Another strange notion pervading whole peoples is that the State has money of its own; and nowhere is this absurdity more firmly fixed than in America. The State has no money. It produces nothing. It existence is purely parasitic, maintained by taxation; that is to say, by forced levies on the production of others. 'Government money,' of which one hears so much nowadays, does not exist; there is no such thing.
Interpretation
The quote critiques the misconception that the state has its own money, arguing instead that it derives resources solely from taxation on individuals' production.
In this quote, Albert J. Nock challenges the common belief that government has a source of money independent of its citizens. He argues that the state is fundamentally dependent on the productive efforts of its people and that its existence relies on the extraction of resources through taxation, thus portraying the government as a parasitic entity rather than a creator of wealth.
In practice
This quote can be used in discussions about tax policy and government spending.
There are two methods, or means, and only two, whereby man's needs and desires can be satisfied. One is the production and exchange of wealth; this is the economic means. The other is the uncompensated appropriation of wealth produced by others; this is the political means.
Taking the State wherever found, striking into its history at any point, one sees no way to differentiate the activities of its founders, administrators and beneficiaries from those of a professional-criminal class.
The State, on the other hand, both in its genesis and by its primary intention, is purely anti-social. It is not based on the idea of natural rights, but on the idea that the individual has no rights except those that the State may provisionally grant him. It has always made justice costly and difficult of access, and has invariably held itself above justice and common morality whenever it could advantage itself by so doing.
It is unfortunately none too well understood that, just as the State has no money of its own, so it has no power of its own.
The primary reason for a tariff is that it enables the exploitation of the domestic consumer by a process indistinguishable from sheer robbery.
As a general principle, I should put it that a man's country is where the things he loves are most respected. Circumstances may have prevented his ever setting foot there, but it remains his country.
Coercion, after all, merely captures man. Freedom captivates him.
The fight is no longer between the classes or between rich and poor but between the idiots and the eco-conscious.
Most people define themselves by what they do - 'I'm a musician.' Then one day it occurred to me that I'm only a musician when I'm playing music - or writing music, or talking about music. I don't do that 24 hours a day. I'm also a father, a son, a husband, a citizen - I mean, when I go to vote, I'm not thinking of myself as 'a musician.'
We objected to the morality because it interfered with our sexual freedom.
As a small child, I felt in my heart two contradictory feelings, the horror of life and the ecstasy of life.
Dying should come easy: like a freight train you don't hear when your back is turned.
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