---
title: "54 Robert Higgs Quotes - Famous Economist (Opposing the crusader state)"
description: "Robert Higgs is an American economic historian and economist. Browse 54 Robert Higgs quotes."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b020/author-robert-higgs-79843.jpg"
---

![Portrait of Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b020/author-robert-higgs-79843.jpg)

# Robert Higgs

(1944)   Economist

 **54** quotes in **534** categories

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Robert Higgs is an economist, best known for *Opposing the crusader state*.

## Quick Facts About Robert Higgs

Born February 1, 1944

Profession Economist

Notable works Opposing the crusader state

## About Robert Higgs

Robert Higgs is an American economic historian and economist. He is known for research on the growth of the United States government, especially the ratchet effect, the idea that state power expands during wars and other crises and only partly recedes afterward, which he developed in Crisis and Leviathan (1987). He is a retired senior fellow in political economy at the Independent Institute, where he founded and later served as editor at large of The Independent Review, and he has held faculty appointments at the University of Washington, Lafayette College, and Seattle University. In an essay he has described his political philosophy as a libertarian anarchism.

##  Quotes by Robert Higgs

> [When American presidents prepare for foreign wars, they lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/when-american-presidents-prepare-for-foreign-wars-they-lie/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[American president](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-president/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e0/robert-higgs-12637_american-president_when-american-presidents-prepare-for-for_1120976.jpg)

> [Intervene globally, lose freedom locally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/intervene-globally-lose-freedom-locally/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Intervene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intervene/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf9/robert-higgs-12637_loses_intervene-globally-lose-freedom-locally_1854428.jpg)

> [Without popular fear, no government would endure more than twenty-four hours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/without-popular-fear-no-government-would-endure-more-than-twenty-four/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Endure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endure/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/robert-higgs-12637_endure_without-popular-fear-no-government-would_2824396.jpg)

> [“A valid contract requires voluntary offer, acceptance, and consideration.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/a-valid-contract-requires-voluntary-offer-acceptance-and-consideration/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Anarcho-capitalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarcho-capitalism/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da9/robert-higgs-12637_anarcho-capitalism_a-valid-contract-requires-voluntary-offe_2265437.jpg)

> [Since the end of the nineteenth century, if not earlier, presidents have misled the public about their motives and their intentions in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/since-the-end-of-the-nineteenth-century-if-not-earlier-presidents/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/century/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8d/robert-higgs-12637_century_since-the-end-of-the-nineteenth-century_2415137.jpg)

> [Once a bureau is created, its staff becomes a tenacious political interest group, well placed to defend its budget and to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/once-a-bureau-is-created-its-staff-becomes-a-tenacious-political/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Activity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd7/robert-higgs-12637_activity_once-a-bureau-is-created-its-staff-becom_1547788.jpg)

> [If I had to use a single word to describe what is fundamentally wrong with government today, I would use the word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/if-i-had-to-use-a-single-word-to-describe-what-is-fundamentally-wrong/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Fraud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fraud/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1d/robert-higgs-12637_fraud_if-i-had-to-use-a-single-word-to-describ_2513907.jpg)

> [...History shows that ... (people) can be deflected from their natural tendencies by artful propaganda, bogus crises, or other political trickery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/history-shows-that-people-can-be-deflected-from-their-natural/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Anti war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anti-war/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b2/robert-higgs-12637_anti-war_history-shows-that-people-can-be-deflect_2167224.jpg)

> [True counselors of despair are those who hope against hope—and historical experience—that the government can and will act constructively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/true-counselors-of-despair-are-those-who-hope-against-hope-and/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Counselor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/counselor/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3a/robert-higgs-12637_counselor_true-counselors-of-despair-are-those-who_2114842.jpg)

> [Inflation is not a benign element in the economy's operation. It is, as it has always been, the most dangerous and destructive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/inflation-is-not-a-benign-element-in-the-economy-s-operation-it-is-as/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Benign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benign/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76d/robert-higgs-12637_benign_inflation-is-not-a-benign-element-in-the_331018.jpg)

> [By adopting programs to distribute substantial amounts of income, a nation guarantees that its government will become more powerful and invasive in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/by-adopting-programs-to-distribute-substantial-amounts-of-income-a/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Adopting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adopting/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5e/robert-higgs-12637_adopting_by-adopting-programs-to-distribute-subst_478853.jpg)

> [Income inequality has no necessary connection with poverty, the lack of material resources for a decent life, such as adequate food, shelter,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/income-inequality-has-no-necessary-connection-with-poverty-the-lack/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Adequate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adequate/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4e/robert-higgs-12637_adequate_income-inequality-has-no-necessary-conne_2349632.jpg)

