Gerson Moreno-Riano, dean of the school of undergraduate studies at Regent University, agreed to answer the question, "What does the phrase, 'limited government,' mean?" on film at our last Summer Institute at Princeton University. His answer is now a part of our video library.
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This video is well worth watching, especially as it places this issue of limited government into a historical context. It certainly speaks to the timeless issues that our Founders grappled with in the late-18th century. They realized that governments have a natural tendency to reach for more authority and more control (“like a plant invariably reaches toward the sun for warmth” was an analogy they often used). Hence, if unchecked, governments inevitably will crush individual freedom. Therefore, if the “blessings of liberty” were to be secured and protected in the new republic, our new national and state governments had to be limited. Of course we’re grabbling with these same issues and questions today, both in Washington DC and in various statehouses (like Wisconsin). And I suspect we’ll be debating these issues well into the future.
I am ISI's Director of Internet Technology and chief designer/developer of ISI's websites. I graduated with a B.A. from Baylor University's University Scholars program and earned an M.A. in philosophy from Villanova University. My wife, a philosophy doctoral candidate at Villanova University, and I live in Wilmington, Delaware.
Great talk about the need and importance of limited government, especially the role that civil society and social capital plays in democratic societies.