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Quote by Lysander Spooner

Work

No Treason and a Letter to Thomas F. Bayard

This book is a compilation of works that delve into the author's views on political theory, focusing on the role and structure of government, and includes correspondence with Thomas F. Bayard. more

Author

Lysander Spooner
Lysander Spooner

Lysander Spooner was an American philosopher, abolitionist, and legal theorist who lived from January 19, 1808, to May 14, 1887. He is recognized for his contributions to the philosophy of individual rights and his advocacy for the abolition of slavery. Spooner's work has had a profound impact on the fields of law and philosophy. more

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“All legitimate government is a mutual insurance company, voluntarily agreed upon by the parties to it, for the protection of their rights against wrong-doers. In its voluntary character it is precisely similar to an association for mutual protection against fire or shipwreck.”

CharacterGovernmentPartyCompanyFireRightsProtectionMutualAssociationDoersInsurance CompaniesShipwreckLegitimate Government
Book:An Essay on the Trial by Jury
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“Any government, that is its own judge of, and determines authoritatively for the people, what are its own powers over the people, is an absolute government of course. It has all the powers that it chooses to exercise. There is no other or at least no more accurate definition of a despotism than this.”

PeopleGovernmentCoursesJudgingExerciseAbsolutesDefinitionsDetermineAccurateDespotism
Book:The Collected Works of Lysander Spooner: Legal writings
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“If any man's money can be taken by a so-called government, without his own personal consent, all his other rights are taken with it; for with his money the government can, and will, hire soldiers to stand over him, compel him to submit to its arbitrary will, and kill him if he resists.”

IfsMenGovernmentTakenRightsSoldierSubmitConsentArbitrary
Book:A Letter to Grover Cleveland on His False Inaugural Address, the Usurpation and Crimes of Lawmakers and Judges, and Consequent Poverty, Ignorance, and Servitude of the People
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