> [“The government enforces a monopoly over the production and distribution of its alleged 'services' and brings violence to bear against would-be competitors.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/the-government-enforces-a-monopoly-over-the-production-and/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Anarcho-capitalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarcho-capitalism/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e4/robert-higgs-12637_anarcho-capitalism_the-government-enforces-a-monopoly-over_1209243.jpg)

> [Abetted by misguided or co-opted intellectuals, the rulers weave a cloak of legitimacy to disguise their theft and hence to ease their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/abetted-by-misguided-or-co-opted-intellectuals-the-rulers-weave-a/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Cloaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cloaks/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/903/robert-higgs-12637_cloaks_abetted-by-misguided-or-co-opted-intelle_1882670.jpg)

> [The beginning of political wisdom is the realization that despite everything you’ve always been taught, the government is not really on your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/the-beginning-of-political-wisdom-is-the-realization-that-despite/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Despite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despite/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/424/robert-higgs-12637_despite_the-beginning-of-political-wisdom-is-the_663325.jpg)

> [Nothing has done more to render modern economic theory a sterile and irrelevant exercise in autoeroticism than its practitioners’ obsession with mathematical,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/nothing-has-done-more-to-render-modern-economic-theory-a-sterile-and/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/robert-higgs-12637_done_nothing-has-done-more-to-render-modern-e_1528282.jpg)

> [The legacy of the New Del was, more than anything else, a matter of ideological change. Henceforth, nearly everyone would look to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/the-legacy-of-the-new-del-was-more-than-anything-else-a-matter-of/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9e/robert-higgs-12637_change_the-legacy-of-the-new-del-was-more-than_1624672.jpg)

> [In debates between anarchists and statists, the burden of proof clearly should rest on those who place their trust in the state.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/in-debates-between-anarchists-and-statists-the-burden-of-proof/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Anarchism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchism/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdb/robert-higgs-12637_anarchism_in-debates-between-anarchists-and-statis_157286.jpg)

> [It is a sound interpretive rule...that anything that cannot be accomplished except with the aid of threats or the actual exercise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/it-is-a-sound-interpretive-rule-that-anything-that-cannot-be/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Accomplished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplished/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b53/robert-higgs-12637_accomplished_it-is-a-sound-interpretive-rule-that-any_968487.jpg)

> [Until the 1930s, the Constitution served as a major constraint on federal economic interventionism. The government's powers were understood to be just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/until-the-1930s-the-constitution-served-as-a-major-constraint-on/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[1930s](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1930s-382/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/665/robert-higgs-12637_1930s_until-the-1930s-the-constitution-served_347042.jpg)

> [If you have a private firm and you spend a ton of money to pay employees, but what you produce is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/if-you-have-a-private-firm-and-you-spend-a-ton-of-money-to-pay/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Contributing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contributing/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/440/robert-higgs-12637_contributing_if-you-have-a-private-firm-and-you-spend_2174561.jpg)

> [Who can dispute that the governments of the United States constitute the most voracious tax system in the history of mankind? In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/who-can-dispute-that-the-governments-of-the-united-states-constitute/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Amount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amount/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd8/robert-higgs-12637_amount_who-can-dispute-that-the-governments-of_1922938.jpg)

> [Recipients of transfers set a bad example for others, including their children, other relatives, and friends, who see that one can receive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/recipients-of-transfers-set-a-bad-example-for-others-including-their/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Attitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/121/robert-higgs-12637_attitude_recipients-of-transfers-set-a-bad-exampl_58290.jpg)

> [Liberty in the United States will never be reestablished so long as elites and masses alike look to the president to perform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/liberty-in-the-united-states-will-never-be-reestablished-so-long-as/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Constitutional government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitutional-government/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/140/robert-higgs-12637_constitutional-gover_liberty-in-the-united-states-will-never_650355.jpg)

> [In regard to the so-called social contract, I have often had occasion to protest that I haven't even seen the contract, much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/in-regard-to-the-so-called-social-contract-i-have-often-had-occasion/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Absence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/581/robert-higgs-12637_absence_in-regard-to-the-so-called-social-contra_1545546.jpg)

> [Notwithstanding what some regard as the institutionalization of compassion, the transfer society quashes genuine virtue. Redistribution of income by means of government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/notwithstanding-what-some-regard-as-the-institutionalization-of/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Acting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acting/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f5/robert-higgs-12637_acting_notwithstanding-what-some-regard-as-the_1242547.jpg)

> [“People and their values are almost infinitely diverse, and people will never agree on many elements of social arrangements that might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/people-and-their-values-are-almost-infinitely-diverse-and-people-will/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Anarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchy/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa2/robert-higgs-12637_anarchy_people-and-their-values-are-almost-infin_2641031.jpg)

