--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There can be no such thing as \"limited…" description: "\"There can be no such thing as \"limited government,\" because there is no way to control an entity that in principle enjoys a monopoly of power...\" — Jos..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49b/joseph-sobran-6902_anarchy_there-can-be-no-such-thing-as-limited-go_2732328.jpg" --- # There can be no such thing as "limited government,"… ![“There can be no such thing as "limited government," because there is no way to control an entity that in principle enjoys a monopoly of power...” quote by Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49b/joseph-sobran-6902_anarchy_there-can-be-no-such-thing-as-limited-go_2732328.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49b/joseph-sobran-6902_anarchy_there-can-be-no-such-thing-as-limited-go_2732328.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49b/joseph-sobran-6902_anarchy_there-can-be-no-such-thing-as-limited-go_2732328.jpg) > “There can be no such thing as "limited government," because there is no way to control an entity that in principle enjoys a monopoly of power...” [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author argues that “limited government” is impossible because power monopolies cannot be controlled. **In simple terms:** Limited government cannot truly exist. Key Takeaway Question the feasibility of limiting power. Themes politics power government Mood critical skeptical Type essay political When to use this quote - policy debate - activism - institutional critique Key Concepts anarchism political theory Questions to Reflect On - What checks can truly limit power? - Is some central authority necessary? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchy/) [Enjoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enjoy/) [Entity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entity/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Limited](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limited/) [Limited government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limited-government/) [Monopoly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monopoly/) [Monopoly power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monopoly-power/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Thing Limited](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-limited-2964685/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [The best thing about being me...I'm a limited edition...there are no other copies!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/the-best-thing-about-being-me-i-m-a-limited-edition-there-are-no/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [All rent is based on the monopoly power of private owners of certain portions of the globe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harvey/all-rent-is-based-on-the-monopoly-power-of-private-owners-of-certain/) [David Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harvey/) > [The truth of art consists in its power to break the monopoly that those in power exercise by defining what is real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-donoghue/the-truth-of-art-consists-in-its-power-to-break-the-monopoly-that/) [Denis Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-donoghue/) > [I'm not suggesting that social scientists stop teaching and investigating classic topics like monopoly power, racial profiling and health inequality. But everyone knows that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-a-christakis/i-m-not-suggesting-that-social-scientists-stop-teaching-and/) [Nicholas A. Christakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-a-christakis/) > [Comedians have a tendency to have a limited range, they tend to do one thing and do it very well, but it's limited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/comedians-have-a-tendency-to-have-a-limited-range-they-tend-to-do-one/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [I think people are confused about what the Tea Party is. I mean, they were a broad cross-section of Americans who came together concerned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-demint/i-think-people-are-confused-about-what-the-tea-party-is-i-mean-they/) [Jim DeMint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-demint/) > [Because of my upbringing, I believe in things like limited government, fiscal responsibility and personal accountability. I believe in the wisdom of our founders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thune/because-of-my-upbringing-i-believe-in-things-like-limited-government/) [John Thune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thune/) > [Limited government, low taxes, controlled spending and debt, and a restrained regulatory environment make Texas work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/limited-government-low-taxes-controlled-spending-and-debt-and-a/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [We believe in liberty, we believe in limited government, we believe in free enterprise, we believe in family values and the sanctity of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-bills/we-believe-in-liberty-we-believe-in-limited-government-we-believe-in/) [Kurt Bills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-bills/) > [They're lots of good Americans here in New York who have common sense and who believe in free markets and free people and limited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-re-lots-of-good-americans-here-in-new-york-who-have-common-sense/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am a limited-government libertarian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/i-am-a-limited-government-libertarian/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [I am fighting vigorously for less spending, less waste and limited government. I strongly believe that the more government grows, the less freedom Americans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-royce/i-am-fighting-vigorously-for-less-spending-less-waste-and-limited/) [Ed Royce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-royce/) > [You know, Republicans should have a consistent philosophy. And if your philosophy is about limited government and not intruding in people's lives, you shouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/you-know-republicans-should-have-a-consistent-philosophy-and-if-your/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [Limited government is best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-prince/limited-government-is-best/) [Erik Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-prince/) > [The left loves the courts. They hate constitutional limited government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-bongino/the-left-loves-the-courts-they-hate-constitutional-limited-government/) [Dan Bongino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-bongino/) ## More by Joseph Sobran > [Government is the agent of those who are too refined to do their own mugging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/government-is-the-agent-of-those-who-are-too-refined-to-do-their-own/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [Liberalism's fatal flaw,... is that it has no permanent norms, only a succession of enthusiasms espoused by minor prophets. Each of these seems like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/liberalism-s-fatal-flaw-is-that-it-has-no-permanent-norms-only-a/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [Altering the Constitution has become the daily business of the Federal Government which the document is supposed to guide and limit. Both Congress and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/altering-the-constitution-has-become-the-daily-business-of-the/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [The prevailing notion is that the state should be neutral as to religion, and furthermore, that the best way to be neutral about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/the-prevailing-notion-is-that-the-state-should-be-neutral-as-to/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [Controlling the interpretation of the Constitution is vital to the leftist agenda of expanding the federal government's power. That means keeping the federal judiciary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/controlling-the-interpretation-of-the-constitution-is-vital-to-the/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [Government has ceased to mean upholding and reinforcing the traditional rights and morals of the governed; it now means compulsion in the service of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/government-has-ceased-to-mean-upholding-and-reinforcing-the/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [The chances of your being harmed by terrorists are mathematically minute. The chance of your being robbed by your own government? That's easy: 100…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/the-chances-of-your-being-harmed-by-terrorists-are-mathematically/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [Liberals have a new wish every time their latest wish is granted. Conservatives should make them spell out their principles and ideals. Instead of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/liberals-have-a-new-wish-every-time-their-latest-wish-is-granted/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [Politics is the conspiracy of the unproductive but organized against the productive but unorganized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/politics-is-the-conspiracy-of-the-unproductive-but-organized-against/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [ ...