March 22, 2010 2:03PM 

# Another Argument for Limited Government 

By [John Samples](https://www.cato.org/people/john-samples) 

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Megan McArdle [writes](http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2010/03/prediction-time/37826/):

> Obviously, yes, I was upset yesterday. I’m glad that this could bring so much joy to peoples’ hearts, and of course to know that for many people, the happiest part of passing health care reform seems to have been knowing that it made people like me unhappy

For many people, a major reason to engage in politics is the pleasure gained from *schadenfreude*, a German word that means “joy from injury or harm.” Given that, shouldn’t we try to limit politics and its outcome, government? Or is a society with more *schadenfreude* better than one with less?

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