--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No principle, that is possible to be…" description: "\"No principle, that is possible to be named, can be more self-evidently false than this; or more self-evidently fatal to all political freedom. Yet it t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e39/lysander-spooner-3260_doe_no-principle-that-is-possible-to-be-name_1750767.png" --- # No principle, that is possible to be named, can be more… ![“No principle, that is possible to be named, can be more self-evidently false than this; or more self-evidently fatal to all political freedom. Yet it triumphed in the field, and is now assumed to be established. If it really be established, the number of slaves, instead of having been diminished…” quote by Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e39/lysander-spooner-3260_doe_no-principle-that-is-possible-to-be-name_1750767.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e39/lysander-spooner-3260_doe_no-principle-that-is-possible-to-be-name_1750767.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e39/lysander-spooner-3260_doe_no-principle-that-is-possible-to-be-name_1750767.png) > “No principle, that is possible to be named, can be more self-evidently false than this; or more self-evidently fatal to all political freedom. Yet it triumphed in the field, and is now assumed to be established. If it really be established, the number of slaves, instead of having been diminished by the war, has been greatly increased; for a man, thus subjected to a government that he does not want, is a slave.” [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. The claim that a government can be justified even when it enslaves its citizens is fundamentally false and dangerous to liberty. **In simple terms:** Governments that force obedience create slavery. Key Takeaway Question authority that enslaves. Themes political liberty government legitimacy slavery Mood critical concerned Type philosophical political When to use this quote - voting decisions - public protest - legal challenges - education campaigns Key Concepts social contract authoritarianism civil rights Questions to Reflect On - Is any government truly voluntary? - How can societies balance order and freedom? A Different Perspective It ignores the complexity of consent and collective security. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fields/) [Freedom Triumphed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-triumphed-1603435/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numbers/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-freedom/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Principle Possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principle-possible-1603436/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Slave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave/) [Slaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slaves/) [Slaves Instead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slaves-instead-1603434/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [The greatest task before civilization at present is to make machines what they ought to be, the slaves, instead of the masters of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/havelock-ellis/the-greatest-task-before-civilization-at-present-is-to-make-machines/) [Havelock Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/havelock-ellis/) > [Everywhere that the struggle for national freedom has triumphed, once the authorities agreed, there were military coups d'etat that overthrew their leaders. 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It became, instead, a revolutionary idea that slaves should be freed. 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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. 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