Here is one of the better working definitions of the nanny state I have come across yet. One first has to understand the entirety of the problem before taking swift action against it.
Moreover, in a state where virtually everything is forbidden, the citizen has to look to the state for permission to do virtually everything. In the most literal sense, it is a nanny state, where the citizen is treated as a mewling infant. And when people are treated like children, they lose the initiative to take on adult responsibilities
