I apologize that the Religious Debate forum is spilling out here, but this is my take: People see sin (unrighteous anger, stealing, lying, and greed) and the effects of sin (hunger, thirst, depression, pain) and want to put an end to that. For us Christians the only end is when Jesus returns and sets up His kingdom. For others though, they want that kingdom without Christ. For some reason they think a government/nanny state is the answer to these problems. While they're not wrong, they're forgetting that any government full of sinners and run by a sinner will ultimately lead to sin.
Just my take anyways.