Quotes About Government

It is all in vain; you cannot give money to some members of the community but by taking it from others. If you desire to ruin the tax-payer, you may do so. But at least do not banter him by saying: "In order to compensate your losses, I take from you again as much as I have taken from you already.

See whether the law takes from some persons that which belongs to them, to give to others what does not belong to them. See whether the law performs, for the profit of one citizen, and, to the injury of others, an act that this citizen cannot perform without committing a crime. Abolish this law without delay; it is not merely an iniquity—it is a fertile source of iniquities, for it invites reprisals;

I wish someone would offer a prize—not of a hundred francs, but of a million, with crowns, medals and ribbons—for a good, simple and intelligible definition of the word "Government." What an immense service it would confer on society!

The oppressor no longer acts directly and with his own powers upon his victim. No, our discretion has become too refined for that. The tyrant and his victim are still present, but there is an intermediate person between them, which is the Government—that is, the Law itself.

Law is organized Justice. Now

And now that the legislators and do-gooders have so futilely inflicted so many systems upon society, may they finally end where they should have begun: May they reject all systems, and try liberty; for liberty is an acknowledgment of faith in God and His works.

Legal plunder has two roots: one of them, as we have already seen, is in human greed; the other is in misconceived philanthropy.

Government is that great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.

Legal plunder has two roots: one of them, as we have already seen, is in human egotism; the other is in false philanthropy. Before

the public has two hopes, and Government makes two promises—many benefits and no taxes. Hopes and promises that, being contradictory, can never be realized.

There are people who think that plunder loses all its immorality as soon as it becomes legal. Personally, I cannot imagine a more alarming situation.

And because we do not ask so much at the hands of the law, because we only ask it for justice, it supposes that we reject fraternity, solidarity, organization, and association; and they brand us with the name of individualists. We

Thus men, according to Bossuet, derive nothing from themselves; patriotism, wealth, inventions, husbandry, science—all come to them by the operation of the laws, or by kings. All they have to do is to be passive.

legislators have almost always been ignorant of the object of society, which is to unite families by a common interest.

Desgraciadas, tres veces desgraciadas las naciones en las cuales sea este último pensamiento el que predomine en las masas en el momento en que a su vez se apoderen de la facultad de legislar!

What, then, is law? As I have said elsewhere, it is the collective organization of the individual right to lawful defence.

the common force cannot lawfully be used to destroy the person, the liberty, or the property of individuals or of classes. For

The law has been perverted through the influence of two very different causes—bare egotism and false philanthropy.

Thus there is not a grievance in the nation for which the government does not voluntarily make itself responsible. Is it surprising, then, that every failure increases the threat of another revolution in France? And what remedy is proposed for this? To extend indefinitely the domain of the law; that is, the responsibility of government.

But the law is made, generally, by one man, or by one class of men. And as law cannot exist without the sanction and the support of a preponderating force, it must finally place this force in the hands of those who legislate. This

It is worth our while to pay a little attention to the extent of genius required by these legislators, that we may see how, by confounding all the virtues, they showed their wisdom to the world.

La gran desventura de Francia es la preferencia de la igualdad por encima de la libertad. Alexis de Tocqueville. LA LEY LA Ley ¡pervertida!

The Law by Frédéric Bastiat

When, then, does plunder stop? It stops when it becomes more painful and more dangerous than labor.