--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Is not the very beginning of privilege…" description: "\"Is not the very beginning of privilege, monopoly and industrial slavery this erecting of the ballot-box above the individual?\" — Benjamin Tucker" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d24/benjamin-tucker-9951_ballots_is-not-the-very-beginning-of-privilege-m_1013718.png" --- # Is not the very beginning of privilege, monopoly and… ![“Is not the very beginning of privilege, monopoly and industrial slavery this erecting of the ballot-box above the individual?” quote by Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d24/benjamin-tucker-9951_ballots_is-not-the-very-beginning-of-privilege-m_1013718.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d24/benjamin-tucker-9951_ballots_is-not-the-very-beginning-of-privilege-m_1013718.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d24/benjamin-tucker-9951_ballots_is-not-the-very-beginning-of-privilege-m_1013718.png) > “Is not the very beginning of privilege, monopoly and industrial slavery this erecting of the ballot-box above the individual?” [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The ballot box can be seen as a tool that concentrates power, potentially creating new forms of privilege and control over individuals. **In simple terms:** Voting systems may create new hierarchies. Key Takeaway Critically examine democratic structures. Themes politics power freedom Mood critical analytical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - elections - policy making - civic education - activism Key Concepts democracy institutional critique Questions to Reflect On - How does voting influence power dynamics? - What alternatives can reduce institutional privilege? A Different Perspective Voting alone may not eliminate systemic inequalities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ballot Box](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballot-box-463654/) [Ballots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballots/) [Beginning Privilege](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning-privilege-2217408/) [Boxes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boxes/) [Erecting Ballot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/erecting-ballot-2217409/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Monopoly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monopoly/) [Privilege](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privilege/) [Privilege Monopoly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privilege-monopoly-2217407/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) [Voting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voting/) ## Related quotes > [The best hope for Australia is the ballot box and good education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-monash/the-best-hope-for-australia-is-the-ballot-box-and-good-education/) [John Monash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-monash/) > [Democrats believe they can win at the ballot box by obstructing, and they would rather win the next election than move America forward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-foxx/democrats-believe-they-can-win-at-the-ballot-box-by-obstructing-and/) [Virginia Foxx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-foxx/) > [But say some, would you expose woman to the contact of rough, rude, drinking, swearing, fighting men at the ballot box? What a humiliating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernestine-rose/but-say-some-would-you-expose-woman-to-the-contact-of-rough-rude/) [Ernestine Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernestine-rose/) > [Surely these women won't lose any more of their beauty and charm by putting a ballot in a ballot box once a year than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-schneiderman/surely-these-women-won-t-lose-any-more-of-their-beauty-and-charm-by/) [Rose Schneiderman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-schneiderman/) > [But in this country we have one great privilege which they don't have in other countries. When a thing gets to be absolutely unbearable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/but-in-this-country-we-have-one-great-privilege-which-they-don-t-have/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [We have four boxes with which to defend our freedom: the soap box, the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-mcdonald/we-have-four-boxes-with-which-to-defend-our-freedom-the-soap-box-the/) [Larry McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-mcdonald/) > [Democracy is more than a ballot box.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamed-elbaradei/democracy-is-more-than-a-ballot-box/) [Mohamed ElBaradei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-elbaradei/) > [My view is that discrimination against anyone at the ballot box is wrong and should have the full enforcement of the federal government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/my-view-is-that-discrimination-against-anyone-at-the-ballot-box-is/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Our 'pathway' is straight to the ballot box, with no variableness nor shadow of turning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/our-pathway-is-straight-to-the-ballot-box-with-no-variableness-nor/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [Never forgive at the ballot box!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/never-forgive-at-the-ballot-box/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [The ballot box is the surest arbiter of disputes among free men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buchanan/the-ballot-box-is-the-surest-arbiter-of-disputes-among-free-men/) [James Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-buchanan/) > [Democracy is defended in 3 stages. Ballot Box, Jury Box, Cartridge Box.