--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People who live in states have as a rule…" description: "\"People who live in states have as a rule never experienced the state of nature and vice-versa, and have no practical possibility of moving from the one..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/151/anthony-de-jasay-57156_allergies_people-who-live-in-states-have-as-a-rule_729276.jpg" --- # People who live in states have as a rule never experienced… ![“People who live in states have as a rule never experienced the state of nature and vice-versa, and have no practical possibility of moving from the one to the other ... On what grounds, then, do people form hypotheses about the relative merits of state and state of nature? ... My contention here…” quote by Anthony de Jasay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/151/anthony-de-jasay-57156_allergies_people-who-live-in-states-have-as-a-rule_729276.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/151/anthony-de-jasay-57156_allergies_people-who-live-in-states-have-as-a-rule_729276.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/151/anthony-de-jasay-57156_allergies_people-who-live-in-states-have-as-a-rule_729276.jpg) > “People who live in states have as a rule never experienced the state of nature and vice-versa, and have no practical possibility of moving from the one to the other ... On what grounds, then, do people form hypotheses about the relative merits of state and state of nature? ... My contention here is that preferences for political arrangements of society are to a large extent produced by these very arrangements, so that political institutions are either addictive like some drugs, or allergy-inducing like some others, or both, for they may be one thing for some people and the other for others.” [Anthony de Jasay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-jasay/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People in societies never truly know a natural state, yet they judge political systems, which are shaped by those very systems, creating bias and dependence. **In simple terms:** We judge politics without experiencing nature, and politics shape our preferences. Key Takeaway Recognize how institutions influence your political views. Themes politics philosophy human nature bias dependence Mood critical thoughtful analytical Type philosophical political reflective When to use this quote - policy analysis - academic debate - public discourse - personal reflection Key Concepts social contract institutional addiction cognitive bias political psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do current institutions shape your political assumptions? - Can you imagine a society without any political structures? A Different Perspective Political preferences are often formed by the institutions themselves, limiting objective assessment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Allergies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/allergies/) [Arrangements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrangements/) [Contention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contention/) [Drug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drug/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Hypothesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hypothesis/) [Institutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/institutions/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Merit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/merit/) [Merits State](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/merits-state-5715974/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Nature Contention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-contention-5715975/) [One thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-thing/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political institutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-institutions/) [Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility/) [Practicals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practicals/) [Preference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preference/) [Preferences Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preferences-political-4709396/) [Relative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relative/) [State Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/state-nature-1117536/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [States Rule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states-rule-5715976/) [Vice versa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vice-versa/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/) ## Related quotes > [I want judges on the Supreme Court who will not use that position to impose their personal policy preferences or political agenda on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cornyn/i-want-judges-on-the-supreme-court-who-will-not-use-that-position-to/) [John Cornyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cornyn/) > [For the state by its nature claims sovereignty, the right to an unlimited development of power, determined only by self-interest. It is by nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-lous-lange/for-the-state-by-its-nature-claims-sovereignty-the-right-to-an/) [Christian Lous Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-lous-lange/) > [Hence, in a state of nature, no man had any moral power to deprive another of his life, limbs, property, or liberty; nor the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/hence-in-a-state-of-nature-no-man-had-any-moral-power-to-deprive/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [“The usual state of nature is recovering from the last disaster,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-s-a-corey/the-usual-state-of-nature-is-recovering-from-the-last-disaster/) [James S.A. Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-s-a-corey/) > [“The thing that worries me is that I'm so different from other writers. Connecticut is just another state to me. And nature - well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-kerr/the-thing-that-worries-me-is-that-i-m-so-different-from-other-writers/) [Jean Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-kerr/) > [“others, without further ceremony ascribing to the strongest an authority over the weakest, have immediately struck out government, without thinking of the time requisite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/others-without-further-ceremony-ascribing-to-the-strongest-an/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [“The belief in a happy "state of nature" in the remote past is derived partly from the biblical narrative of the age of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/the-belief-in-a-happy-state-of-nature-in-the-remote-past-is-derived/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [With men, the state of nature is not a state of peace, but war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/with-men-the-state-of-nature-is-not-a-state-of-peace-but-war/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [“Our bodies bound by space and time, under laws of nature. That's why we see life as if a journey in space that needs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/our-bodies-bound-by-space-and-time-under-laws-of-nature-that-s-why-we/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [“If we assume man has been corrupted by an artificial civilization, what is the natural state? the state of nature from which he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rousseau-jean-jacques-2/if-we-assume-man-has-been-corrupted-by-an-artificial-civilization/) [Rousseau, Jean-Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rousseau-jean-jacques-2/) > [In the state of nature profit is the measure of right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/in-the-state-of-nature-profit-is-the-measure-of-right/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [Life in the state of nature is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/life-in-the-state-of-nature-is-solitary-poor-nasty-brutish-and-short/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [States in the world are like individuals in the state of nature. They are neither perfectly good nor are they controlled by law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-waltz/states-in-the-world-are-like-individuals-in-the-state-of-nature-they/) [Kenneth Waltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-waltz/) > [“The state of civil society, which necessarily generates this aristocracy, is a state of nature; and much more truly so than a savage and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-state-of-civil-society-which-necessarily-generates-this/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“Men living together according to reason, without a common superior on earth, with authority to judge between them, is properly the state of nature.