--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Once the state is looked upon as the…" description: "\"Once the state is looked upon as the source of rights, rather than their bound protector, freedom becomes conditional on the pleasure of the state.\" — ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/424/mary-mccarthy-2691_bounds_once-the-state-is-looked-upon-as-the-sou_2463610.png" --- # Once the state is looked upon as the source of rights… ![“Once the state is looked upon as the source of rights, rather than their bound protector, freedom becomes conditional on the pleasure of the state.” quote by Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/424/mary-mccarthy-2691_bounds_once-the-state-is-looked-upon-as-the-sou_2463610.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/424/mary-mccarthy-2691_bounds_once-the-state-is-looked-upon-as-the-sou_2463610.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/424/mary-mccarthy-2691_bounds_once-the-state-is-looked-upon-as-the-sou_2463610.png) > “Once the state is looked upon as the source of rights, rather than their bound protector, freedom becomes conditional on the pleasure of the state.” [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When the state is seen as the source of rights, freedom depends on state pleasure, making it conditional. **In simple terms:** State as rights source makes freedom conditional. Key Takeaway Question authority’s role in rights. Themes politics philosophy freedom Mood critical thought‑provoking Type philosophical political When to use this quote - Legal reform - civil rights activism - public policy Key Concepts Social contract state legitimacy Questions to Reflect On - How does this view affect civil liberties? - Can rights be truly independent? A Different Perspective Complex interplay of rights and power. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bounds/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Protector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protector/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) ## Related quotes > [ Music \[is\] a science peculiarly productive of a pleasure that no state of life, publick or private, secular or sacred; no difference of age… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-pepys/music-is-a-science-peculiarly-productive-of-a-pleasure-that-no-state/) [Samuel Pepys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-pepys/) > [For pleasure is a state of soul, and to each man that which he is said to be a lover of is pleasant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/for-pleasure-is-a-state-of-soul-and-to-each-man-that-which-he-is-said/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The whole pleasure of being in a state of unknowing is that as long as you don’t know, all possible outcomes feel as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/the-whole-pleasure-of-being-in-a-state-of-unknowing-is-that-as-long/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Devotion means your involvement with life is no more conditional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaggi-vasudev/devotion-means-your-involvement-with-life-is-no-more-conditional/) [Jaggi Vasudev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaggi-vasudev/) > [All love is conditional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-love-is-conditional/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Computer mediation seems to bathe action in a more conditional light: perhaps it happened; perhaps it didn't. Without the layeredrichness of direct sensory engagement,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shoshana-zuboff/computer-mediation-seems-to-bathe-action-in-a-more-conditional-light/) [Shoshana Zuboff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shoshana-zuboff/) > [A relationship is an imaginative act, it's an act of creation. Someone said to me the other day that a relationship between a person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keanu-reeves/a-relationship-is-an-imaginative-act-it-s-an-act-of-creation-someone/) [Keanu Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keanu-reeves/) > [Victorian feminists made the mistake of making membership of the sisterhood conditional on signing up to a particular policy agenda. Marxist feminists made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/victorian-feminists-made-the-mistake-of-making-membership-of-the/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [A money-lender--he serves you in the present tense; he lends you in the conditional mood; keeps you in the conjunctive; and ruins you in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/a-money-lender-he-serves-you-in-the-present-tense-he-lends-you-in-the/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“How did you deal with it? How do you stop loving someone?” “The Creator didn’t make love conditional,” Jona said. “Love is what makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-v-brett/how-did-you-deal-with-it-how-do-you-stop-loving-someone-the-creator/) [Peter V. Brett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-v-brett/) > [It would be really nice to be able to put out releases that wouldn't be conditional upon an album format, and just put out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-greenwood/it-would-be-really-nice-to-be-able-to-put-out-releases-that-wouldn-t/) [Colin Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-greenwood/) > [And the reason is found in the first lie - the lie which you hold as the truth about God - that God cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/and-the-reason-is-found-in-the-first-lie-the-lie-which-you-hold-as/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [Integrity is not a conditional word. It doesn't blow in the wind or change with the weather. It is your inner image of yourself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald-2/integrity-is-not-a-conditional-word-it-doesn-t-blow-in-the-wind-or/) John D MacDonald > [If my love is without sacrifice, it is selfish. Such a love is barter, for there is exchange of love and devotion in return…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-my-love-is-without-sacrifice-it-is-selfish-such-a-love-is-barter/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The thing about science fiction is that it's totally wide open. But it's wide open in a conditional way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/the-thing-about-science-fiction-is-that-it-s-totally-wide-open-but-it/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) ## More by Mary McCarthy > [From what I have seen, I am driven to the conclusion that religion is only good for good people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/from-what-i-have-seen-i-am-driven-to-the-conclusion-that-religion-is/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [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/) > [Yet friendship, I believe, is essential to intellectuals. It is probably the growth hormone the mind requires as it begins its activity of producing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/yet-friendship-i-believe-is-essential-to-intellectuals-it-is-probably/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [Any sizeable Portuguese town looks like a superstitious bride's finery - something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/any-sizeable-portuguese-town-looks-like-a-superstitious-bride-s/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [The desire to believe the best of people is a prerequisite for intercourse with strangers; suspicion is reserved for friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/the-desire-to-believe-the-best-of-people-is-a-prerequisite-for/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [ “She considered \[her\] life, which had not been a life but only a sort of greeting, a Hello There.