Is it really cognitive dissonance that we're assessing laws individually based on merit, rather than prescribing to simple-minded political ideologies focused on vague concepts like more/less laws?

No, but bemoaning the 'nanny state' sounds like a simple minded ideology.

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I'm an Australian, and don't think that quite nails the dissonance. We're comfortable with being a relatively authoritarian relatively liberal country, because we believe that the government is competent and under our control, and that the sanctions that the government enforces are just a sacrifice we must make to common democratic project, but then ask an Australian - what do think of the current government and the answer is always / at all times, that they are are rabble of incompetent petty thieves rorting the nation.

(Except, actually, I'm kind of happy with Penny Wong as foreign minister)