How Do You Feel About Regulations?

I'm wondering how this sub feels about regulations and other political measures to decrease consumption.

Personally, I'm pretty left-leaning, and I think we need much stricter reguations than we have now. Essentially I think, we need politics to step in and end the commodification of many basic needs, before people as a whole will actually reduce their consumption.

What do you think? What role does the state and/or politics play in anticonsumption?