--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A government that can at pleasure accuse…" description: "\"A government that can at pleasure accuse, shoot, and hang men, as traitors, for the one general offence of refusing to surrender themselves and their p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e90/lysander-spooner-3260_arbitrary_a-government-that-can-at-pleasure-accuse_917724.jpg" --- # A government that can at pleasure accuse, shoot, and hang… ![“A government that can at pleasure accuse, shoot, and hang men, as traitors, for the one general offence of refusing to surrender themselves and their property unreservedly to its arbitrary will, can practice any and all special and particular oppressions it pleases.” quote by Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e90/lysander-spooner-3260_arbitrary_a-government-that-can-at-pleasure-accuse_917724.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e90/lysander-spooner-3260_arbitrary_a-government-that-can-at-pleasure-accuse_917724.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e90/lysander-spooner-3260_arbitrary_a-government-that-can-at-pleasure-accuse_917724.jpg) > “A government that can at pleasure accuse, shoot, and hang men, as traitors, for the one general offence of refusing to surrender themselves and their property unreservedly to its arbitrary will, can practice any and all special and particular oppressions it pleases.” [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A government that arbitrarily punishes dissenters can justify any oppression it desires. **In simple terms:** Arbitrary power leads to oppression. Key Takeaway Guard against unchecked authority. Themes freedom government oppression rights Mood cautionary critical Type political legal When to use this quote - political activism - human rights advocacy - legal reform - public policy debates Key Concepts authoritarianism civil liberties legal theory Questions to Reflect On - How can citizens ensure government accountability? - What safeguards protect individual rights? A Different Perspective Power can be abused without transparent checks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arbitrary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arbitrary/) [General Offence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/general-offence-1396155/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Government Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government-pleasure-1396153/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men Traitors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-traitors-1396154/) [Offence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/offence/) [Oppression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppression/) [Particular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particular/) [Please](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/please/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Property](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/property/) [Special](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/special/) [Surrender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surrender/) [Traitor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traitor/) [Traitors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traitors/) [Traitors General](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traitors-general-1396152/) ## Related quotes > [Methink'st thou art a general offence and every man should beat thee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/methink-st-thou-art-a-general-offence-and-every-man-should-beat-thee/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“He must have heard her incorrectly. 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Custom imparts to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/slavery-if-it-can-be-legalized-at-all-can-be-legalized-only-by/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [The greatest of all crimes are the wars that are carried on by governments, to plunder, enslave, and destroy mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/the-greatest-of-all-crimes-are-the-wars-that-are-carried-on-by/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [Those who deny the right of a jury to protect an individual in resisting an unjust law of the government, deny him all defence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/those-who-deny-the-right-of-a-jury-to-protect-an-individual-in/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [I was put into jail as I was going to the shoemaker's to get a shoe which was mended. 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Individuals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/who-are-ever-taxed-individuals-only-who-have-property-that-can-be/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [There can be no criminal intent in resisting injustice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/there-can-be-no-criminal-intent-in-resisting-injustice/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [Practically and commercially speaking, a dollar is not necessarily a specific thing, made of silver, or gold, or any other single metal, or substance.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/practically-and-commercially-speaking-a-dollar-is-not-necessarily-a/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [If the jury have no right to judge of the justice of a law of the government, they plainly can do nothing to protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/if-the-jury-have-no-right-to-judge-of-the-justice-of-a-law-of-the/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [If it be said that the consent of the strongest party in a nation, is all that is necessary to justify the establishment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/if-it-be-said-that-the-consent-of-the-strongest-party-in-a-nation-is/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [In reality there is no such thing as an inflation of prices, relatively to gold. There is such a thing as a depreciated paper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/in-reality-there-is-no-such-thing-as-an-inflation-of-prices/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [And there is no difference, in principle - but only in degree - between political and chattel slavery. The former, no less than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/and-there-is-no-difference-in-principle-but-only-in-degree-between/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [The Constitution has no inherent authority or obligation. 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The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [Not to be offensive, not to be capricious, not to be arbitrary, not to be neurotic, not to be an actor outer, you're just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hurt/not-to-be-offensive-not-to-be-capricious-not-to-be-arbitrary-not-to/) [William Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hurt/) > [I don't concern myself with thinking ahead to the finished product. I focus more specifically on what the character is experiencing. Once you relieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-eisenberg/i-don-t-concern-myself-with-thinking-ahead-to-the-finished-product-i/) [Jesse Eisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-eisenberg/) > [Habit is altogether too arbitrary a master for me to submit to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-kaspar-lavater/habit-is-altogether-too-arbitrary-a-master-for-me-to-submit-to/) [Johann Kaspar Lavater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-kaspar-lavater/) > [I look back, now, and I know that the naming moment, which seemed so insignificant then, which seemed to demand no more than an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/i-look-back-now-and-i-know-that-the-naming-moment-which-seemed-so/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [Police in China can do whatever they want; after 81 days in arbitrary detention you clearly realise that they don't have to obey their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/police-in-china-can-do-whatever-they-want-after-81-days-in-arbitrary/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Contrary to what certain governments say, human rights are universal. 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