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Lysander Spooner

Lysander Spooner Quotes

Philosopher

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Famous Lysander Spooner Quotes

“And the men who loan money to governments, so called, for the purpose of enabling the latter to rob, enslave, and murder their people, are among the greatest villains that the world has ever seen. And they as much deserve to be hunted and killed (if they cannot otherwise be got rid of) as any slave traders, robbers, or pirates that ever lived.”

PeopleIfsMenWorldGovernmentPurposeHe ManDeserveMurderSlaveLatterVillainLoanPirateEnablingRobbersTradersHuntedSlave Trade
Book:No Treason and a Letter to Thomas F. Bayard
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“The Rothschilds, and that class of money-lenders of whom they are the representatives and agents - men who never think of lending a shilling to their next-door neighbors, for purposes of honest industry, unless upon the most ample security, and at the highest rate of interest - stand ready, at all times, to lend money in unlimited amounts to those robbers and murderers, who call themselves governments, to be expended in shooting down those who do not submit quietly to being robbed and enslaved.”

ThinkingMenGovernmentPurposeNextInterestClassDoorsHonestSecurityReadyIndustryAmountHighestRateNeighborTyrannyAll TimeAgentsShootingSubmitRepresentativesUnlimitedMurdererLendingRobbersLendersNext Door NeighborsMoney Lenders
Book:No Treason
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“Our constitutions purport to be established by 'the people,' and, in theory, 'all the people' consent to such government as the constitutions authorize. But this consent of 'the people' exists only in theory. It has no existence in fact. Government is in reality established by the few; and these few assume the consent of all the rest, without any such consent being actually given.”

PeopleFactsRealityGovernmentGivenExistenceTheoryConstitutionAssumingPropagandaConsent
Book:The unconstitutionality of slavery: including parts first and second
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“The principle that the majority have a right to rule the minority, practically resolves all government into a mere contest between two bodies of men, as to which of them shall be masters, and which of them slaves; a contest, that-however bloody-can, in the nature of things, never be finally closed, so long as man refuses to be a slave.”

MenLongTwoBodyGovernmentPrinciplesMastersMajoritySlaveMereRefuseMinoritiesResolveBloodyContestsAnarchistBe A Slave
Book:No Treason: No. 1-
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“For everybody has a natural right not only to defend his own person and property against aggressors, but also to go to the assistance and defence of everybody else, whose person or property is invaded. The natural right of each individual to defend his own person and property against an aggressor, and to go to the assistance and defence of every one else whose person or property is invaded, is a right without which men could not exist on earth.”

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Author:Lysander Spooner
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“I was put into jail as I was going to the shoemaker's to get a shoe which was mended. When I was let out the next morning, I proceeded to finish my errand, and, having put on my mended shoe, joined a huckleberry party, who were impatient to put themselves under my conduct; and in half an hour - for the horse was soon tackled - was in the midst of a huckleberry field, on one of our highest hills, two miles off, and then the State was nowhere to be seen.”

TwoStatesNextHoursPartyHalfMorningFieldsHighestHorsePrisonShoesMilesHillsMidstJailImpatientErrandsHuckleberry
Author:Lysander Spooner
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“No man can delegate,... any right of arbitrary dominion over a 3rd person; for that would imply a right in the 1st person, not only to make the 3rd person his slave, but also a right to dispose of him as a slave to still other persons. Any contract to do this is necessarily a criminal one...To call such a contract a “constitution” does not at all lessen its criminality, or add to its validity.”

MenPersonsDoeStillsConstitutionAddSlaveCriminalsContractsArbitraryDominionValidityDelegatesCriminality
Author:Lysander Spooner
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“The strong are always free by virtue of their superior strength. So long as government is a mere contest as to which of two parties shall rule the other, the weaker must always succumb. And whether the contest be carried on with ballots or bullets, the principle is the same; for under the theory of government now prevailing, the ballot either signifies a bullet, or it signifies nothing. And no one can consistently use a ballot, unless he intends to use a bullet, if the latter should be needed to insure submission to the former.”

IfsShouldLongTwoUseGovernmentStrongPartyPrinciplesVirtueTheoryNeededMereSuperiorsFormerLatterConsistentlyBulletsContestsSubmissionBallotsPrevailing
Book:No Treason: No. 1-
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“The purpose and effect of [land titles] have been to maintain, in the hands of robber, or slave holding class, a monopoly of all lands, and, as far as possible, of all other means of creating wealth; and thus to keep the great body of labourers in such a state of poverty and dependence, as would compel them to sell their labour to their tyrants for the lowest prices at which life could be sustained”

MeanHas BeensStatesBodyHandsPurposeWealthClassPovertyLandEffectsCreatingSellsSlaveTitlesLabourTyrantsDependenceLowestMonopolyRobbersLabourersCreating Wealth
Author:Lysander Spooner
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