The State and its role - Transport Policy and Planning in Great Britain - page 142

approve or amend legislation is of fundamental importance, it is in a sense operating
at the very limits - the margins if you like - of the actions taken by the State. Most
State activity - and much of the policy-making described in this topic - takes place in
the spaces in between.
9.3 The role of the State
In a democratic society the fundamental justification for State activity lies in
the protection of its citizens and the upholding of the rule of law. More extensive
involvement in economic and social matters derives from arguments that the conditions
which would otherwise result from the workings of civil society - the interaction of
households, businesses and other organisations which come about spontaneously - are
insufficient or unsatisfactory in some way.
State involvement in transport in the UK has been on a scale sufficient to warrant a
separate Government department for almost a century. Given this tradition it requires
a considerable degree of intellectual detachment to pose the question 'why is the State
involved in transport at all?' But, as we shall see, the answer to this question effectively
determines the areas of activity the Government and its agencies are engaged in and
sets the parameters for discussion about policy in each of these areas.
The fact that we pose the basic question (and do not take State involvement for
granted) derives from our liberal political tradition. This upholds the freedom of the
individual citizen to the extent that actions by agencies of the State are only legitimate
to the extent that they use powers granted by Parliament.
To speak of 'State action' backed by 'coercive force' invokes images of third-world
dictators and civil riots - seemingly far removed from something as comparatively
mundane as transport. But in fact the ability of people to move around as and when
they please is valued as one of the defining characteristics of a free society. Precisely
because it is so intrinsic to our way of life it is not in the forefront of our minds on a
day-to-day basis. However, any suggestion of changing the status quo will quickly bring
this issue to the surface.
The sense of basic freedoms being threatened explains why seemingly minor
transport proposals - for example to introduce parking restrictions in a particular street
or a traffic management scheme which restricts movements in an area - can meet with
vociferous opposition apparently out of all proportion to the actual inconvenience
which people will incur. In broader discussions about transport the rhetoric of 'freedom'
is also frequently used, particularly by those on the right of the political spectrum - for
example:
We need to expand the capacity of the road system - and for that matter the
public transport system too - in order to cater for people's freedoms.
(Bernard Jenkin, Conservative Party Transport spokesman, BBC Radio 4
Today programme, 29 May 2001)
Debates about the scale and nature of State involvement in transport invoke the
same principles as in other policy areas. The dominant principle, consistent with
our liberal political tradition referred to above, is that individuals are the best judges
of their own welfare. This underpins our general use of markets to determine the
allocation of investment and the consumption of goods and services. (One dimension
of State activity is in fact to ensure that markets in particular fields operate freely and