Libertarianism - Good or bad?

[K. A. Pital]

Yes, obviously. Or is it? I'd think that if you want to add a large bureaucracy you need to provide evidence that the cost-benefit of that endeavour is favourable. Burden of proof must rest with the one who wants to spend more money, right? In any case, I think it pretty clear that all too often a bureaucracy will favor special interests, as per capture theory.

Yup, that's right. And nonetheless on the average HDI is higher in nations with greater economic interventionism and thus bigger state bureaucracies. I know this might be a cause/effect problem (First World economies are big and thus can support big bureaucracies, not vice versa).

[Lord Zentei]

Yes, obviously. Or is it? I'd think that if you want to add a large bureaucracy you need to provide evidence that the cost-benefit of that endeavour is favourable. Burden of proof must rest with the one who wants to spend more money, right? In any case, I think it pretty clear that all too often a bureaucracy will favor special interests, as per capture theory.

Yup, that's right. And nonetheless on the average HDI is higher in nations with greater economic interventionism and thus bigger state bureaucracies. I know this might be a cause/effect problem (First World economies are big and thus can support big bureaucracies, not vice versa).

Yes, the latter possibility seems more likely to me, actually. You can also look at the rates of growth and infer from that which came first, the welfare or the wealth. For all that, I've always maintained that some measure of welfare is necessary.