I believe we should work on both at the same time: shrinking civil government and expanding self-government. Government should be shrunk even in the absence of any evidence at all of increasing self-government. This is because "the government" is a model of bad government. "The government" does not win the voluntary support of people: it taxes them and initiates force or threats of violence against people to accomplish its goals. It is inherently immoral.
Marketing guru Seth Godin might not agree with this "anti-government" viewpoint, but he provides a good argument for personal responsibility. Instead of asking the government to use force and coercion to compel advertisers to stop marketing products that we don't approve of, we should work to persuade the marketers to market something else.
Persuasion enlightens. Persuasion shows the errant marketer a higher way, and he voluntarily accepts it. The persuader adopts a higher path of social change.
Government coercion leaves everyone in darkness. Those who are coerced have not been enlightened, and those who hold the guns against their fellow Americans are in an even greater darkness.
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