Quotes on Government

He who is the author of a war lets loose the whole contagion of hell and opens a vein that bleeds a nation to death.

The instant formal government is abolished, society begins to act. A general association takes place, and common interest produces common security.

It is self-evident that no number of men, by conspiring, and calling themselves a government, can acquire any rights whatever over other men, or other men's property, which they had not before, as individuals. And whenever any number of men, calling themselves a government, do anything to another man, or to his property, which they had no right to do as individuals, they thereby declare themselves trespassers, robbers, or murderers, according to the nature of their acts.

The essence of government is control, or the attempt to control.

There are some who lack confidence in the integrity and capacity of the people to govern themselves. To all who entertain such fears I will most respectfully say that I entertain none. If man is not capable, and is not to be trusted with the government of himself, is he to be trusted with the government of others? Who, then, will govern? The answer must be, Man - for we have no angels in the shape of men, as yet, who are willing to take charge of our political affairs.

Religion is of general and public concern, and on its support depend, in great measure, the peace and good order of government, the safety and happiness of the people.

I did not want my tombstone to read, 'She kept a really clean house.' I think I'd like them to remember me by saying, 'She opened government to everyone.'

When all the objectives of government include the achievement of equality - other than equality before the law - that government poses a threat to liberty.

A right to jury trial is granted to criminal defendants in order to prevent oppression by the Government.

The people are what matter to government, and a government should aim to give all the people under its jurisdiction the best possible life.

Printing money is merely taxation in another form. Rather than robbing citizens of their money, government robs their money of its purchasing power.

If governments would only understand that if people are left alone they'll work out their own salvation.

If our democracy is to flourish, it must have criticism; if our government is to function it must have dissent.

Merging the ability to conduct surveillance that reveals every aspect of a person's life with the ability to conjure up the legal authority to execute that surveillance, and finally, removing any accountable judicial oversight, creates the opportunity for unprecedented influence over our system of government.

What is politically defined as economic planning is the forcible superseding of other people's plans by Government officials.

Those government officials who want more power are not going to stop unless they get stopped.

The proper role of government is exactly what John Stuart Mill said in the middle of the 19th century in "On Liberty." The proper role of government is to prevent other people from harming an individual. Government, he said, never has any right to interfere with an individual for that individual's own good.

If the individual has a right to govern himself, all external government is tyranny. Hence the necessity of abolishing the State.

[John Brown's] zeal in the cause of freedom was infinitely superior to mine. Mine was as the taper light, his was as the burning sun... I could speak for the slave. John Brown could fight for the slave.

The Internet didn't get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet. The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together.

It's time to fundamentally change the way that we do business in Washington. To help build a new foundation for the 21st century, we need to reform our government so that it is more efficient, more transparent, and more creative. That will demand new thinking and a new sense of responsibility for every dollar that is spent.