--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By far the most numerous and most…" description: "\"By far the most numerous and most flagrant violations of personal liberty and individual rights are performed by governments... The major crimes throug..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3f/john-hospers-30604_acting_by-far-the-most-numerous-and-most-flagra_775944.jpg" --- # By far the most numerous and most flagrant violations of… ![“By far the most numerous and most flagrant violations of personal liberty and individual rights are performed by governments... The major crimes throughout history, the ones executed on the largest scale, have been committed not by individuals or bands of individuals but by governments, as a…” quote by John Hospers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3f/john-hospers-30604_acting_by-far-the-most-numerous-and-most-flagra_775944.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3f/john-hospers-30604_acting_by-far-the-most-numerous-and-most-flagra_775944.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3f/john-hospers-30604_acting_by-far-the-most-numerous-and-most-flagra_775944.jpg) > “By far the most numerous and most flagrant violations of personal liberty and individual rights are performed by governments... The major crimes throughout history, the ones executed on the largest scale, have been committed not by individuals or bands of individuals but by governments, as a deliberate policy of those governments-that is, by the official representatives of governments, acting in their official capacity.” [John Hospers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hospers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Governments, not individuals, have historically committed the largest-scale violations of personal liberty through official policies and actions. **In simple terms:** Governments are responsible for major, systematic rights violations. Key Takeaway Stay vigilant of state power and support accountability measures. Themes politics human rights governmental abuse history Mood critical concerned Type political ethical When to use this quote - civic activism - legal reform - human rights monitoring - educational outreach Key Concepts state authority policy impact systemic oppression Questions to Reflect On - What mechanisms can limit governmental overreach? - How can citizens promote transparent governance? A Different Perspective Not all governments act uniformly; some protect liberties effectively. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acting/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Deliberate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deliberate/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Individual rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual-rights/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Libertarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/libertarian/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Personal liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-liberty/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Representatives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/representatives/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Violation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violation/) ## Related quotes > [The best type of government comes from a government that is scrutinized by the people when they have true information about our governments, major…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/the-best-type-of-government-comes-from-a-government-that-is/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [Ultimately, there is no entity called 'government'; there are only people forming themselves into groups called 'governments' and acting in a 'governmental' manner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/ultimately-there-is-no-entity-called-government-there-are-only-people/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [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/) > [“if we believe that murder is wrong and not admissible in our society, then it has to be wrong for everyone, not just individuals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-prejean/if-we-believe-that-murder-is-wrong-and-not-admissible-in-our-society/) [Helen Prejean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-prejean/) > [That's the difference between governments and individuals. 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What you need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/if-you-care-about-your-personal-liberty-you-ll-be-cautious-when-you/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [“The ethic of autonomy is based on the idea that people are, first and foremost, autonomous individuals with wants, needs, and preferences. 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We have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hospers/a-fascist-is-a-student-who-seeing-the-representatives-of-a-chemical/) [John Hospers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hospers/) > [“A fascist is anyone who, seeing a man working hard and earning money, says, "He's getting more than we are, let's pass”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hospers/a-fascist-is-anyone-who-seeing-a-man-working-hard-and-earning-money/) [John Hospers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hospers/) > [“The nearest approach to a libertarian government was the government of the United States at the time of its inception.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hospers/the-nearest-approach-to-a-libertarian-government-was-the-government/) [John Hospers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hospers/) > [The greater the hold of government upon the life of the individual citizen, the greater the risk of war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hospers/the-greater-the-hold-of-government-upon-the-life-of-the-individual/) [John Hospers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hospers/) > [An economy cannot long remain prosperous by government's taxing and spending more, now absorbing national output at a rate equal to the entire income…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hospers/an-economy-cannot-long-remain-prosperous-by-government-s-taxing-and/) [John Hospers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hospers/) > [“Beware: the Government Is Armed and Dangerous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hospers/beware-the-government-is-armed-and-dangerous/) [John Hospers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hospers/) > [...More than almost any current book, DTU will wake the reader from his dogmatic slumbers. It is eminently readable, challenging, and provocative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hospers/more-than-almost-any-current-book-dtu-will-wake-the-reader-from-his/) [John Hospers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hospers/) > [“Should an individual or a government use force at all, even in retaliation? Clearly yes; complete pacifism is self-defeating.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hospers/should-an-individual-or-a-government-use-force-at-all-even-in/) [John Hospers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hospers/) > [Whether or not we have personality disturbances, whether or not we have the ability to overcome deficiencies of early environment, is like the answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hospers/whether-or-not-we-have-personality-disturbances-whether-or-not-we/) [John Hospers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hospers/) > [“A fascist is anyone who, seeing a man working hard and earning money, says, "He's getting more than we are, let's pass a law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hospers/a-fascist-is-anyone-who-seeing-a-man-working-hard-and-earning-money-2/) [John Hospers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hospers/) > [“Democracy is essentially government by the majority, and a majority may be stupid, unenlightened, foolish, misled, and corrupt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hospers/democracy-is-essentially-government-by-the-majority-and-a-majority/) [John Hospers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hospers/) > [“The tyranny of a majority can be just as cruel as the tyranny of a single dictator, depending on the degree of enlightenment or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hospers/the-tyranny-of-a-majority-can-be-just-as-cruel-as-the-tyranny-of-a/) [John Hospers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hospers/) > [“Do you want to have free medical care at the expense of other people, whether they wish to provide it or not? But this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hospers/do-you-want-to-have-free-medical-care-at-the-expense-of-other-people/) [John Hospers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hospers/) > [ Undertaking initially to protect its citizens against aggression, \[government\] has often itself become … a far greater aggressor. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hospers/undertaking-initially-to-protect-its-citizens-against-aggression/) [John Hospers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hospers/) > [“The only government tolerated by libertarians is one that exercises only retaliatory use of force on anyone who initiates the use of force against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hospers/the-only-government-tolerated-by-libertarians-is-one-that-exercises/) [John Hospers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hospers/) [Explore all 17 John Hospers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hospers/) ## More Acting quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. 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