“The error arises from the learned jurists deceiving themselves and others, by asserting that government is not what it really is, one set of men banded together to oppress another set of men, but, as shown by science, is the representation of the citizens in their collective capacity.”

—  Leo Tolstoy

The Kingdom of God is Within You (1894)
Variant: Government is an association of men who do violence to the rest of us.

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Russian writer 1828–1910

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