--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Therefore coercion of the non-invasive…" description: "\"Therefore coercion of the non-invasive, when justifiable at all, is to be justified on the ground that it secures, not a minimum of ' invasion, but a m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/825/benjamin-tucker-9951_atheism_therefore-coercion-of-the-non-invasive-w_399739.jpg" --- # Therefore coercion of the non-invasive, when justifiable… ![“Therefore coercion of the non-invasive, when justifiable at all, is to be justified on the ground that it secures, not a minimum of ' invasion, but a minimum of pain.” quote by Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/825/benjamin-tucker-9951_atheism_therefore-coercion-of-the-non-invasive-w_399739.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/825/benjamin-tucker-9951_atheism_therefore-coercion-of-the-non-invasive-w_399739.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/825/benjamin-tucker-9951_atheism_therefore-coercion-of-the-non-invasive-w_399739.jpg) > “Therefore coercion of the non-invasive, when justifiable at all, is to be justified on the ground that it secures, not a minimum of ' invasion, but a minimum of pain.” [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. Coercion of non‑invasive actions should be justified by minimizing pain, not merely reducing physical intrusion. **In simple terms:** Minimize pain, not just invasion. Key Takeaway Aim to reduce suffering when using force. Themes ethics non‑violence pain justice Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - medical procedures - law enforcement - self‑defense - public policy Key Concepts utilitarianism rights harm reduction Questions to Reflect On - How do we assess pain objectively? - When is any coercion justified? A Different Perspective Pain may be subjective and hard to measure accurately. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Coercion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coercion/) [Invasion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invasion/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) ## Related quotes > [Yes, there are circumstances where a bloody suppression is justifiable and justified.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zulfikar-ali-bhutto/yes-there-are-circumstances-where-a-bloody-suppression-is-justifiable/) [Zulfikar Ali Bhutto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zulfikar-ali-bhutto/) > [War, in our country, ought never to be resorted to but when it is clearly justifiable and necessary; so much so as not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-calhoun/war-in-our-country-ought-never-to-be-resorted-to-but-when-it-is/) [John C. Calhoun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-calhoun/) > [A speech idiosyncrasy, in the same way as an air quote, is really justifiable only if it's employed very sparingly and if the user…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/a-speech-idiosyncrasy-in-the-same-way-as-an-air-quote-is-really/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Where two motives, neither of them perfectly justifiable, may be assigned, the worst has the chance of being preferred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/where-two-motives-neither-of-them-perfectly-justifiable-may-be/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [What's great about well-written material is, if you can shock with justifiable actions, that's the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-cranston/what-s-great-about-well-written-material-is-if-you-can-shock-with/) [Bryan Cranston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-cranston/) > [“How his hatred seethed in search of a justifiable excuse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/how-his-hatred-seethed-in-search-of-a-justifiable-excuse/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [“The end did not justify the means, but justifiable means that brought about a fair and necessary conclusion were not to be dismissed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ludlum/the-end-did-not-justify-the-means-but-justifiable-means-that-brought/) [Robert Ludlum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ludlum/) > [Some of the justifiable critiques has been by - been so successful in telling this story, you know, there's a danger of saying, oh,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-devlin/some-of-the-justifiable-critiques-has-been-by-been-so-successful-in/) [Keith Devlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-devlin/) > [“Exactly. Since it is morally justifiable, I have only to consider the question of personal risk. Surely a gentleman should not lay much stress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/exactly-since-it-is-morally-justifiable-i-have-only-to-consider-the/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [No code of ethics and no effort are justifiable a priori in the face of the cruel mathematics that command our condition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/no-code-of-ethics-and-no-effort-are-justifiable-a-priori-in-the-face/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [While there are cases where even the law recognizes an abortion as justifiable if recommended by a physician, I assert that the hundreds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-sanger/while-there-are-cases-where-even-the-law-recognizes-an-abortion-as/) [Margaret Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-sanger/) > [If someone is killing, on a regular basis, thousands of animals, and if that person can only be stopped in one way by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-vlasak/if-someone-is-killing-on-a-regular-basis-thousands-of-animals-and-if/) [Jerry Vlasak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-vlasak/) > [The crux of the matter is whether total war in its present form is justifiable, even when it serves a just purpose. Does it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hersey/the-crux-of-the-matter-is-whether-total-war-in-its-present-form-is/) [John Hersey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hersey/) > [“You do know I’m the one person who can shoot you and make it look like justifiable homicide?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-laurenston/you-do-know-i-m-the-one-person-who-can-shoot-you-and-make-it-look/) [Shelly Laurenston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-laurenston/) > [The Liberty of the press consists in the right to publish with impunity truth with good motives for justifiable ends, though reflecting on government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/the-liberty-of-the-press-consists-in-the-right-to-publish-with/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) ## 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/) > [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/) > [If I can go through life free and rich, I shall not cry because my neighbor, equally free, is richer. Liberty will ultimately make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/if-i-can-go-through-life-free-and-rich-i-shall-not-cry-because-my/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) [Explore all 69 Benjamin Tucker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) ## More Atheism quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [No philosophy, no religion, has ever brought so glad a message to the world as this good news of Atheism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/no-philosophy-no-religion-has-ever-brought-so-glad-a-message-to-the/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [God speaks through me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/god-speaks-through-me/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [You cannot ... transmute some incoherent mixture of words into sense merely by introducing the three-letter word "God" to be its grammatical subject.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-flew/you-cannot-transmute-some-incoherent-mixture-of-words-into-sense/) [Antony Flew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-flew/) > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [If, with all the time at my disposal, with all the wealth of the resources of this vast universe, to do with as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/if-with-all-the-time-at-my-disposal-with-all-the-wealth-of-the/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Do you think that was kind? Do you think it was godlike? What would you think of a physician, if a woman came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-h-gardener/do-you-think-that-was-kind-do-you-think-it-was-godlike-what-would-you/) [Helen H. Gardener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-h-gardener/) > [Science can destroy religion by ignoring it as well as by disproving its tenets. No one ever demonstrated, so far as I am aware,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/science-can-destroy-religion-by-ignoring-it-as-well-as-by-disproving/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Honest investigation is utterly impossible within the pale of any church, for the reason, that if you think the church is right you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/honest-investigation-is-utterly-impossible-within-the-pale-of-any/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) [Browse all 4,769 Atheism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Therefore coercion of the non-invasive, when justifiable at all, is to be justified on the ground that it secures, not a minimum of ' invasion, but a minimum of pain.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Benjamin Tucker" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/therefore-coercion-of-the-non-invasive-when-justifiable-at-all-is-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Atheism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/therefore-coercion-of-the-non-invasive-when-justifiable-at-all-is-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/825/benjamin-tucker-9951_atheism_therefore-coercion-of-the-non-invasive-w_399739.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/825/benjamin-tucker-9951_atheism_therefore-coercion-of-the-non-invasive-w_399739.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/825/benjamin-tucker-9951_atheism_therefore-coercion-of-the-non-invasive-w_399739.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Therefore coercion of the non-invasive, when justifiable at all, is to be justified on the ground that it…” — 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": "Therefore coercion of the non-invasive, when...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/therefore-coercion-of-the-non-invasive-when-justifiable-at-all-is-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/therefore-coercion-of-the-non-invasive-when-justifiable-at-all-is-to/#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 } } ] } ```