Thomas Paine wrote in Common Sense in 1776: ‘Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.’ This line helped to inflame the American Revolt against British government then, but it would today describe the view taken by many people in the USA. A populist revolt, encompassing most of the Republican Party, amplified by the Tea Party movement and given edge by higher rates of partisanship than the USA has known for years, has come to think that Washington does far too much. They argue that politicians must act to scale it back, or obstruct the advance of ‘government creep’ wherever possible.
As far as the Constitution and judicial practice are concerned, most conservatives are strict constructionists or constitutional literalists — reading the Constitution exactly as written, with the emphasis on limited government and states’ rights. Conservatives have always been more inclined to think that government is not a legitimate engine for social change.
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