Conservatives say the government can't end poverty by force, but they believe it can use force to make people moral. Liberals say government can't make people be moral, but they believe it can end poverty. Neither group attempts to explain why government is so clumsy and destructive in one area but a paragon of efficiency and benevolence in the other.
Interpretation
The quote critiques the contradictory beliefs of conservatives and liberals regarding government intervention in morality and poverty.
Harry Browne's quote highlights the paradox in the ideologies of both conservatives and liberals. Conservatives assert that while the government cannot effectively eradicate poverty through coercive means, they accept the government's involvement in enforcing moral behavior. Conversely, liberals argue that while the government cannot compel morality, they believe in its ability to alleviate poverty. The quote questions why the government is viewed as ineffective and destructive in addressing poverty, yet seen as capable and benevolent in enforcing moral standards.
In practice
This quote can be used in a political debate to illustrate the inconsistencies in ideological beliefs.
Asset forfeiture is a mockery of the Bill of Rights. There is no presumption of innocence, no need to prove you guilty (or even charge you with a crime), no right to a jury trial, no right to confront your accuser, no right to a court-appointed attorney (even if the government has just stolen all your money), and no right to compensation for the property that's been taken.
Government seems to operate on the principle that if even one individual is incapable of using his freedom competently, no one can be allowed to be free.
No one ever died from smoking marijuana, but millions of people have died by believing politicians.
When you know that you're capable of dealing with whatever comes, you have the only security the world has to offer.
You can't give the government the power to do good without also giving it the power to do bad - in fact, to do anything it wants.
A great burden was lifted from my shoulders the day I realized that no one owes me anything.
Where I think historians can help preserve and actually restore democracy is to remind us of how we got it.
By disgracing and degrading the presidency of the United States, by fleeing the White House like a diseased cur, Richard Nixon broke the heart of the American Dream.
Even as someone who's labeled a conservative - I'm a Republican I'm black, I'm heading up this organization in the Reagan administration - I can say that conservatives don't exactly break their necks to tell blacks that they're welcome.
Communism didn't fall. It was pushed.
Whatever your issue is, whether it's racism or homophobia or policy issues or taxes or urban decay or health care, you're not going to go anywhere with it if we don't focus on the concentration of power.
The essence of a free government consists in an effectual control of rivalries.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.