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/democracy-is-defended-in-3-stages-ballot-box-jury-box-cartridge-box/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [There's a direct relationship between the ballot box and the bread box, and what the union fights for and wins at the bargaining table…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-reuther/there-s-a-direct-relationship-between-the-ballot-box-and-the-bread/) [Walter Reuther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-reuther/) > [The ballot box is a most inadequate mechanism of change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-ballot-box-is-a-most-inadequate-mechanism-of-change/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [It is not surprising that more and more people are coming to the conclusion that the ballot box is no longer an instrument that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/it-is-not-surprising-that-more-and-more-people-are-coming-to-the/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) ## More by Benjamin Tucker > [The claim of the State Socialists, however, that this right would not be exercised in matters pertaining to the individual in the more intimate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/the-claim-of-the-state-socialists-however-that-this-right-would-not/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) > [The shortest way to change a radical into a conservative, a liberal into a tyrant, a man into a beast, is to give him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/the-shortest-way-to-change-a-radical-into-a-conservative-a-liberal/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) > [The Anarchists are simply unterrified Jeffersonian Democrats. They believe that 'the best government is that which governs least,' and that which governs least is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/the-anarchists-are-simply-unterrified-jeffersonian-democrats-they/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) > [Socialism, on the contrary, extends its function to the description of society as it should be, and the discovery of the means of making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/socialism-on-the-contrary-extends-its-function-to-the-description-of/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) > [We are here, on earth. Not one of us has any right to the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/we-are-here-on-earth-not-one-of-us-has-any-right-to-the-earth/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) > [The cost of justice can be justly paid only by the invader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/the-cost-of-justice-can-be-justly-paid-only-by-the-invader/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) > [For, just as it has been said that there is no half-way house between Rome and Reason, so it may be said that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/for-just-as-it-has-been-said-that-there-is-no-half-way-house-between/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) > [Thus, the same blow that strikes interest down will send wages up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/thus-the-same-blow-that-strikes-interest-down-will-send-wages-up/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) > [There are some troubles from which mankind can never escape … have never claimed that liberty will bring perfection; they simply say that its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/there-are-some-troubles-from-which-mankind-can-never-escape-have/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) > [The government is a tyrant living by theft, and therefore has no business to engage in any business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/the-government-is-a-tyrant-living-by-theft-and-therefore-has-no/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) > [Capitalism is at least tolerable, which cannot be said of Socialism or Communism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/capitalism-is-at-least-tolerable-which-cannot-be-said-of-socialism-or/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) > [This, then, is the Anarchistic definition of government: the subjection of the non-invasive individual to an external will...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/this-then-is-the-anarchistic-definition-of-government-the-subjection/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) > [Therefore coercion of the non-invasive, when justifiable at all, is to be justified on the ground that it secures, not a minimum of '…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/therefore-coercion-of-the-non-invasive-when-justifiable-at-all-is-to/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) > [Laissez Faire was very good sauce for the goose, labor, but was very poor sauce for the gander, capital.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/laissez-faire-was-very-good-sauce-for-the-goose-labor-but-was-very/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) > [Anarchism is for liberty, and neither for nor against anything else. Anarchy is the mother of co-operation, yes, just as liberty is the mother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/anarchism-is-for-liberty-and-neither-for-nor-against-anything-else/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) [Explore all 69 Benjamin Tucker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) ## More Ballots quotes > [ The best way to marginalize the Muslim Brotherhood \[in Egypt\] is in the ballot box, not through arrests and killing people. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-ayotte/the-best-way-to-marginalize-the-muslim-brotherhood-in-egypt-is-in-the/) [Kelly Ayotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-ayotte/) > [Whether you are buying a car or casting a ballot, choosing a job or planning a family, follow your moral compass. Don't let others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-hayes/whether-you-are-buying-a-car-or-casting-a-ballot-choosing-a-job-or/) [Denis Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-hayes/) > [Think about it: we went into slavery pagans; we came out Christians. We went into slavery pieces of property; we came out American citizens.