--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Government is essentially immoral. The…" description: "\"Government is essentially immoral. The State employs evil weapons to subjugate evil, and is alike contaminated by the objects with which it deals, and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdc/herbert-spencer-1765_deals_government-is-essentially-immoral-the-st_3170734.jpg" --- # Government is essentially immoral. The State employs evil… ![“Government is essentially immoral. The State employs evil weapons to subjugate evil, and is alike contaminated by the objects with which it deals, and the means by which it works.” quote by Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdc/herbert-spencer-1765_deals_government-is-essentially-immoral-the-st_3170734.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdc/herbert-spencer-1765_deals_government-is-essentially-immoral-the-st_3170734.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdc/herbert-spencer-1765_deals_government-is-essentially-immoral-the-st_3170734.jpg) > “Government is essentially immoral. The State employs evil weapons to subjugate evil, and is alike contaminated by the objects with which it deals, and the means by which it works.” [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The state uses coercive power that corrupts both its agents and its subjects, making governance inherently unethical. **In simple terms:** Government corrupts those involved. Key Takeaway Question the moral basis of authority. Themes politics ethics power corruption state Mood critical skeptical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - policy analysis - activism - academic debate - civil disobedience Key Concepts social contract legitimacy coercion moral philosophy Questions to Reflect On - Is any form of governance truly moral? - How can societies limit state corruption? A Different Perspective Authority may be necessary for order, but its moral cost can be high. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Deals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deals/) [Essentially Immoral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essentially-immoral-3024106/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Government Essentially](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government-essentially-1003304/) [Immoral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immoral/) [Immoral State](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immoral-state-5769737/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Objects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objects/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Weapons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weapons/) ## Related quotes > [Government is essentially immoral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/government-is-essentially-immoral/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [You're so earnest about morality that I hate to think how essentially immoral you must be underneath.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/you-re-so-earnest-about-morality-that-i-hate-to-think-how-essentially/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [“As regards the social apparatus of repression and coercion, the government, there cannot be any question of freedom. 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Whatever in the long run and with regard to the greater number of instances men find to be generally inexpedient comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/immoral-adj-inexpedient-whatever-in-the-long-run-and-with-regard-to/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-books-that-the-world-calls-immoral-are-the-books-that-show-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## More by Herbert Spencer > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [No physiologist who calmly considers the question in connection with the general truths of his science, can long resist the conviction that different parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/no-physiologist-who-calmly-considers-the-question-in-connection-with/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Any piece of knowledge which the pupil has himself acquired- any problem which he has himself solved, becomes, by virtue of the conquest, much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/any-piece-of-knowledge-which-the-pupil-has-himself-acquired-any/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Conservatism defends those coercive arrangements which a still-lingering savageness makes requisite. 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