John Hospers: Government

John Hospers was American philosopher and politician. Explore interesting quotes on government.

John Hospers: 14 quotes1 like

“Government is the most dangerous institution known to man. Throughout history it has violated the rights of men more than any individual or group of individuals could do: it has killed people, enslaved them, sent them to forced labor and concentration camps, and regularly robbed and pillaged them of the fruits of their expended labor. Unlike individual criminals, government has the power to arrest and try; unlike individual criminals, it can surround and encompass a person totally, dominating every aspect of one's life, so that one has no recourse from it but to leave the country”

and in totalitarian nations even that is prohibited
Source: The Libertarian Alternative, (1977), p. 12

“The only proper role of government, according to libertarians, is that of the protector of the citizen against aggression by other individuals. The government, of course, should never initiate aggression; its proper role is as the embodiment of the retaliatory use of force against anyone who initiates its use.”

Source: The Libertarian Alternative, (1977), p. 12

“The greater the hold of government upon the life of the individual citizen, the greater the risk of war.”

Source: Libertarianism: A Political Philosophy for Tomorrow, (1971), p. 411-412

“Beware: the Government Is Armed and Dangerous.”

Source: The Libertarian Alternative, (1977), p. 12