The question I have been asked to address is ‘How big should government be?’. My temptation is to start with the position that they who govern best govern least. But that apt phrase leads to the conclusion that there should be no government at all, which I regard as an untenable solution to the problem of ordered liberty. So, in casting about for a title that summarises the tension in my own position, I would substitute one that is in the same breath both clumsier and more accurate, namely: ‘Why small governments are enormous, and how can we prevent them from getting even larger?’. Some explanation is surely needed.

How Big Should Government Be? was delivered as a lecture in Christchurch on 4 August 2004 at the Canterbury Employers' Chamber of Commerce.