restraint and market-led growth. The 1980s and early 1990s saw Western governments wrestling with how to scale back intervention without abandoning core protections. Campbell leaned toward a model where the state ensures the rule of law, stable money, basic infrastructure, education, and safety nets, while allowing businesses and communities to generate jobs, innovations, and social capital.
The statement is not an argument for a hollow state. It assumes a competent government that sets fair rules, corrects market failures, and prevents abuses of power. The point is about primacy: governments are best at creating conditions; people and enterprises are best at discovery, adaptation, and initiative. When states try to replace that initiative, they often misallocate resources and dampen the very energies that produce prosperity and civic vitality. When they enable it, they can harness the diversity of ideas and efforts that no centralized plan can replicate, aligning public purpose with private creativity.
Kim Campbell voiced this perspective in a specific historical moment. As Canadas prime minister in 1993 and a Progressive Conservative inheriting a recession, rising deficits, and the aftershocks of free trade and globalization, she stood in a lineage that emphasized fiscal restraint and market-led growth. The 1980s and early 1990s saw Western governments wrestling with how to scale back intervention without abandoning core protections. Campbell leaned toward a model where the state ensures the rule of law, stable money, basic infrastructure, education, and safety nets, while allowing businesses and communities to generate jobs, innovations, and social capital.
The statement is not an argument for a hollow state. It assumes a competent government that sets fair rules, corrects market failures, and prevents abuses of power. The point is about primacy: governments are best at creating conditions; people and enterprises are best at discovery, adaptation, and initiative. When states try to replace that initiative, they often misallocate resources and dampen the very energies that produce prosperity and civic vitality. When they enable it, they can harness the diversity of ideas and efforts that no centralized plan can replicate, aligning public purpose with private creativity.
Quote Details
| Topic | Freedom |
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