If you refer to the government as thenanny state, you disapprove of it because you think it tries to protect its citizens too much and makes them rely on the state too much.
[mainly British, disapproval]
The tussle to free the individual from the nanny state is still far from won.
nanny state in British English
noun
a government that makes decisions for people that they might otherwise make for themselves, esp those relating to private and personal behaviour
Examples of 'nanny state' in a sentence
nanny state
Would critics prefer a nanny state that does not allow poor people to borrow at all?
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Where do you draw the line between personal responsibility and the nanny state?