Even with its flaws, imagine life without government

IN "MR. Smith in Washington? Sell!" (Op-ed, Aug. 27), Jeff Jacoby writes, "That government is best that governs least." I take it that means he'll be packing up for Iraq or Somalia any day now, where government non-interference is at a pinnacle. Or perhaps he could head to New Orleans for hurricane season, and see how less government works there.

While he's at it, why not take a below-minimum-wage job in a good old American slaughterhouse with no safety equipment, or better yet, send his children to do it. Perhaps he'd agree that individuals are more than capable of deciding whether their children are old enough to earn a living with dangerous machinery.

Yes, we all regret that government sometimes makes mistakes, and sometimes tries to fix what isn't broken. But his argument that governance in general is a danger to prosperity is sheer foolishness, and with all the benefits of an active legislature and a functional government behind him, he ought to know better than to say otherwise.

AARON WEBER, Somerville