Personal Responsibility - BOOORING

IV's been giving me grief on this thread regarding drug companies pimping their products in glossy magazines to an ignorant public who will gobble down any pill that will give them an erection. Philosophically, I don't like large corporations, but recognize them as a necessary element and their accrual to much power seems to be self correcting. That is, unless they team up with the Feds to protect each other.

But what I think IV is getting at is the discussion of personal responsibility. A topic I find totally boring, but in this discussion worth an exploration.

Where does a person's responsiblity for their own behavior and consumption end and where must government step in to protect people from being influenced by corporations or even the culture?

Some hypotheticals:

Should restrictions be placed on drug ads as IV argues?
Should people not be allowed to buy into the equities markets at certain
times? People where throwing money at tech funds in the winter of 2000, should
money magazine be liable for putting 5 stars on the funds in January of 2000
that got clobbered over the next couple of years.

Let's get away from the corporate world:

Should the government be waging a War on Drugs to save people from
willing getting high?
Should an unwed mother with too many kids and no self support be
sterilized?

I can't think of any more examples now, but can and will. My problem with saying yes to the above is that all that's being done is taking power away from individuals and, yes, corporations and putting that power into the hands of government. At times, I sound anti-government or anti-corporations, but I'm just anti-concentration of power.

Ok, I've got to get to work. I'm speaking today to this group. Let's hope somebody shows up.