> [“Anarchists did not try to carry out genocide against the Armenians in Turkey; they did not deliberately starve millions of Ukrainians; they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/anarchists-did-not-try-to-carry-out-genocide-against-the-armenians-in/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Anarchism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchism/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/704/robert-higgs-12637_anarchism_anarchists-did-not-try-to-carry-out-geno_170080.jpg)

> [“When the contentious questions are mainly economic (put aside such inflammatory but mainly noneconomic matters as capital punishment or abortion) they tend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/when-the-contentious-questions-are-mainly-economic-put-aside-such/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Capital punishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capital-punishment/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b6/robert-higgs-12637_capital-punishment_when-the-contentious-questions-are-mainl_699608.jpg)

> [Government spending either is completely wasteful, merely transfers income, purchases an intermediate rather than a final good, or purchases valuable final services…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/government-spending-either-is-completely-wasteful-merely-transfers/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Exchanging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exchanging/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/938/robert-higgs-12637_exchanging_government-spending-either-is-completely_1837241.jpg)

> [For members of the political class, the crucial question is always: how can we push out the frontier, how can we augment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/for-members-of-the-political-class-the-crucial-question-is-always-how/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/586/robert-higgs-12637_class_for-members-of-the-political-class-the-c_720196.jpg)

> [It would take little more than $50 billion to raise every poor person above the official poverty line, yet the percentage of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/it-would-take-little-more-than-50-billion-to-raise-every-poor-person/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Amount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amount/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67d/robert-higgs-12637_amount_it-would-take-little-more-than-50-billio_2315153.jpg)

> [Some doomsayers think the collapse will be triggered by runaway government spending, excessive taxation, oppressive regulation, food shortages, fuel shortages or natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/some-doomsayers-think-the-collapse-will-be-triggered-by-runaway/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Changes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changes/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edc/robert-higgs-12637_changes_some-doomsayers-think-the-collapse-will_2388119.jpg)

> [This is the true lesson of our history: war, preparation for war, and foreign military interventions have served for the most part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/this-is-the-true-lesson-of-our-history-war-preparation-for-war-and/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Economic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc8/robert-higgs-12637_economic_this-is-the-true-lesson-of-our-history-w_569676.jpg)

> [But politicians who talk about failed policies are just blowing smoke. Government policies succeed in doing exactly what they are supposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/but-politicians-who-talk-about-failed-policies-are-just-blowing-smoke/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Blowing smoke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blowing-smoke/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/robert-higgs-12637_blowing-smoke_but-politicians-who-talk-about-failed-po_811191.jpg)

> [No doubt, anarchy, once established, might not last forever. But if your house is on fire, the sensible course of action is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/no-doubt-anarchy-once-established-might-not-last-forever-but-if-your/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca2/robert-higgs-12637_action_no-doubt-anarchy-once-established-might_440439.jpg)

> [“Like all who inherit the Lockean tradition, Mises believed that a strong but limited government, far from suffocating its citizens, allows them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/like-all-who-inherit-the-lockean-tradition-mises-believed-that-a/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Limited government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limited-government/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/588/robert-higgs-12637_limited-government_like-all-who-inherit-the-lockean-traditi_2968989.jpg)

> [Transfer payments discourage the recipients from earning income in the present and from investing in their potential to earn income in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/transfer-payments-discourage-the-recipients-from-earning-income-in/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Cost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cost/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dec/robert-higgs-12637_cost_transfer-payments-discourage-the-recipie_2884150.jpg)

> [All nonstate threats to life, liberty, and property appear to be relatively petty and therefore can be dealt with. Only states can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/all-nonstate-threats-to-life-liberty-and-property-appear-to-be/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/182/robert-higgs-12637_freedom_all-nonstate-threats-to-life-liberty-and_480819.jpg)

> [We need to have a modicum of faith in people's common sense, creativity and will to survive and prosper even in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/we-need-to-have-a-modicum-of-faith-in-people-s-common-sense/)

[Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/)

[After](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/after/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aba/robert-higgs-12637_after_we-need-to-have-a-modicum-of-faith-in-pe_220984.jpg)

## Robert Higgs by topic

[Government (24)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/robert-higgs/) [Politics (21)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/robert-higgs/) [People (10)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/robert-higgs/)

