Benjamin Franklin's famous statement is often paraphrased as, those who would trade freedom for security, deserve neither. And the big problem of governments is that we create them for security, only to then need security from them. Human beings have a tendency to want to create institutions to accomplish our goals, whether it is protecting our borders, putting out fires or perpetuating a sense of national greatness. But by collectively investing power in any institution, we risk creating an institution whose power cannot be taken away.
