To take from one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers, have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, the guarantee to everyone the free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it.
The role of government
[A] wise and frugal government … shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government.
Perpetual debt
We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt.
Continue reading “Perpetual debt”
Orators
Here comes the orator! With his flood of words, and his drop of reason.
The power of the free man
Let us therefore animate and encourage each other, and show the whole world, that a Freeman contending for Liberty on his own ground is superior to any slavish mercenary on earth.
Pretended patriotism
Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.
Informed public
In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened.
Government gaining ground
The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground.
Knowledge and virtue
No people will tamely surrender their liberties, nor can any be easily subdued, when knowledge is diffused and virtue is preserved. On the contrary, when people are universally ignorant, and debauched in their manners, they will sink under their own weight without the aid of foreign invaders.
Circumspection and distrust
[T]here is a degree of depravity in mankind which requires a certain degree of circumspection and distrust.