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-locke/men-living-together-according-to-reason-without-a-common-superior-on/) [John Locke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-locke/) ## More by Anthony de Jasay > [ Having gathered all power to itself, \[the State\] has become the sole focus of all conflict, and it must construct totalitarian defences to match… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-jasay/having-gathered-all-power-to-itself-the-state-has-become-the-sole/) [Anthony de Jasay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-jasay/) > [... the smaller the domain where choices among alternatives are made collectively, the smaller will be the probability that any individual's preference gets overruled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-jasay/the-smaller-the-domain-where-choices-among-alternatives-are-made/) [Anthony de Jasay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-jasay/) > [Karl Popper once advised a student that if he wanted to reap intellectual fame, he should write endless pages of obscure, high-flown prose that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-jasay/karl-popper-once-advised-a-student-that-if-he-wanted-to-reap/) [Anthony de Jasay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-jasay/) > [Self-imposed limits on sovereign power can disarm mistrust, but provide no guarantee of liberty and property beyond those afforded by the balance between state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-jasay/self-imposed-limits-on-sovereign-power-can-disarm-mistrust-but/) [Anthony de Jasay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-jasay/) > [In the process of helping some (perhaps most) people to more utility and justice, the state imposes on civil society a system of interdictions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-jasay/in-the-process-of-helping-some-perhaps-most-people-to-more-utility/) [Anthony de Jasay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-jasay/) [Explore all 6 Anthony de Jasay quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-jasay/) ## More Allergies quotes > [I've got an allergy to looking too neat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexa-chung/i-ve-got-an-allergy-to-looking-too-neat/) [Alexa Chung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexa-chung/) > [The next day, Greg is so large that he cannot even ride the car to school because he can't fit in the car. His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-next-day-greg-is-so-large-that-he-cannot-even-ride-the-car-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When the boys at school found out I had a potentially fatal peanut allergy, they used to hold me up against a wall and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-jones/when-the-boys-at-school-found-out-i-had-a-potentially-fatal-peanut/) [Milton Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-jones/) > [I had terrible ear problems and asthma and allergies. I spent quite a bit of time in hospital up to the age of eight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-minchin/i-had-terrible-ear-problems-and-asthma-and-allergies-i-spent-quite-a/) [Tim Minchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-minchin/) > [ \[I hate\] the ways that people want their special needs to be met, whether it's their food allergies or their special lotions or shoes.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-hate-the-ways-that-people-want-their-special-needs-to-be-met/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [“Winter was nothing but a season of snow; spring, allergies; and summer...It was the worst. That was swimsuit season.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-lo/winter-was-nothing-but-a-season-of-snow-spring-allergies-and-summer/) [Teresa Lo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-lo/) > [We must pay greater attention to keeping our bodies and minds healthy and able to heal. Yet we are making it difficult for our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/we-must-pay-greater-attention-to-keeping-our-bodies-and-minds-healthy/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [The American public is not aware that there might be potential allergenic and toxic reactions. With regular food, at least people know which foods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-rifkin/the-american-public-is-not-aware-that-there-might-be-potential/) [Jeremy Rifkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-rifkin/) > [“The association with allergies also serves to imply a genetic predisposition for the illness, and this can help to predict who may be at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-bell-m-d/the-association-with-allergies-also-serves-to-imply-a-genetic/) [David S. Bell M. D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-bell-m-d/) > [I was like one of those newspapers, those periodicals. There's all different kinds of alcoholics. There's the everyday kind: that's the consistent one. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/i-was-like-one-of-those-newspapers-those-periodicals-there-s-all/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [When the link between the use of unsafe, mercury-laden vaccine and autism, ADHD, asthma, allergies and diabetes becomes undeniable, mainstream medicine will be sporting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-rimland/when-the-link-between-the-use-of-unsafe-mercury-laden-vaccine-and/) [Bernard Rimland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-rimland/) > [I didn't know that my son had allergies until he spit up eggs one day, and one day he had a little peanut butter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-whitley/i-didn-t-know-that-my-son-had-allergies-until-he-spit-up-eggs-one-day/) [Kym Whitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-whitley/) > [We have currently a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information. Our mass media reflect this. But unless we get up off our fat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-r-murrow/we-have-currently-a-built-in-allergy-to-unpleasant-or-disturbing/) [Edward R. Murrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-r-murrow/) > [A new study found that a mother's diet affects her baby's allergies. Which can only mean one thing: My mom ate cats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-fallon/a-new-study-found-that-a-mother-s-diet-affects-her-baby-s-allergies/) [Jimmy Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-fallon/) > [I have allergies, and I've had my share of nosebleeds, but that's usually related to pollen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-curry/i-have-allergies-and-i-ve-had-my-share-of-nosebleeds-but-that-s/) [Stephen Curry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-curry/) [Browse all 69 Allergies quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/allergies/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People who live in states have as a rule never experienced the state of nature and vice-versa, and have no practical possibility of moving from the one to the other ... On what grounds, then, do people form hypotheses about the relative merits of state and state of nature? ... 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