Part of being a libertarian is that you believe all people have a right to life, liberty, and property, and that you support their right to make their own choices – even choices you don’t like – so long as they are not violating the life, liberty and property of others.

When discussing this “non-aggression principle,” an example I often use is drugs. I think it is foolish for people to spend their days smoking pot or snorting coke, but people should be free to take personal risks.

I recognize that legalization will create problems, but I’ve also explained that the social harm of prohibition creates even greater problems.

From a big-picture perspective, I also worry about governments having the power to stop bad behavior because politicians sooner or later will abuse that power.

With that in mind, let’s look at three recent headlines about what government is doing in the United Kingdom. Here’s a headline from a New York Times report about a ban on smoking for anyone born after 2008.

Here’s a headline from a story in the New York Post about people getting arrested for expressing opinions on social media.

And here’s a headline from a KUTV report about a Dutch anti-open borders activist who is banned from entering the United Kingdom because her views are “not considered to be conducive to the public good.”

Last but not least, here’s a headline from a story in the Guardian about an expansion of the “Sugar Tax” in the United Kingdom.

If you click the links, the stories are about government controlling what people consume and what they say.

That should worry anyone who believes in freedom, even if freedom means smoking, expressing unpopular thoughts, or drinking milkshakes.

In previous columns, I’ve created visuals to illustrate the range of policy choices for issues such as industrial policy, Social Security reform, health policy, fiscal policy, and overall economic policy.

Here’s a simple way of thinking about the spectrum for behavioral policy in the United Kingdom.

It’s safe to assert that the U.K. has passed paternalism and is trending in a very troubling direction. Given that people are actually in jail because of speech violations, it may be more than a trend.

P.S. Today’s topic reminds me why governments should not be allowed to abolish cash and mandate digital currencies. Once politicians have the power to easily seize money or control its use, they will misuse that authority.