Is the draw of big government vs small government basically an appeal to optimism vs pessimism on human nature?

The big government people point to people suffering and say we obviously need government rules to help them. They are optimistic that good, wise leaders will use that power for the good of the public.

The small government people point to government overreach and say giving them any more power than absolutely necessary is dangerous. They are pessimistic that the government will always be good and expects it will be corruptible eventually.