Governments have a tendency to become degraded and corrupt. For modern liberals this is not a problem because they have a peculiar understanding of these terms. They think that working at a minimum-wage job is degrading, but welfare is not. They think that private business turning a profit is corrupt, but redistribution of income is not. For them, the private sector is the problem, government is the solution.
Most conservatives believe the opposite.
This is the libertarian temptation. In our time, it is a powerful and attractive argument. I believe it is mistaken. Consider the different kinds of moral obligations we have, as humans and as citizens. Most Americans are still religious and believe in moral obligations to God.