--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The right of absolute and irresponsible…" description: "\"The right of absolute and irresponsible dominion is the right of property, and the right of property is the right of absolute, irresponsible dominion. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/lysander-spooner-3260_dominion_the-right-of-absolute-and-irresponsible_1555144.jpg" --- # The right of absolute and irresponsible dominion is the… ![“The right of absolute and irresponsible dominion is the right of property, and the right of property is the right of absolute, irresponsible dominion. The two are identical; the one necessarily implying the other.” quote by Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/lysander-spooner-3260_dominion_the-right-of-absolute-and-irresponsible_1555144.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/lysander-spooner-3260_dominion_the-right-of-absolute-and-irresponsible_1555144.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/lysander-spooner-3260_dominion_the-right-of-absolute-and-irresponsible_1555144.jpg) > “The right of absolute and irresponsible dominion is the right of property, and the right of property is the right of absolute, irresponsible dominion. The two are identical; the one necessarily implying the other.” [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 quote equates absolute, irresponsible control with property rights, suggesting that owning property inherently grants unchecked power. **In simple terms:** Property rights imply total control. Key Takeaway Question the limits of property ownership. Themes property power rights Mood critical thoughtful Type political philosophical When to use this quote - land ownership debates - corporate regulation - environmental policy Key Concepts legal theory political philosophy Questions to Reflect On - Should property be limited? - How do we balance rights and duties? A Different Perspective It ignores societal responsibilities tied to ownership. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dominion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dominion/) [Property](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/property/) ## Related quotes > [We shall fight for a universal dominion of right by such a concert of free peoples as shall bring peace and safety to all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-shall-fight-for-a-universal-dominion-of-right-by-such-a-concert-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I look in a right of property - on the right of individuals, to have and to own, for their own separate and selfish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hodgskin/i-look-in-a-right-of-property-on-the-right-of-individuals-to-have-and/) Thomas Hodgskin > [There is nothing which so generally strikes the imagination, and engages the affections of mankind, as the right of property; or that sole and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blackstone/there-is-nothing-which-so-generally-strikes-the-imagination-and-3/) [William Blackstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blackstone/) > [Any material element or resource which, in order to become of use or value to men, requires the application of human knowledge and effort,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/any-material-element-or-resource-which-in-order-to-become-of-use-or/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [AXIOM. — Property is the Right of Increase claimed by the Proprietor over any thing which he has stamped as his own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/axiom-property-is-the-right-of-increase-claimed-by-the-proprietor/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [Property, the right to enjoy the fruits of one's labor, the right to work, to develop, to exercise one's faculties, according to one's own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/property-the-right-to-enjoy-the-fruits-of-one-s-labor-the-right-to/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [Man has a primary property right to his person and his labor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/man-has-a-primary-property-right-to-his-person-and-his-labor/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Coincident with the right of individual property under the provisions of our Government is the right of individual property. . . . 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When disparities become too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/you-see-it-is-my-passionately-held-belief-that-the-right-to-possess/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) ## More by Lysander Spooner > [Slavery, if it can be legalized at all, can be legalized only by positive legislation. Natural law gives it no aid. 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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It has no authority or obligation at all, unless as a contract between man and man.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/the-constitution-has-no-inherent-authority-or-obligation-it-has-no/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [These so-called governments are in reality only great bands of robbers and murderers, organized, disciplined, and constantly on the alert.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/these-so-called-governments-are-in-reality-only-great-bands-of/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) [Explore all 135 Lysander Spooner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) ## More Dominion quotes > [I would rather excel others in the knowledge of what is excellent than in the extent of my powers and dominion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/i-would-rather-excel-others-in-the-knowledge-of-what-is-excellent/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [Dominion is a spy novel, a love story, and also I hope gives some sense of the difficulties faced by dissidents under any totalitarian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-sansom/dominion-is-a-spy-novel-a-love-story-and-also-i-hope-gives-some-sense/) [C.J. 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The ones that just happen are just roads waiting to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-manful/the-greatest-dangers-you-can-get-into-are-the-ones-you-see-coming-the/) [Melody Manful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-manful/) > [“Together my wife and I are building the kingdom of God, exercising dominion, beating back the weeds of stinky dippers, tending the garden God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul-jr-2/together-my-wife-and-i-are-building-the-kingdom-of-god-exercising/) [R.C. Sproul Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul-jr-2/) > [ The thing that was forfeited in the garden was regained. God gave him \[Adam\] dominion over the works of His hand. God made him… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-g-lake/the-thing-that-was-forfeited-in-the-garden-was-regained-god-gave-him/) [John G. Lake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-g-lake/) > [God in heaven has dominion Over so many events. 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