“Either fraternity is spontaneous, or it does not exist. To decree it is to annihilate it.”

—  Frédéric Bastiat

Source: Justice and Fraternity (1848), p. 312
Context: Either fraternity is spontaneous, or it does not exist. To decree it is to annihilate it. The law can indeed force men to remain just; in vain would it try to force them to be self-sacrificing.

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Frédéric Bastiat 33
French classical liberal theorist, political economist, and… 1801–1850

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