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/she-considered-her-life-which-had-not-been-a-life-but-only-a-sort-of/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [America is indeed a revelation, though not quite the one that was planned. Given a clean slate, man, it was hoped, would write the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/america-is-indeed-a-revelation-though-not-quite-the-one-that-was/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [The happy ending is our national belief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/the-happy-ending-is-our-national-belief/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [Making love, we are all more alike than we are when we are talking or acting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/making-love-we-are-all-more-alike-than-we-are-when-we-are-talking-or/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [... in America ... children are instructed in the virtues of the system they live under, as though history had achieved a happy ending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/in-america-children-are-instructed-in-the-virtues-of-the-system-they/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [The only form of action open to a child is to break something or strike someone, its mother or another child; it cannot cause…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/the-only-form-of-action-open-to-a-child-is-to-break-something-or/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [Combativeness was, I suppose, the dominant trait in my grandmother's nature. An aggressive churchgoer, she was quite without Christian feeling; the mercy of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/combativeness-was-i-suppose-the-dominant-trait-in-my-grandmother-s/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [I'm afraid I'm not sufficiently inhibited about the things that other women are inhibited about for me. They feel that you've given away trade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/i-m-afraid-i-m-not-sufficiently-inhibited-about-the-things-that-other/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [Be truthful... and pay attention. I would also recommend the avoidance of credit cards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/be-truthful-and-pay-attention-i-would-also-recommend-the-avoidance-of/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [All ideas advanced to deal with the Florentine noise problem, the Florentine traffic problem, are Utopian, and nobody believes in them, just as nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/all-ideas-advanced-to-deal-with-the-florentine-noise-problem-the/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) [Explore all 154 Mary McCarthy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) ## More Bounds quotes > [Man will not always stay on Earth; the pursuit of light and space will lead him to penetrate the bounds of the atmosphere, timidly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/man-will-not-always-stay-on-earth-the-pursuit-of-light-and-space-will/) [Konstantin Tsiolkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/) > [Importunity is a condition of prayer. We are to press the matter, not with vain repetitions, but with urgent repetitions. We repeat, not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-mckendree-bounds/importunity-is-a-condition-of-prayer-we-are-to-press-the-matter-not/) [Edward McKendree Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-mckendree-bounds/) > [If the civil magistrate be a Christian, a disciple or follower of the meek Lamb of God, he is bound to be far from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-williams/if-the-civil-magistrate-be-a-christian-a-disciple-or-follower-of-the/) [Roger Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-williams/) > [We have committed ourselves to pursue joint policies, but then national governments say, "We aren't bound by that." That is a dramatic situation, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/we-have-committed-ourselves-to-pursue-joint-policies-but-then/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [The World's a Printing-House, our words, our thoughts, Our deeds, are characters of several sizes. Each soul is a Compos'tor, of whose faults The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/the-world-s-a-printing-house-our-words-our-thoughts-our-deeds-are/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [Christian obligation cannot be made to accord with a law of expediency. The Christian's maxims are, Do right because you are bound to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-landey-patton/christian-obligation-cannot-be-made-to-accord-with-a-law-of/) Francis Landey Patton > [Such as the chain of causes we call Fate, such is the chain of wishes: one links on to another; the whole man is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/such-as-the-chain-of-causes-we-call-fate-such-is-the-chain-of-wishes/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > ['You spin in the sky, the world spins under you, and you step from land to land, while we . . .' She turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/you-spin-in-the-sky-the-world-spins-under-you-and-you-step-from-land/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > ['Facts' are the bounds of human knowledge, set for it, not by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/facts-are-the-bounds-of-human-knowledge-set-for-it-not-by-it/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [An order given in battle, an instruction issued by the master of a sailing ship, a cry for help, are as powerful in modifying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bronislaw-malinowski/an-order-given-in-battle-an-instruction-issued-by-the-master-of-a/) [Bronislaw Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bronislaw-malinowski/) > [It is only when our life proceeds within bounds and in an accepted, disciplined way, that the mind can be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinoba-bhave/it-is-only-when-our-life-proceeds-within-bounds-and-in-an-accepted/) [Vinoba Bhave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinoba-bhave/) > [Yes, thou art ever present, power divine; not circumscribed by time, nor fixed by space, confined to altars, nor to temples bound. In wealth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/yes-thou-art-ever-present-power-divine-not-circumscribed-by-time-nor/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [I have visited sweatshops, factories, and crowded slums. If I could not see it, I could smell it. The foundation of society is laid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/i-have-visited-sweatshops-factories-and-crowded-slums-if-i-could-not/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [Once we are bound together to our brothers by a common good that is outside us, then we can breathe. Experience teaches us that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/once-we-are-bound-together-to-our-brothers-by-a-common-good-that-is/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [I am quite conscious that my speculations run beyond the bounds of true science…It is a mere rag of an hypothesis with as many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-am-quite-conscious-that-my-speculations-run-beyond-the-bounds-of/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) [Browse all 1,649 Bounds quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bounds/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Once the state is looked upon as the source of rights, rather than their bound protector, freedom becomes conditional on the pleasure of the state.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary McCarthy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/once-the-state-is-looked-upon-as-the-source-of-rights-rather-than/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bounds" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/once-the-state-is-looked-upon-as-the-source-of-rights-rather-than/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/424/mary-mccarthy-2691_bounds_once-the-state-is-looked-upon-as-the-sou_2463610.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/424/mary-mccarthy-2691_bounds_once-the-state-is-looked-upon-as-the-sou_2463610.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/424/mary-mccarthy-2691_bounds_once-the-state-is-looked-upon-as-the-sou_2463610.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Once the state is looked upon as the source of rights, rather than their bound protector, freedom becomes…” — Mary McCarthy", "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": "Mary McCarthy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Once the state is looked upon...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/once-the-state-is-looked-upon-as-the-source-of-rights-rather-than/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/once-the-state-is-looked-upon-as-the-source-of-rights-rather-than/#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 } } ] } ```