--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's illegal to forcefully take money…" description: "\"“It's illegal to forcefully take money from people unless you're the government. It's illegal to take someone's liberty, unless you're the government. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3c/j-s-b-morse-26965_coercion_it-s-illegal-to-forcefully-take-money-fr_2878212.jpg" --- # It's illegal to forcefully take money from people unless… ![“It's illegal to forcefully take money from people unless you're the government. It's illegal to take someone's liberty, unless you're the government. It's illegal to kill someone, unless you're the government. Private organizations can do everything that government can do except for legally break…” quote by J.S.B. Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3c/j-s-b-morse-26965_coercion_it-s-illegal-to-forcefully-take-money-fr_2878212.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3c/j-s-b-morse-26965_coercion_it-s-illegal-to-forcefully-take-money-fr_2878212.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3c/j-s-b-morse-26965_coercion_it-s-illegal-to-forcefully-take-money-fr_2878212.jpg) > ““It's illegal to forcefully take money from people unless you're the government. It's illegal to take someone's liberty, unless you're the government. It's illegal to kill someone, unless you're the government. Private organizations can do everything that government can do except for legally break the law.”” [J.S.B. Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-s-b-morse/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Government holds exclusive legal authority for coercive actions; private entities cannot legally replicate these powers. **In simple terms:** Only governments can legally enforce laws. Key Takeaway Respect legal boundaries. Themes law government authority Mood critical analytical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - policy analysis - legal studies - civic education Key Concepts political theory ethics Questions to Reflect On - What limits should governments have? - Can private groups ever be truly accountable? A Different Perspective Some argue private power can bypass laws via influence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Coercion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coercion/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Human rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-rights/) [Libertarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/libertarian/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Unalienable rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unalienable-rights/) ## Related quotes > [The Supreme Court must strike down the government's illegal spying program as a violation of our Fourth Amendment right to privacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/the-supreme-court-must-strike-down-the-government-s-illegal-spying/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [America is governed by rules of law, and those are not ones that the President of the United States or anybody else can just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/america-is-governed-by-rules-of-law-and-those-are-not-ones-that-the/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Tyranny is defined as that which is legal for the government but illegal for the citizenry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/tyranny-is-defined-as-that-which-is-legal-for-the-government-but/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [My constituents work hard, pay taxes and expect the government to put them, not illegal immigrants, first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-malliotakis/my-constituents-work-hard-pay-taxes-and-expect-the-government-to-put/) [Nicole Malliotakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-malliotakis/) > [“Harming one’s unalienable rights in order to serve justice is injustice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-s-b-morse/harming-one-s-unalienable-rights-in-order-to-serve-justice-is/) [J.S.B. Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-s-b-morse/) > [“True unalienable rights do not require one to trample other unalienable rights.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-s-b-morse/true-unalienable-rights-do-not-require-one-to-trample-other/) [J.S.B. Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-s-b-morse/) > [That these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-henry-lee/that-these-united-colonies-are-and-of-right-ought-to-be-free-and/) [Richard Henry Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-henry-lee/) > [Democracies have been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and in general been as short in their lives as they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/democracies-have-been-found-incompatible-with-personal-security-or/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/a-well-regulated-militia-being-necessary-to-the-security-of-a-free/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [The right of parents to direct the upbringing of their children is among the unalienable rights with which the Declaration of Independence proclaims all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/the-right-of-parents-to-direct-the-upbringing-of-their-children-is/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [Democracies have been, and governments called, free; but the spirit of independence and the consciousness of unalienable rights, were never before transfused into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-josepha-hale/democracies-have-been-and-governments-called-free-but-the-spirit-of/) [Sarah Josepha Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-josepha-hale/) > [“The “pursuit of happiness” is such a key element of the “American (ideological) dream” that one tends to forget the contingent origin of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/the-pursuit-of-happiness-is-such-a-key-element-of-the-american/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [The American founding is not just about a group of people, a group of men. It is about an ideal: Both a vision and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kengor/the-american-founding-is-not-just-about-a-group-of-people-a-group-of/) [Paul Kengor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kengor/) > [It is evident that the right of acquiring and possessing property, and having it protected, is one of the natural, inherent, and unalienable rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-paterson/it-is-evident-that-the-right-of-acquiring-and-possessing-property-and/) [William Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-paterson/) > [“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/we-hold-these-truths-to-be-self-evident-that-all-men-are-created/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## More by J.S.B. Morse > [“People aren't crazy, they’re just reacting normally to an abnormally crazy world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-s-b-morse/people-aren-t-crazy-they-re-just-reacting-normally-to-an-abnormally/) [J.S.B. Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-s-b-morse/) > [“The most purely free decision one can make—and thus, the highest order of spirit on Earth—is believing in something without evidential knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-s-b-morse/the-most-purely-free-decision-one-can-make-and-thus-the-highest-order/) [J.S.B. Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-s-b-morse/) > [“It seems the more we know, the less we believe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-s-b-morse/it-seems-the-more-we-know-the-less-we-believe/) [J.S.B. Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-s-b-morse/) > [“When people start talking about Right and Left, they stop talking about right and wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-s-b-morse/when-people-start-talking-about-right-and-left-they-stop-talking/) [J.S.B. Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-s-b-morse/) > [“That’s life. It’s a series of knock-down, drag-out fights with yourself and others that will leave you lying on the ground bruised and bloody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-s-b-morse/that-s-life-it-s-a-series-of-knock-down-drag-out-fights-with-yourself/) [J.S.B. Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-s-b-morse/) > [“Ironically, the only people anyone believes these days are the skeptics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-s-b-morse/ironically-the-only-people-anyone-believes-these-days-are-the-skeptics/) [J.S.B. Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-s-b-morse/) > [“True unalienable rights do not require one to trample other unalienable rights.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-s-b-morse/true-unalienable-rights-do-not-require-one-to-trample-other/) [J.S.B. Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-s-b-morse/) > [“Some people are like singularities. Get close enough and you will be uncontrollably consumed in an infinite attraction and will cease to exist apart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-s-b-morse/some-people-are-like-singularities-get-close-enough-and-you-will-be/) [J.S.B. Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-s-b-morse/) > [“It's a certain tragedy when agony and resentment are all you have left connecting you to someone you once loved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-s-b-morse/it-s-a-certain-tragedy-when-agony-and-resentment-are-all-you-have/) [J.S.B. Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-s-b-morse/) > [“The more laws that are created, the closer we get to lawlessness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-s-b-morse/the-more-laws-that-are-created-the-closer-we-get-to-lawlessness/) [J.S.B. Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-s-b-morse/) > [“Harming one’s unalienable rights in order to serve justice is injustice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-s-b-morse/harming-one-s-unalienable-rights-in-order-to-serve-justice-is/) [J.S.B. Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-s-b-morse/) > [“The choice to believe is yours. It’s the only thing that truly is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-s-b-morse/the-choice-to-believe-is-yours-it-s-the-only-thing-that-truly-is/) [J.S.B. Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-s-b-morse/) > [“A pure heart is superlatively rare and even more attractive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-s-b-morse/a-pure-heart-is-superlatively-rare-and-even-more-attractive/) [J.S.B. Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-s-b-morse/) > [“The only valid faith today is disbelief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-s-b-morse/the-only-valid-faith-today-is-disbelief/) [J.S.B. Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-s-b-morse/) > [“If you spend enough time with someone who doubts you, you can't help but believe them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-s-b-morse/if-you-spend-enough-time-with-someone-who-doubts-you-you-can-t-help/) [J.S.B. Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-s-b-morse/) [Explore all 21 J.S.B. Morse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-s-b-morse/) ## More Coercion quotes > [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [Coercion is the basis of every law in the universe,--human or divine. A law is not law without coercion behind it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/coercion-is-the-basis-of-every-law-in-the-universe-human-or-divine-a/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [“Love is not coercion, and the state is only an agent of coercion. It has no other function and can work no other way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-mcdurmon/love-is-not-coercion-and-the-state-is-only-an-agent-of-coercion-it/) Joel McDurmon > [“Therapy requires a collaborative working relationship in which both partners act on the basis of their implicit confidence in the value and efficacy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lewis-herman/therapy-requires-a-collaborative-working-relationship-in-which-both/) [Judith Lewis Herman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-lewis-herman/) > [The First Amendment exists to protect our religious liberty--to ensure that all Americans are able to seek out worship God with all our hearts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/the-first-amendment-exists-to-protect-our-religious-liberty-to-ensure/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [There’s one thing that’s been 'learned' maybe from Tunisia and Egypt that I think is a mistake. And that is that the existing ruler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-sharp/there-s-one-thing-that-s-been-learned-maybe-from-tunisia-and-egypt/) [Gene Sharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-sharp/) > [Economic freedom is an essential requisite for political freedom. By enabling people to cooperate with one another without coercion or central direction, it reduces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/economic-freedom-is-an-essential-requisite-for-political-freedom-by/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [“Men are moral beings in their untrammelled nature. If constraint and coercion can once be removed they will be happy and if they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/men-are-moral-beings-in-their-untrammelled-nature-if-constraint-and/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) > [“If you require force to promote your ideal, there is something wrong with your ideal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jsb-morse/if-you-require-force-to-promote-your-ideal-there-is-something-wrong/) JSB Morse > [The idea of painless, nonthreatening coercion is an illusion. Fear is the inseparable companion of coercion, and its inescapable consequence. If you think it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holt/the-idea-of-painless-nonthreatening-coercion-is-an-illusion-fear-is/) [John Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holt/) > [To say that we mutually agree to coercion is not to say that we are required to enjoy it, or even to pretend we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/to-say-that-we-mutually-agree-to-coercion-is-not-to-say-that-we-are/) [Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/) > [“There are always a dozen reasons for doing nothing," Ann liked to say--it was a favourite apologia, indeed, for many of her misdemeanours. "There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/there-are-always-a-dozen-reasons-for-doing-nothing-ann-liked-to-say/) [John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [The state is the only institution entitled to apply coercion and compulsion and to inflict harm upon individuals. This tremendous power cannot be abandoned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-state-is-the-only-institution-entitled-to-apply-coercion-and/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [So what is government?... Very simply, it is an agency of coercion. Of course, there are other agencies of coercion - such as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-browne/so-what-is-government-very-simply-it-is-an-agency-of-coercion-of/) [Harry Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-browne/) > [“Coercing attitude drains your strength.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/coercing-attitude-drains-your-strength/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) [Browse all 310 Coercion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coercion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It's illegal to forcefully take money from people unless you're the government. 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