The size of the state

Roy Hattersley provokes some thoughts on the size of the state.
He believes that a lack of regulation caused the global financial fuck up, rather than too much intervention. There are those that believe both.
Naturally, as a socialist, i'm in favour of big government, but not for it's own sake. In Britain, and maybe in other places too, the government is never the right size. It often manages to be too big and too small all at once. Social services are criticised for taking children from their parents, then criticised for not doing so (see Baby P).
Tough choice.
Very interesting on the differences between those who believe that the state is always a hinderance to liberty, and those who see the state as an enabler