Suppose you view human nature as being totally depraved. What form of government would this lead to?
drinking is such a bad habit, and young people can spend their money and time doing something more profitable and worthwhile.
Smoking is a bad habit. Playing the lottery is a bad habit (oh, wait, the government's behind that one, guess it must be okay). Should these be illegal?
And if you ban those, how can you be sure that the extra time will be spent on something worthwhile? Won't they just watch TV instead?
Whether you like it or not, our Puritan ancestors, who believed that human nature is totally depraved, are very much responsible for our system of government now. The Puritians believed strongly in covenant theology, which meant that they rejected the divine right of kings, and believed rather, that the people had the responsibility to govern themselves. We owe our system of checks and balances to the belief that human nature is flawed. Even the most well-intentioned government can become corrupt and demoagogic at times, the Puritains and the Founding Fathers knew this. That is why no branch of government is supposed to have a monopoly on power.
It is when people believe that humans are innately good, when Marxism, Communism, Socialism, and wacky Utopian governments come about and fail. Because we are not innately good inside, we were born with original sin and should not delude ourselves of anything otherwise.