But which is the State's essential function, aggression or defence, few seem to know or care.
Benjamin TuckerRead
Government is the assumption of authority over a given area and all within it, exercised generally for the double purpose of more complete oppression of its subjects and extension of its boundaries.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote critiques the nature of government as a means of control and expansion.
Benjamin Tucker's quote highlights the dual function of government: to exert dominance over its citizens while simultaneously seeking to expand its influence and territory. This perspective emphasizes the often oppressive nature of governmental authority and raises questions about the true motivations behind political power.
Themes
GovernmentAuthorityOppressionPowerControl
In practice
Example use cases
During a political debate, one might use this quote to emphasize the need for accountability in government actions.
More from Benjamin Tucker
All quotes βThe main question ... is not what motive inspired the law, but what it will be possible for men of bad motive to do with the law.
Benjamin TuckerRead
There is no freedom that I would grant to any man that I would refuse to woman, and there is no freedom that I would refuse to either man or woman except the freedom to invade ... whoever has the ballot has the freedom to invade, and whoever wants the ballot wants the freedom to invade. Give woman equality with man, by all means; but do it by taking power from man, not giving it to woman.
Benjamin TuckerRead
Voting is merely a labor-saving device for ascertaining on which side force lies and bowing to the inevitable... It is neither more nor less than a paper representative of the bayonet, the bully, and the bullet.
Benjamin TuckerRead
To force a man to pay for the violation of his own liberty is indeed an addition of insult to injury.
Benjamin TuckerRead
Anarchism does not repudiate the right of ownership, but it has a conception thereof sufficiently different from [others'] to include the possibility of an end of that social organization which will arise, not out of the ruins of government, but out of the transformation of government into voluntary association for defence.
Benjamin TuckerRead
Similar quotes
We all remember the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, the worst oil spill in U.S. history. What is less well known is that BP is claiming a 9.9 billion tax deduction on the money they had to spend cleaning up their own mess and paying for damages they caused. That is absurd.
Bernie SandersRead
In handing over the Government of India to these so-called political classes, we are handing over to men of straw, of whom, in a few years, no trace will remain.
Winston ChurchillRead
Inverted totalitarianism, unlike classical totalitarianism, does not revolve around a demagogue or charismatic leader. It finds expression in the anonymity of the Corporate State. It purports to cherish democracy, patriotism, and the Constitution while manipulating internal levers.
Chris HedgesRead
About all I can say for the United States Senate is that it opens with a prayer and closes with an investigation.
Will RogersRead
A statesman is an easy man, he tells his lies by rote._x000D_ _x000D_ A journalist invents his lies, and rams them down your throat._x000D_ _x000D_ So stay at home and drink your beer and let the neighbors vote.
William Butler YeatsRead
The entire Islamic world condemned Iran. Nowadays, because of the unwarranted invasion of Iraq by Bush and Blair, which was a completely unjust adventure based on misleading statements, and the lack of any effort to resolve the Palestinian issue, there is massive Islamic condemnation of the United States.
Jimmy CarterRead