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                        "text": "In debates between anarchists and statists, the burden of proof clearly should rest on those who place their trust in the state. Anarchy's mayhem is wholly conjectural; the state's mayhem is undeniably, factually horrendous.",
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                        "text": "It is a sound interpretive rule...that anything that cannot be accomplished except with the aid of threats or the actual exercise of violence against unoffending persons cannot be beneficial to one and all.",
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                        "text": "Until the 1930s, the Constitution served as a major constraint on federal economic interventionism. The government's powers were understood to be just as the framers intended: few and explicitly enumerated in our founding document and its amendments. Search the Constitution as long as you like, and you will find no specific authority conveyed for the government to spend money on global-warming research, urban mass transit, food stamps, unemployment insurance, Medicaid, or countless other items in the stimulus package and, even without it, in the regular federal budget.",
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                        "text": "If you have a private firm and you spend a ton of money to pay employees, but what you produce is a flop, there will be no value to GDP. But government spending all gets counted as contributing to economic growth. That's why in the early days of creating these measurements, some people didn't want to count government spending.",
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                        "text": "Who can dispute that the governments of the United States constitute the most voracious tax system in the history of mankind?  In the year 2000, those governments succeeded in laying hands on more than $3 trillion - almost $11,000 each for the 275 million men, women, and children resident in the country.  No other nation-state rakes in an amount even close to the U.S. total.",
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                        "text": "Recipients of transfers set a bad example for others, including their children, other relatives, and friends, who see that one can receive goods, services, or money from the government without earning them.  The onlookers easily adopt an attitude that they, too, are entitled to such transfers.  They have fewer examples of hardworking, self-reliant people in their families or neighborhoods.",
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                        "text": "Liberty in the United States will never be reestablished so long as elites and masses alike look to the president to perform supernatural feats and therefore tolerate a virtually unlimited exercise of presidential power.  Until we can restore limited, constitutional government in this country, God save us from great presidents.",
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                        "text": "In regard to the so-called social contract, I have often had occasion to protest that I haven't even seen the contract, much less been asked to consent to it. A valid contract requires voluntary offer, acceptance, and consideration. I've never received an offer from my rulers, so I certainly have not accepted one; and rather than consideration, I have received nothing but contempt from the rulers, who, notwithstanding the absence of any agreement, have indubitably threatened me with grave harm in the event that I fail to comply with their edicts.",
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                        "text": "Notwithstanding what some regard as the institutionalization of compassion, the transfer society quashes genuine virtue. Redistribution of income by means of government coercion is a form of theft.  Its supporters attempt to disguise its essential character by claiming that democratic procedures give it legitimacy, but this justification is specious.  Theft is theft, whether it be carried out by one thief or by a hundred million thieves acting in concert.  And it is impossible to found a good society on the institutionalization of theft.",
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                        "text": "“People and their values are almost infinitely diverse, and people will never agree on many elements of social arrangements that might be subjected to uniform rules of governance. Hence, the greater the scope of strictly individual self-determination, the lesser the scope of governance, and the greater the tolerance with which people live and let live among their fellows, the more peaceful and flourishing society will be”",
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                        "text": "“Anarchists did not try to carry out genocide against the Armenians in Turkey; they did not deliberately starve millions of Ukrainians; they did not create a system of death camps to kill Jews, gypsies, and Slavs in Europe; they did not fire-bomb scores of large German and Japanese cities and drop nuclear bombs on two of them; they did not carry out a ‘Great Leap Forward’ that killed scores of millions of Chinese; they did not attempt to kill everybody with any appreciable education in Cambodia; they did not launch one aggressive war after another; they did not implement trade sanctions that killed perhaps 500,000 Iraqi children. In debates between anarchists and statists, the burden of proof clearly should rest on those who place their trust in the state. Anarchy’s mayhem is wholly conjectural; the state’s mayhem is undeniably, factually horrendous.”",
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                        "text": "“When the contentious questions are mainly economic (put aside such inflammatory but mainly noneconomic matters as capital punishment or abortion) they tend to fall into two grand classes: one relates to the maintenance of the essential character of the economic order (often, capitalism versus socialism); the other has to do with distributional conflicts within the economic order (often, the rich versus the poor). The two grand classes of issues share a common capacity to call forth moral, as opposed to instrumental, considerations. They involve not simply questions of what is technically better or worse; rather, they are seen to involve good and evil.32 Those who propose to deal “pragmatically” with such questions are doomed to fail—”",
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                        "text": "Government spending either is completely wasteful, merely transfers income, purchases an intermediate rather than a final good, or purchases valuable final services whose value cannot be ascertained because the transaction is not made by private parties exchanging their own resources in a market setting.",
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                        "text": "For members of the political class, the crucial question is always: how can we push out the frontier, how can we augment the government's dominion and plunder, with net gain to ourselves the exploiters who live not by honest production and voluntary exchange, but by fleecing those who do so?",
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                        "text": "It would take little more than $50 billion to raise every poor person above the official poverty line, yet the percentage of the population classified as poor hardly budges, while annual welfare spending amounts to four times that much. Where's the money going?",
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                        "text": "Some doomsayers think the collapse will be triggered by runaway government spending, excessive taxation, oppressive regulation, food shortages, fuel shortages or natural disasters such as deadly pandemics or lethal changes in the world's climate.",
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