“But coercion never produces harmony. How harmonious are people who are being forced to act against their will? Most likely, those who are coerced will resent those who benefit from the coercion. This sets group against group; it doesn't bring them together.”

— Harry Browne

Part One, chapter 5, page 24
Why Government Doesn't Work (1995)

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Harry Browne 18

American politician and writer 1933–2006

Kirby Page (1890–1957) American clergyman

The Personality of Jesus (1932)
Context: The menace inherent in any form of coercion is greatly reduced if those who act in behalf of victims of oppression voluntarily submit to suffering. Mahatma Gandhi... furnishes the most illuminating contemporary example...

“The capacity to resist coercion stems partly from the individual's identification with a group.”

Eric Hoffer book The True Believer

Section 45, Ch. 13 Factors Promoting Self-sacrifice
The True Believer (1951), Part Three: United Action and Self-Sacrifice

“Knowledge brings that tranquility, brings that harmony, to all human beings of every type, of every age. And it doesn't matter what their background is. It doesn't matter what they are up to. It just brings them all together because of that harmony inside, because of that understanding inside, because of that love inside.”

Prem Rawat (1957) controversial spiritual leader

Rome, Italy, November 8, 1977
1970s

“There is a group within the SLFP who abuse that freedom and democracy. They go on instigating people and rousing racism. Many of those who held leading positions of the SLFP sometime back are supporting that campaign. Disciplinary action should be taken immediately against them.”

Arjuna Ranatunga (1963) Sri Lankan cricketer

Ports and Shipping Minister Arjuna Ranatunga has demanded that SLFP members who attended the recent Joint Opposition rally at Hyde Park in Colombo be sacked from the party, quoted on island.lk, "Arjuna wants SLFP rebels sacked over Hyde Park rally" http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=142648, March 26, 2016.

“All social cooperation on a larger scale than the most intimate social group requires a measure of coercion.”

Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971) American protestant theologian

Source: (1932), p.3

“There is no one force, no group, and no class that is the preserver of liberty. Liberty is preserved by those who are against the existing chief power. Oppositions which do not express genuine social forces are as trivial, in relation to entrenched power, as the old court jesters.”

James Burnham (1905–1987) American philosopher

James Burnham (1987) The Machiavellians, Defenders of Freedom. p. 280

“A libertarian is a person who believes that no one has the right, under any circumstances, to initiate force against another human being, or to advocate or delegate its initiation. Those who act consistently with this principle are libertarians, whether they realize it or not. Those who fail to act consistently with it are not libertarians, regardless of what they may claim.”

L. Neil Smith (1946) American writer

Zero Aggression Principle ("ZAP"), from "Who is a Libertarian?"
Variant: A libertarian is a person who believes that no one has the right, under any circumstances, to initiate force against another human being, or to advocate or delegate its initiation. Those who act consistently with this principle are libertarians, whether they realize it or not. Those who fail to act consistently with it are not libertarians, regardless of what they may claim.