Who owns you?

Why did we create the State and why did we create governments? Was it because we felt the need to be ruled after throwing down our kings and queens? Did we feel like we had to have "something" in order not to have anarchy, and that "something" then overgrew us, or did we have a purpose for creating governments?

I think we had a purpose, although the purpose differs a lot between countries. The founders of the United States of America has a very clear purpose: To have a government that protects human rights and private property, agrees on some basic laws for society, and runs court-systems. Americans did just terrific with a limited government like this. Lives of millions of people fast became longer and better and what used to be a country of poor, un-skilled immigrant-peasants from Europe turned into the most powerful economy in the world. But of course with a couple of World Wars in the 20th century things began to spiral down a little, but all the same Americans showed a very good example of the power of limited governments with clear objectives.

In Europe men took a little different path. We had kings and nobles that ruled us with fear and force and as such, made us stay poor peasants for hundreds of years. In the end we managed to break out the chains and form democracies and decided that we should have the freedom to speak and write what we want, pretty much do what we want with some limitations, and tied governments hands down with constitutions.

But government usually finds a way of expanding, and soon it became clear that constitutions wouldn't do the trick. They can be boycotted and changed and their words interpreted in many different ways, thereby creating space for the government to expand. And now I feel the circle is complete: It is not us anymore who have a government to protect our rights and freedoms, like they were natural and in need of protection. Now it is us who seek permissions from the government to speak and have freedoms, like they are given to us by some generous power from above.
"May I smoke in my own restaurant?"
"May I speak badly of differently colored people?"
"May I hire a man instead of a women for this job, although fewer women do similar jobs?"
"May I live my life the way I seem fit?"
We are once again the peasants, and we have lost sight of the original purpose of our governments and replaced them with the old roles of kings and queens. Strangely enough though, this is called "democracy". Isn't that plain simply wrong?