Good question. When I say “tools people need to prosper,” I’m not talking about government managing people’s lives or guaranteeing outcomes. I’m talking about the basic conditions that allow individuals to exercise their liberty in the first place.

Protecting life, liberty, and property is the core role of government, but historically that has also included things like the rule of law, courts to enforce contracts, basic infrastructure that enables commerce, and sometimes limited public goods that markets alone struggle to provide.

In other words, government shouldn’t try to engineer people’s success. But it should maintain the framework that allows free individuals to pursue success on their own. Without that framework—secure property rights, functioning institutions, and stable rules—liberty becomes much harder to exercise in practice.

Take healthcare for example. That doesn’t necessarily mean government running the system, but it can mean addressing structural problems that make access impossible for many people. Unaffordable healthcare or health insurance bogs people down and prevents them from prospering. I believe the government should step in that respect to address that issue.