Libertarianism Quotes - Page 19

• Those who attack the rationale of the game, and not the players, are its most formidable adversaries.

  James J. Martin

  Player, Games, Liberty

  7 Copy quote

• The freedom of speech and the freedom of the press have not been granted to the people in order that they may say things which please, and which are based upon accepted thought, but the right to say the things which displease, the right to say the things which convey the new and yet unexpected thoughts, the right to say things, even though they do a wrong.

  Samuel Gompers

  Order, People, Freedom Of Speech

  Samuel Gompers (1967). “Seventy Years of Life and Labour: An Autobiography”

  35 Copy quote

  Show source

• We should distinguish at this point between "government" and "state" ... A government is the consensual organization by which we adjudicate disputes, defend our rights, and provide for certain common needs ... A state on the other hand, is a coercive organization asserting or enjoying a monopoly over the use of physical force in some geographic area and exercising power over its subjects.

  David Boaz

  Exercise, Rights, Government

  David Boaz (1997). “Libertarianism: A Primer”, p.208, Simon and Schuster

  6 Copy quote

  Show source

• In our government-controlled schools we are taught that Lincoln was our greatest president because his war ended slavery and saved the Union. As usual, the other side of the story - the side that reflects poorly on the government - somehow gets lost.

  Richard J. Maybury

  War, School, Government

  10 Copy quote

• The Union was formed by the voluntary agreement of the States; and these, in uniting together, have not forfeited their Nationality, nor have they been reduced to the condition of one and the same people. If one of the States chose to withdraw its name from the contract, it would be difficult to disprove its right of doing so.

  Alexis de Tocqueville

  Agreement, Names, People

  Alexis de Tocqueville (1847). “Democracy in America”, p.419

  9 Copy quote

  Show source

• Government should stay the hell out of people's business.

  Barry Goldwater

  Government, People, Liberty

  18 Copy quote

• Form 1040 was chosen by the IRS because for every $50 you earn, you get 10 and they get 40.

  Jay Leno

  Liberty, Irs, Libertarian

  8 Copy quote

• Asking liberals where wages and prices come from is like asking six-year-olds where babies come from.

  Thomas Sowell

  Baby, Years, Liberty

  13 Copy quote

• The Constitution poses no threat to our current form of government.

  Joseph Sobran

  Government, Liberty, Libertarian

  7 Copy quote

• Anything called a "program" is unconstitutional.

  Joseph Sobran

  Liberty, Libertarian, Program

  7 Copy quote

• A vote is "wasted" when someone fails to vote their conscience.

  Jesse Ventura

  Liberty, Libertarian, Vote

  29 Copy quote

• If workers struggle for higher wages, this is hailed as "social gains", if businessmen struggle for higher profits, this is damned as "selfish greed".

  Ayn Rand

  Selfish, Struggle, Greed

  Ayn Rand, Nathaniel Branden, Alan Greenspan, Robert Hessen (1986). “Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal”, p.42, Penguin

  14 Copy quote

  Show source

• It is a free market that makes monopolies impossible.

  Ayn Rand

  Liberty, Libertarian, Impossible

  Ayn Rand, Nathaniel Branden, Alan Greenspan, Robert Hessen (1986). “Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal”, p.66, Penguin

  18 Copy quote

  Show source

• Remember, to them it is us who are the enemy.

  N. F. Simpson

  Enemy, Liberty, Libertarian

  10 Copy quote

• Every coercive monopoly was created by government intervention into the economy: by special privileges, such as franchises or subsidies, which closed the entry of competitors into a given field, by legislative action.

  Ayn Rand

  Government, Special, Liberty

  "The Voice of Reason" by Ayn Rand, 1989.

  10 Copy quote

  Show source

• The Bill of Rights does not come from the people and is not subject to change by majorities. It comes from the nature of things. It declares the inalienable rights of man not only against all government but also against the people collectively.

  Walter Lippmann

  Men, Rights, People

  Walter Lippmann, Clinton Rossiter, James Lare (1982). “The Essential Lippmann: A Political Philosophy for Liberal Democracy”, p.130, Harvard University Press

  13 Copy quote

  Show source

• Nobody can be trusted with unlimited power. The more power a regime has, the more likely people will be killed. This is a major reason for promoting freedom.

  Rudolph Rummel

  Trust, People, Liberty

  "Rudolph Rummel Talks About the Miracle of Liberty and Peace". The Freeman Interview, fee.org. July 1, 1997.

  8 Copy quote

  Show source

• If a donkey bray at you, don't bray at him.

  George Herbert

  Liberty, Libertarian, Donkey

  69 Copy quote

• The only good bureaucrat is one with a pistol at his head. Put it in his hand and it's good-bye to the Bill of Rights.

  H. L. Mencken

  Gun, Rights, Hands

  "On Politics: A Carnival of Buncombe". Book by H L. Mencken, 1956.

  16 Copy quote

  Show source

• Blind belief can be comforting, but it can easily cripple reason and productivity, and stop intellectual progress.

  James Randi

  Blind Belief, Comforting, Intellectual

  71 Copy quote

• Look not to the politicians; look to yourselves.

  Richard Cobden

  Liberty, Looks, Libertarian

  9 Copy quote

• There's no greater service to this country than the defense of its freedom.

  Barry Goldwater

  Country, Liberty, Defense

  18 Copy quote

• Americans have the mistaken viewpoint that Lady Liberty is only a peacetime luxury who is ill-equipped to fight the nasties. Therefore, they reason, we need an equally nasty Big Brother. Americans have forgotten that Lady Liberty is one ferocious mother when protecting her children.

  Mary Ruwart

  Mother, Brother, Children

  7 Copy quote

• If even one new drug of the stature of penicillin or digitalis has been unjustifiably banished to a company's back shelf because of exceedingly stringent regulatory requirements, that event will have harmed more people than all the toxicity that has occurred in the history of modern drug development.

  William Wardell

  People, Drug, Liberty

  7 Copy quote

• A caged canary is safe but not free.

  Walter E. Williams

  Liberty, Safe, Libertarian

  12 Copy quote