\[T\]he Constitution conferred only a few specific powers on the federal government, all others being denied to it (as the Tenth Amendment would make… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/t-he-constitution-conferred-only-a-few-specific-powers-on-the-federal/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [ ...\[T\]oday's Washington is about as attentive to the Tenth Amendment as the Unitarian Church is to the Book of Revelation. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/t-oday-s-washington-is-about-as-attentive-to-the-tenth-amendment-as/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [I call the present system 'Post-Constitutional America.' As I sometimes put it, the U.S. Constitution poses no serious threat to our form of government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/i-call-the-present-system-post-constitutional-america-as-i-sometimes/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [Most Americans aren't the sort of citizens the Founding Fathers expected; they are contented serfs. Far from being active critics of government, they assume…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/most-americans-aren-t-the-sort-of-citizens-the-founding-fathers/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [Because the state can no longer protect us from crime, it wants to take away from us the means of protecting ourselves. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/because-the-state-can-no-longer-protect-us-from-crime-it-wants-to/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [Some people don't mind a little constitutional sophistry in a good cause; and for liberals, centralizing all power in the federal government is always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/some-people-don-t-mind-a-little-constitutional-sophistry-in-a-good/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) [Explore all 96 Joseph Sobran quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) ## More Anarchy quotes > [I'm in a business where there's complete anarchy. You can't control it - you can only react to it. The control that people traditionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sorrell/i-m-in-a-business-where-there-s-complete-anarchy-you-can-t-control-it/) [Martin Sorrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sorrell/) > [The "health, education, and welfare" section of government is another boondoggle. First we manufacture indigent and superfluous people by legal monopolies in land, money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurance-labadie/the-health-education-and-welfare-section-of-government-is-another/) [Laurance Labadie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurance-labadie/) > [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/) > [So far I'm still standing on 'Sons of Anarchy' but all the rest of the people on the show have me in their crosshairs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-pileggi/so-far-i-m-still-standing-on-sons-of-anarchy-but-all-the-rest-of-the/) [Mitch Pileggi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-pileggi/) > [“Anarchy Evolution: Faith, Science and Bad Religion in a World Without God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-graffin/anarchy-evolution-faith-science-and-bad-religion-in-a-world-without/) [Greg Graffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-graffin/) > [Perhaps it is this theory of all work and no play that has made the Marxist such a very dull boy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/perhaps-it-is-this-theory-of-all-work-and-no-play-that-has-made-the/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [Anarchy is the stepping stone to absolute power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/anarchy-is-the-stepping-stone-to-absolute-power/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [In morals as in politics anarchy is not for the weak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/in-morals-as-in-politics-anarchy-is-not-for-the-weak/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [I think that if you run a big company, you've got to, four or five times a year, just say, 'Hey team, look, here's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-immelt/i-think-that-if-you-run-a-big-company-you-ve-got-to-four-or-five/) [Jeffrey R. Immelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-immelt/) > [Where you have no religion, you are sure to have no government, for as religion disappears, anarchy takes place and fixes a compleat Hell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-morgan/where-you-have-no-religion-you-are-sure-to-have-no-government-for-as/) [Daniel Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-morgan/) > [What a comfort it is to feel that amid the chaos and anarchy which sweep the surface, God is holding fast the foundations on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-b-meyer/what-a-comfort-it-is-to-feel-that-amid-the-chaos-and-anarchy-which/) [F.B. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-b-meyer/) > [“An anarchist government somehow creates an impression in the hearts of citizens that no one cares.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/an-anarchist-government-somehow-creates-an-impression-in-the-hearts/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Would you like to do something good for the future of the human race; well, start killing some of its powerful members.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-brown/would-you-like-to-do-something-good-for-the-future-of-the-human-race/) [William C. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-brown/) > [“twenty-three years of RFRAs to produce anarchy,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-corvino/twenty-three-years-of-rfras-to-produce-anarchy/) [John Corvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-corvino/) > [Freedom is that faculty that enlarges the usefulness of all other faculties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/freedom-is-that-faculty-that-enlarges-the-usefulness-of-all-other/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) [Browse all 795 Anarchy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There can be no such thing as \"limited government,\" because there is no way to control an entity that in principle enjoys a monopoly of power...", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joseph Sobran" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/there-can-be-no-such-thing-as-limited-government-because-there-is-no/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anarchy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/there-can-be-no-such-thing-as-limited-government-because-there-is-no/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49b/joseph-sobran-6902_anarchy_there-can-be-no-such-thing-as-limited-go_2732328.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49b/joseph-sobran-6902_anarchy_there-can-be-no-such-thing-as-limited-go_2732328.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49b/joseph-sobran-6902_anarchy_there-can-be-no-such-thing-as-limited-go_2732328.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There can be no such thing as \"limited government,\" because there is no way to control an entity that in…” — Joseph Sobran", "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": "Joseph Sobran", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There can be no such thing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/there-can-be-no-such-thing-as-limited-government-because-there-is-no/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/there-can-be-no-such-thing-as-limited-government-because-there-is-no/#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 } } ] } ```