Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves.

Reagan contrasts two roles of the state: a limited, classical-liberal function of preventing citizens from harming one another (policing, courts, national defense) versus a paternalistic function of shielding people from the consequences of their own choices. The second, he argues, is where government “goes beyond its limits,” implying that moral agency and responsibility belong primarily to individuals and civil society rather than bureaucratic regulation. The line encapsulates a recurring Reagan-era critique of expansive federal power—especially in areas like personal behavior, welfare policy, and regulation—framing such interventions as infringements on liberty rather than protections. It also echoes a broader American political tradition that treats self-government and personal autonomy as prerequisites for a free society.