Honest opinion about government from Daniel Bell:
The presumed failure of the idea of equality of opportunity has shifted the definition of that value to equality of result, and by fiat if necessary. The increasing thrust by disadvantaged groups, or their ideological mentors, has been for direct redistributive policies in order to equalize incomes, living conditions, and the like, and on a group basis. In the shorthand of game theory, equality of opportunity is a non-zero-sum game in which individuals can win in differential ways. But equality of result, or redistributive policies, essentially is a zero-sum game, in which there are distinct losers and winners. And inevitably these conditions lead to more open political competition and conflict.
If one moves to Western society, generally, we find a subtle but pervasive change, namely, that the revolution of rising expectations, which has been even more tangible in the advanced industrial societies than in the underdeveloped countries, has become a sustained demand for entitlement. To be a "citizen" has usually meant to share fully in the life of the society. In the earliest years, this meant the claim to liberty and the full protection of the law. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, this was defined as political rights, principally the full right to vote or hold office by all adult citizens, a status which was achieved only fifty years ago in most Western societies. But the major claim in recent decades has been for social rights: the right to a job, insurance against unemployment and old age indigence, adequate health care, and a minimum, decent standard of living. And these are now demanded from the community as entitlement.
The Winding Passage, 1980
A prominent sociologist, Daniel Bell has written a number of books, including The Coming of Post-Industrial Society (1973), The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism (1976), The Winding Passage: Essays and Sociological Journeys (1980), and The Budget Deficits (with Lester Thurow, 1986).
Quotation and short bio from The Quotable Conservative: The Giants of Conservatism on Liberty, Freedom, Individual Responsibility, and Traditional Values. Rod L. Evans and Irwin M. Berent, editors. Holbrook, Mass.: Adams Publishing, 1996.