When faced with demands for measures to curtail smoking in public, binge-drinking, gambling or obesity, ministers say that we must guard against charges of nanny statism.
Some of the book is devoted to the criticism of capitalism, statism, and mass-consumerism, arguing that these things dehumanize the individual and decrease the general quality of life.
The primary theme of the story is the conflict between anarchism and statism, the political and ethical dimensions of which are explored through the characters' dialogue.
Communism, they argue, is defined by the common, just as capitalism is by the private and socialism (which they identify in effect with statism) with the public.
The resulting statism is based on this triple hypothesis: the total inertness of mankind, the omnipotence of the law, and the infallibility of the legislator.
