Probably not in 1800, but the post-war "big government" era from about 1950's to 1980's (depending on the area) was relatively idyllic in many places.

The government has gotten enormously bigger and more pervasive since then.

Ok, if you say so.

Don't take my word for it. Just take a look at any chart of state/local/federal spending.

in the US, prior to 2001 the department of homeland security (a signigicant portion of the government) did not even exist.

The Department of Education is another massive bureaucracy that is really hard to discern a benefit from.

No, not at all, just that (post) modern techno-capitalism has grown out of the need to justify itself via appeals to humanism. Another way of looking at this is by considering the difference between life/death drive in psychology as they relate to humanism/anti-humanism and how that manifests in systems.

I have no idea what that means.

I can explain if you’re genuinely interested