Personal responsibility cannot exist without liberty, and liberty will not endure without responsibility. Liberty without responsibility is license. The survival of liberty requires personal responsibility. Without this connection our political institutions become a means for the shifting of blame, for compelling others to fix our problems, and for living off the efforts of others. As responsibility declines, the political system grows increasingly oppressive and burdensome.
Politicians pass more laws telling people what to do and how to do it.
Tax-funded handouts expand to support those who do not want to produce. The law increasingly allows unprincipled liability suits as the irresponsible seek an easy source of income. Government agencies take over, telling us what we can eat, what vitamins we may take, what risks we may assume, what we can read, and what we can paint and say. If we do not take charge of ourselves we will soon find ourselves devaluing liberty. Choice can be confusing and frightening to those not used to it.