--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every law is an infraction of liberty." description: "\"Every law is an infraction of liberty.\" — Jeremy Bentham" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/862/jeremy-bentham-7785_freedom_every-law-is-an-infraction-of-liberty-73_73178.jpg" --- # Every law is an infraction of liberty. ![“Every law is an infraction of liberty.” quote by Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/862/jeremy-bentham-7785_freedom_every-law-is-an-infraction-of-liberty-73_73178.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/862/jeremy-bentham-7785_freedom_every-law-is-an-infraction-of-liberty-73_73178.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/862/jeremy-bentham-7785_freedom_every-law-is-an-infraction-of-liberty-73_73178.jpg) > “Every law is an infraction of liberty.” [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Law inherently restricts individual freedom, implying that any legal rule curtails liberty to some degree. **In simple terms:** Laws limit freedom. Key Takeaway Legal constraints reduce liberty. Themes politics philosophy law freedom individualism Mood critical reflective Type aphorism political When to use this quote - legislative debates - civil disobedience - policy analysis - human rights advocacy Key Concepts social contract state authority civil rights Practical Applications - legal reform - civic education Questions to Reflect On - Does law always diminish liberty? - Can liberty exist without law? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Infraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infraction-349252/) [Infraction Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infraction-liberty-954594/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Law Infraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law-infraction-954595/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) ## Related quotes > [It is with government as with medicine, its only business is the choice of evils. Every law is an evil, for every law is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/it-is-with-government-as-with-medicine-its-only-business-is-the/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [“Any law too often subject to infraction is bad; it is the duty of the legislator to repeal or to change it, lest the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-yourcenar/any-law-too-often-subject-to-infraction-is-bad-it-is-the-duty-of-the/) [Marguerite Yourcenar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-yourcenar/) > [“Sometimes we break people's trust accidentally. An infraction such as not returning a phone call, missing a deadline, being late for an appointment, divulging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/sometimes-we-break-people-s-trust-accidentally-an-infraction-such-as/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [You could adjust the punishment to fit the infraction. Even a small fine would be enough to bring an errant government to heel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/you-could-adjust-the-punishment-to-fit-the-infraction-even-a-small/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [Skipping school isn't a crime. It's an infraction. They're totally different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/skipping-school-isn-t-a-crime-it-s-an-infraction-they-re-totally/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [The liberty of a people consists in being governed by laws which they have made themselves, under whatsoever form it be of government; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-cowley/the-liberty-of-a-people-consists-in-being-governed-by-laws-which-they/) [Abraham Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-cowley/) > [As long as I have any choice in the matter, I shall live only in a country where civil liberty, tolerance and equality of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/as-long-as-i-have-any-choice-in-the-matter-i-shall-live-only-in-a/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The law is the collective organization of the individual's right to lawful defense of his life, liberty and property. When it is used for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-law-is-the-collective-organization-of-the-individual-s-right-to/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [I'm a principle liberty, rule-of-law Conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-o-toole/i-m-a-principle-liberty-rule-of-law-conservative/) [Erin O'Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-o-toole/) > [In relations between the rich and the strong, between the rich and the poor, between the master and the servant, it's liberty that grinds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-relations-between-the-rich-and-the-strong-between-the-rich-and-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The law of England has established trial by judge and jury in the conviction that it is the mode best calculated to ascertain the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/the-law-of-england-has-established-trial-by-judge-and-jury-in-the/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [Sometimes the law defends plunder and participates in it. Sometimes the law places the whole apparatus of judges, police, prisons and gendarmes at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/sometimes-the-law-defends-plunder-and-participates-in-it-sometimes/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [Kings or parliaments could not give the rights essential to happiness... We claim them from a higher source - from the King of kings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dickinson/kings-or-parliaments-could-not-give-the-rights-essential-to-happiness/) [John Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dickinson/) > [The law, unfortunately, has always been retained on the side of power; laws have uniformly been enacted for the protection and perpetuation of power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cooper/the-law-unfortunately-has-always-been-retained-on-the-side-of-power/) [Thomas Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cooper/) > [Laws that forbid the carrying of arms . . . disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/laws-that-forbid-the-carrying-of-arms-disarm-only-those-who-are/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## More by Jeremy Bentham > [All poetry is misrepresentation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/all-poetry-is-misrepresentation/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [The law of England has established trial by judge and jury in the conviction that it is the mode best calculated to ascertain the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/the-law-of-england-has-established-trial-by-judge-and-jury-in-the/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [Prose is when all the lines except the last go on to the end. Poetry is when some of them fall short of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/prose-is-when-all-the-lines-except-the-last-go-on-to-the-end-poetry/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [O Logic: born gatekeeper to the Temple of Science, victim of capricious destiny: doomed hitherto to be the drudge of pedants: come to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/o-logic-born-gatekeeper-to-the-temple-of-science-victim-of-capricious/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [Stretching his hand up to reach the stars, too often man forgets the flowers at his feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/stretching-his-hand-up-to-reach-the-stars-too-often-man-forgets-the/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [The principle of asceticism never was, nor ever can be, consistently pursued by any living creature. 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Antipathy, therefore,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/for-the-same-sentiment-of-antipathy-if-implicitly-deferred-to-may-be/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [If Christianity needed an Anti-Christ, they needed look no farther than Paul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/if-christianity-needed-an-anti-christ-they-needed-look-no-farther/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [Without publicity, no good is permanent; under the auspices of publicity, no evil can continue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/without-publicity-no-good-is-permanent-under-the-auspices-of/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [All punishment is mischief; all punishment in itself is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/all-punishment-is-mischief-all-punishment-in-itself-is-evil/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/nature-has-placed-mankind-under-the-governance-of-two-sovereign/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) [Explore all 87 Jeremy Bentham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) ## More Freedom quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. 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