Libertarians believe that government should have only a small role in a free market. They seem to think that, if government would just stay out of the way, prosperity would flourish spontaneously. However, freedom is not the natural state of man and free is not the natural state of the market. As Bret Stephens of the Wall Street Journal has pointed out, freedom and free markets are an achievement of civilization, requiring institutions that have resulted from centuries of acquired wisdom. If you handed racquets and balls to ancient nordic barbarians, it is unlikely the result would be tennis; it would probably look more like ice hockey.

Like any violent sport where raw human interests collide in the heat of competition, the free market requires a set of clear and consistent rules, enforced by strong and impartial referees. This is the active role of government, not to distort the market by picking winners and losers, but to protect the market from those who would seek political control over it for their own interests and the interests of their constituents.

No doubt, Libertarians are right that the current American government is far too big. But size isn't the main problem. Rather than acting as an impartial referee, our government (think congress) consistently throws the game in favor of those who pony up the most campaign cash.