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/think-about-it-we-went-into-slavery-pagans-we-came-out-christians-we/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [If you don't know, your labor unions and community organizations, there's somebody you can ask to guide you. A lot of people, especially in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolores-huerta/if-you-don-t-know-your-labor-unions-and-community-organizations-there/) [Dolores Huerta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolores-huerta/) > [Models: I'm not voting for you for any stupid magazine list! If you were really that Hot you wouldn't have to beg the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tosh/models-i-m-not-voting-for-you-for-any-stupid-magazine-list-if-you/) [Daniel Tosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tosh/) > [I think it's best if there's an amendment that goes on the ballot where the people can weigh in. Every time this issue has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-bachmann/i-think-it-s-best-if-there-s-an-amendment-that-goes-on-the-ballot/) [Michele Bachmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-bachmann/) > [Just as feudalism was an advance over slavery, and capitalism was the next step after feudalism, socialism is the next step after capitalism…...Socialism in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-hall/just-as-feudalism-was-an-advance-over-slavery-and-capitalism-was-the/) [Gus Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-hall/) > [The Family of Man is more than 3 billion strong. It lives in more than 100 nations. Most of its members are not white.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/the-family-of-man-is-more-than-3-billion-strong-it-lives-in-more-than/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [Barack Obama thinks he's universally loved and adored because of that approval rating, which is a lie or a misrepresentation. It's mainly people that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/barack-obama-thinks-he-s-universally-loved-and-adored-because-of-that/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Exxon, Coca-Cola, BHP Billiton and News Corporation have much more say in organising the global agenda than the planet's 5 billion mature-age voters without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-brown/exxon-coca-cola-bhp-billiton-and-news-corporation-have-much-more-say/) [Bob Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-brown/) > [Unless they can pass the same test that immigrants must pass to become citizens, people shouldnt be allowed to vote. The idea that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charley-reese/unless-they-can-pass-the-same-test-that-immigrants-must-pass-to/) [Charley Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charley-reese/) > [It’ll be the ballot or it’ll be the bullet. It’ll be liberty or it’ll be death. And if you’re not ready to pay that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/it-ll-be-the-ballot-or-it-ll-be-the-bullet-it-ll-be-liberty-or-it-ll/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Too many of us dissipate our energy by being 'for all good causes,' attending meetings and passing resolutions, organizing and presenting petitions — all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ammon-hennacy/too-many-of-us-dissipate-our-energy-by-being-for-all-good-causes/) [Ammon Hennacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ammon-hennacy/) > [To give victory to the right, not bloody bullets, but peaceful ballots only, are necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/to-give-victory-to-the-right-not-bloody-bullets-but-peaceful-ballots/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [The establishment Republicans are beginning to say on the record what they had been whispering about in private for months: that Donald Trump at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalia-mogahed/the-establishment-republicans-are-beginning-to-say-on-the-record-what/) [Dalia Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalia-mogahed/) [Browse all 274 Ballots quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballots/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Is not the very beginning of privilege, monopoly and industrial slavery this erecting of the ballot-box above the individual?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Benjamin Tucker" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/is-not-the-very-beginning-of-privilege-monopoly-and-industrial/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ballots" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/is-not-the-very-beginning-of-privilege-monopoly-and-industrial/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d24/benjamin-tucker-9951_ballots_is-not-the-very-beginning-of-privilege-m_1013718.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d24/benjamin-tucker-9951_ballots_is-not-the-very-beginning-of-privilege-m_1013718.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d24/benjamin-tucker-9951_ballots_is-not-the-very-beginning-of-privilege-m_1013718.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Is not the very beginning of privilege, monopoly and industrial slavery this erecting of the ballot-box…” — Benjamin Tucker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Benjamin Tucker", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Is not the very beginning of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/is-not-the-very-beginning-of-privilege-monopoly-and-industrial/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/is-not-the-very-beginning-of-privilege-monopoly-and-industrial/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```