In October 1964, then spokesman Ronald Reagan stepped into the national political spotlight for the first time with his now-famous “A Time for Choosing Speech,” delivered in support of presidential candidate Barry Goldwater.

His words stand in stark contrast to those of many of America’s elected officials today, as this video by the Republican Study Committee shows.

In his speech, Reagan described the choice confronting Americans and laid out his own political philosophy:

This is the issue of this election: Whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capitol can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves.

As Congress and President Barack Obama continue to expand government’s reach into American life, it’s worth looking back on Reagan’s speech and recalling his warning about a government that grows beyond its constitutional limits:

A government can’t control the economy without controlling people. And they know when a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose.

You can watch the entirety of Reagan’s speech here.