Alexis DeToqueville wrote in 1848: “Democracy extends the sphere of individual freedom, socialism restricts it. Democracy attaches all possible value to each man; socialism makes each man a mere agent, a mere number. Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word: equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude.”

Now that some of the effects of the Affordable Care Act have been reported, it is clear that the law was not conceived in accordance with the principles of democracy. The cancellation of millions of individuals’ health insurance and the forcing of people to buy coverage they don’t want or need were designed into the bill but buried under thousands of pages of rules and regulations. Had the public or Congress known what was really in the bill, would the ACA have become law?

Perhaps Obamacare will serve as an example of the duplicity, incompetence, and inefficiency of socialistic big government.

The ACA is consistent with President Barack Obama’s stated philosophy of wealth redistribution and his concept of equality. Our democracy is based on equality in liberty. May our government soon return to that principle.

Alan Hurley

Nashua

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