Many government schemes are sold on humanitarian grounds. Welfare, food stamps, UBC, UHC, foreign aid, police state actions, military intervention, whatever, the sales pitch usually includes an assertion that submission means caring about the poor, the sick, and the oppressed. That appeal to compassion is what lets them get away with awful power grabs.

This perverse manipulation of our better traits disgusts me, but you're right, it's also a glimmer of hope that people can learn to look beyond that sales pitch. It also disproves the claim that people are inherently monsters without governmental guidance.