where everyone contributes a gift and everyone participates:
Conservatives are like the ones who have plenty of money, but object to being "forced" to bring a gift, so they refuse to bring one...
BUT, when they get to the party they participate anyway.
Progressives are the ones who can't really afford to be generous, but still bring two gifts just to make sure no-one feels left out.
I learned in Kindergarten that giving and sharing are good for all of us, but some people haven't figured that out yet, and probably never will. They say they are conservative because they don't want "big Government" to be too powerful, but the truth is, they are conservative because they don't want to contribute, but still want to participate. That's why conservative government creates deficits, fosters economic polarization, increases disenfranchisement and begets corruption. That's why conservatism is an unsustainable fallacy of logic.
Is there an ideal size for government, an ideal effectiveness? Certainly. But it will never be achieved as long as so many of us are contributing two gifts, while others are still allowed to participate and contribute NONE.