The person who profits from this law will complain…
““The person who profits from this law will complain bitterly, defending his acquired rights . He will claim that the state is obligated to protected and encourage his particular industry; that this procedure enriches the state because the protected industry is thus able to spend more and to pay higher wages to the poor workingmen. Do not listen to this sophistry by vested interests. The acceptance of these arguments will build legal plunder into a whole system. In fact, this has already occurred. The present-day delusion is an attempt to enrich everyone at the expense of everyone else; to make plunder universal under the pretense of organizing it.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
Legal protections can be twisted into systemic plunder when vested interests manipulate rhetoric to claim public benefit.
In simple terms: Rights can be abused to justify exploitation.
Key Takeaway
Beware of arguments that disguise self‑interest as public good.
Themes
economics
law
politics
ethics
Mood
cautious
critical
skeptical
Type
analytical
philosophical
When to use this quote
- policy debates
- legislative drafting
- public advocacy
- media analysis
Key Concepts
public choice
rent seeking
state capture
Questions to Reflect On
- Who benefits from this law?
- How to differentiate genuine public good from rent‑seeking?
A Different Perspective
Such arguments often ignore distributional harms and assume benefits are universal.