Truth Warrior
09-12-2008, 10:22 PM
GOVERNMENT
Government is essentially the negation of liberty.
Liberty and Property, p. 19
It is the opposite of liberty. It is beating, imprisoning, hanging.
Liberty and Property, p. 19
Government means always coercion and compulsion and is by necessity the opposite of liberty.
Human Action, p. 283; p. 285
History provides an abundance of striking examples to show that, in the long run, even the most ruthless policy of repression does not suffice to maintain a government in power.
Liberalism, p. 45
It is an illusion to expect that despotism will always side with the good causes.
Theory and History, p. 372
It is in the nature of the men handling the apparatus of compulsion and coercion to overrate its power to work, and to strive at subduing all spheres of human life to its immediate influence.
Omnipotent Government, p. 58
The government pretends to be endowed with the mystical power to accord favors out of an inexhaustible horn of plenty. It is both omniscient and omnipotent. It can by a magic wand create happiness and abundance. The truth is the government cannot give if it does not take from somebody.
Bureaucracy, p. 84
The government and its chiefs do not have the powers of the mythical Santa Claus. They cannot spend except by taking out of the pockets of some people for the benefit of others.
Planning for Freedom, p. 187
Whoever wants to see the world governed according to his own ideas must strive for dominion over men’s minds. It is impossible, in the long run, to subject men against their will to a regime that they reject. Whoever tries to do so by force will ultimately come to grief, and the struggles provoked by his attempt will do more harm than the worst government based on the consent of the governed could ever do. Men cannot be made happy against their will.
Liberalism, p. 46
A liberal government is a contradictio in adjecto. Governments must be forced into adopting liberalism by the power of the unanimous opinion of the people; that they could voluntarily become liberal is not to be expected.
Liberalism, p. 68
Politically there is nothing more advantageous for a government than an attack on property rights, for it is always an easy matter to incite the masses against the owners of land and capital. From time immemorial, therefore, it has been the idea of all absolute monarchs, of all despots and tyrants, to ally themselves with the “people” against the propertied classes.
Liberalism, p. 69
In spite of all persecutions, however, the institution of private property has survived. Neither the animosity of all governments, nor the hostile campaign waged against it by writers and moralists and by churches and religions, nor the resentment of the masses—itself deeply rooted in instinctive envy— has availed to abolish it.
Liberalism, p. 69
Daily experience proves clearly to everybody but the most bigoted fanatics of socialism that governmental management is inefficient and wasteful.
Economic Freedom and Interventionism, p. 62
There is no remedy for the inefficiency of public management.
Economic Freedom and Interventionism, p. 63
The main problem is how to prevent the police power from becoming tyrannical. This is the meaning of all the struggles for liberty.
The Ultimate Foundation of Economic Science, p. 98
Government is a guarantor of liberty and is compatible with liberty only if its range is adequately restricted to the preservation of what is called economic freedom.
Human Action, , p. 283
Once the principle is admitted that it is duty of government to protect the individual against his own foolishness, no serious objections can be advanced against further encroachments.
Human Action , pp. 728–29, p. 733
http://mises.org/books/quotablemises.pdf
Government is essentially the negation of liberty.
Liberty and Property, p. 19
It is the opposite of liberty. It is beating, imprisoning, hanging.
Liberty and Property, p. 19
Government means always coercion and compulsion and is by necessity the opposite of liberty.
Human Action, p. 283; p. 285
History provides an abundance of striking examples to show that, in the long run, even the most ruthless policy of repression does not suffice to maintain a government in power.
Liberalism, p. 45
It is an illusion to expect that despotism will always side with the good causes.
Theory and History, p. 372
It is in the nature of the men handling the apparatus of compulsion and coercion to overrate its power to work, and to strive at subduing all spheres of human life to its immediate influence.
Omnipotent Government, p. 58
The government pretends to be endowed with the mystical power to accord favors out of an inexhaustible horn of plenty. It is both omniscient and omnipotent. It can by a magic wand create happiness and abundance. The truth is the government cannot give if it does not take from somebody.
Bureaucracy, p. 84
The government and its chiefs do not have the powers of the mythical Santa Claus. They cannot spend except by taking out of the pockets of some people for the benefit of others.
Planning for Freedom, p. 187
Whoever wants to see the world governed according to his own ideas must strive for dominion over men’s minds. It is impossible, in the long run, to subject men against their will to a regime that they reject. Whoever tries to do so by force will ultimately come to grief, and the struggles provoked by his attempt will do more harm than the worst government based on the consent of the governed could ever do. Men cannot be made happy against their will.
Liberalism, p. 46
A liberal government is a contradictio in adjecto. Governments must be forced into adopting liberalism by the power of the unanimous opinion of the people; that they could voluntarily become liberal is not to be expected.
Liberalism, p. 68
Politically there is nothing more advantageous for a government than an attack on property rights, for it is always an easy matter to incite the masses against the owners of land and capital. From time immemorial, therefore, it has been the idea of all absolute monarchs, of all despots and tyrants, to ally themselves with the “people” against the propertied classes.
Liberalism, p. 69
In spite of all persecutions, however, the institution of private property has survived. Neither the animosity of all governments, nor the hostile campaign waged against it by writers and moralists and by churches and religions, nor the resentment of the masses—itself deeply rooted in instinctive envy— has availed to abolish it.
Liberalism, p. 69
Daily experience proves clearly to everybody but the most bigoted fanatics of socialism that governmental management is inefficient and wasteful.
Economic Freedom and Interventionism, p. 62
There is no remedy for the inefficiency of public management.
Economic Freedom and Interventionism, p. 63
The main problem is how to prevent the police power from becoming tyrannical. This is the meaning of all the struggles for liberty.
The Ultimate Foundation of Economic Science, p. 98
Government is a guarantor of liberty and is compatible with liberty only if its range is adequately restricted to the preservation of what is called economic freedom.
Human Action, , p. 283
Once the principle is admitted that it is duty of government to protect the individual against his own foolishness, no serious objections can be advanced against further encroachments.
Human Action , pp. 728–29, p. 733
http://mises.org/books/quotablemises.pdf