The furor over payday lending is one that involves important principles for those who favor limited government. The idea that people should be able to make choices free from government interference is at the heart of the debate. Unfortunately, some conservatives do not see the discussion in these terms. Instead, they are allying themselves with the liberal principle that bureaucrats and politicians know what is best and should "protect the people from themselves." This is a dangerous mindset to embrace for anyone who values liberty.

Protection of free markets ranks near the top among the fundamental principles animating the modern conservative movement.  America’s free market economy has produced benefits every American enjoys.  The free market has given our nation a standard of living that is the envy of many around the world. The ability of men and women to trade freely with one another, exchanging goods and services in economic transactions that benefit both parties, has proven to be one of the main reasons our nation is the world's lone superpower.

Conservatives recognize this fact and have long fought against government encroachment in the market. They understand government bureaucrats or politicians cannot know as much about a person as that person knows about himself. Thus, conservatives have always fought against the notion that government should direct the economic choices of its citizen.

This freedom from government has given people the ability to innovate and experiment, taking risks and making choices no government bureaucrat would approve. It is the heart of liberty -- making the choice you think is best, even if others disagree.

When it comes to obtaining a payday loan, though, some conservatives seem to forget their principles. Often they think that these loans are unfair. They think borrowers only enter into these loans out of ignorance and that lenders are somehow taking advantage of them. The notion that a more enlightened or virtuous government official needs to step in and stop this transaction certainly holds an appeal to liberals. Their faith in government would naturally lead them to view the payday loan in this perspective.

Conservatives, however, should realize that there is no reason to make an exception for their free market principles when it comes to a payday loan. A payday loan is an economic transaction like any other -- both parties enter into it with the expectation that they will each receive a benefit. There is no coercion involved and both the borrower and lender know the terms of the loan.

Allowing people to enter into transactions -- even if you personally view them as foolish or unwise -- is the essence of freedom. A government regulation preventing one from taking a payday loan is the same as any other government regulation to remove freedom in the name of political correctness or whatever other rationale bureaucrats use to justify their power over our lives.

Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once wrote "the greatest dangers to liberty lurk in the insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well meaning but without understanding." In their well-meaning zeal, conservatives should not be seduced by an idea that some people do not deserve the liberty to make their own economic choices.