“It is curious that people tend to regard government as a quasi-divine, selfless, Santa Claus organization. Government was constructed neither for ability nor for the exercise of loving care; government was built for the use of force and for necessarily demagogic appeals for votes. If individuals do not know their own interests in many cases, they are free to turn to private experts for guidance. It is absurd to say that they will be served better by a coercive, demagogic apparatus.”

Power and Market: Government and the Economy, Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2006, p. 256. First published in 1970

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Murray N. Rothbard 43
American economist of the Austrian School, libertarian poli… 1926–1995

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