--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The greatest danger to the State is…" description: "\"The greatest danger to the State is independent intellectual criticism.\" — Murray Rothbard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b8/murray-rothbard-1563_criticism_the-greatest-danger-to-the-state-is-inde_663953.jpg" --- # The greatest danger to the State is independent… ![“The greatest danger to the State is independent intellectual criticism.” quote by Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b8/murray-rothbard-1563_criticism_the-greatest-danger-to-the-state-is-inde_663953.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b8/murray-rothbard-1563_criticism_the-greatest-danger-to-the-state-is-inde_663953.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b8/murray-rothbard-1563_criticism_the-greatest-danger-to-the-state-is-inde_663953.jpg) > “The greatest danger to the State is independent intellectual criticism.” [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When individuals freely critique the government, it threatens authoritarian control. **In simple terms:** Free criticism endangers state power. Key Takeaway Encourage open debate. Themes politics freedom criticism Mood critical defiant Type political philosophical When to use this quote - academic forums - journalism - public policy debates - activism Key Concepts libertarianism state power intellectual independence Questions to Reflect On - How can societies protect dissenting voices? - What safeguards prevent abuse of criticism? A Different Perspective If criticism is suppressed, dissent may become underground. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism/) [Danger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/danger/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) ## Related quotes > [I have long been aware that when an independent intellectual stands up to an autocratic state, step one toward freedom is often a step…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-xia/i-have-long-been-aware-that-when-an-independent-intellectual-stands/) Liu Xia > [I would like to attribute my range of interests to being an independent intellectual, but although I'm independent, I'm not sure I qualify as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/i-would-like-to-attribute-my-range-of-interests-to-being-an/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [The best way of learning to be an independent sovereign state is to be an independent sovereign state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/the-best-way-of-learning-to-be-an-independent-sovereign-state-is-to/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [“Danger is a state of mind." Farzad informs me. "Conquer it, and you ride heaven.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cohn/danger-is-a-state-of-mind-farzad-informs-me-conquer-it-and-you-ride/) [Rachel Cohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cohn/) > [“With the growth of civilisation in Europe, and with the revival of letters and of science in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the ethical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-henry-huxley/with-the-growth-of-civilisation-in-europe-and-with-the-revival-of/) [Thomas Henry Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-henry-huxley/) > [He held to the idea that the Jewish people, so often victims of injustice and persecution, should have a state where they could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-sharon/he-held-to-the-idea-that-the-jewish-people-so-often-victims-of/) [Ariel Sharon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-sharon/) > [Musical innovation is full of danger to the State, for when modes of music change, the laws of the State always change with them,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/musical-innovation-is-full-of-danger-to-the-state-for-when-modes-of-2/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Nasr combines in his writing audacious intellectual criticism, deep understanding of Islam... and a commitment to the Western-European contributions to the emancipation of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-arkoun/nasr-combines-in-his-writing-audacious-intellectual-criticism-deep/) Mohammed Arkoun > [“Intellectual criticism will bind Europe together in bonds far closer than those that can be forged by shopman or sentimentalists. It will give us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/intellectual-criticism-will-bind-europe-together-in-bonds-far-closer/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Musical innovation is full of danger to the State, for when modes of music change, the fundamental laws of the State always change with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/musical-innovation-is-full-of-danger-to-the-state-for-when-modes-of/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [New Hampshire is different than Massachusetts. We have - well, we're the Live Free or Die state. We are independent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-shaheen/new-hampshire-is-different-than-massachusetts-we-have-well-we-re-the/) [Jeanne Shaheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-shaheen/) > [Merciless criticism and independent thinking are the two necessary traits of revolutionary thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhagat-singh/merciless-criticism-and-independent-thinking-are-the-two-necessary/) [Bhagat Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhagat-singh/) > [The culture of independent film criticism has totally gone down the drain and this seems to come with the territory of the consumer age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wim-wenders/the-culture-of-independent-film-criticism-has-totally-gone-down-the/) [Wim Wenders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wim-wenders/) > [I was in high school and I had an independent album out, and we kept sending that out, and I was doing shows. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-hilton/i-was-in-high-school-and-i-had-an-independent-album-out-and-we-kept/) [Tyler Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-hilton/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) ## More by Murray Rothbard > [I think one of the most important directions to be pursued in the 'sciences of human action' is to develop a natural-law ethics based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/i-think-one-of-the-most-important-directions-to-be-pursued-in-the/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [Since the State necessarily lives by the compulsory confiscation of private capital, and since its expansion necessarily involves ever-greater incursions on private individuals and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/since-the-state-necessarily-lives-by-the-compulsory-confiscation-of/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [Falling prices through increased production is a wonderful long-run tendency of untrammeled capitalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/falling-prices-through-increased-production-is-a-wonderful-long-run/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [To deprecate human reason by saying that none of us is or can be omniscient is absurd, for it takes an impossible standard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/to-deprecate-human-reason-by-saying-that-none-of-us-is-or-can-be/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [Cops must be unleashed, and allowed to administer instant punishment, subject of course to liability when they are in error.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/cops-must-be-unleashed-and-allowed-to-administer-instant-punishment/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [Subjectivism is not an absolute principle; it is a necessary but not sufficient condition for sound methodology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/subjectivism-is-not-an-absolute-principle-it-is-a-necessary-but-not/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [We must therefore turn to history for enlightenment; here we find that none of the proclaimed anarchist groups correspond to the libertarian position, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/we-must-therefore-turn-to-history-for-enlightenment-here-we-find-that/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [John Stuart was the quintessence of soft rather than hardcore, a woolly minded man of mush in striking contrast to his steel-edged father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/john-stuart-was-the-quintessence-of-soft-rather-than-hardcore-a/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [What do intellectuals and opinion makers get from big government? An increasing number of cushy jobs in the bureaucracy, or in the government-subsidized sector,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/what-do-intellectuals-and-opinion-makers-get-from-big-government-an/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [The major reason for Keynes's rejection of communism was simply that he could scarcely identify with the grubby proletariat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/the-major-reason-for-keynes-s-rejection-of-communism-was-simply-that/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [Liberty and morality had to win their way slowly over many centuries, until finally expanding liberty made possible the great technological advance of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/liberty-and-morality-had-to-win-their-way-slowly-over-many-centuries/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [The State has invariably shown a striking talent for the expansion of its powers beyond any limits that might be imposed upon it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/the-state-has-invariably-shown-a-striking-talent-for-the-expansion-of/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [Absolute freedom need not be lost as the price we must pay for the advent of civilization; men are born free, and need never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/absolute-freedom-need-not-be-lost-as-the-price-we-must-pay-for-the/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [Absolute freedom need not be lost as the price we must pay for the advent of civilization. Man may achieve liberty and abundance, freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/absolute-freedom-need-not-be-lost-as-the-price-we-must-pay-for-the-2/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [The underconsumptionist of 1819 believed that consumption would be stimulated by tariffs, while the underconsumptionist of a later day urged monetary expansion as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/the-underconsumptionist-of-1819-believed-that-consumption-would-be/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) [Explore all 227 Murray Rothbard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) ## More Criticism quotes > [Regardless of the criticisms I receive from the left, the right and the middle, I think it's important to maintain a prolific writing jab,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/regardless-of-the-criticisms-i-receive-from-the-left-the-right-and/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [I receive something we might euphemistically call an 'inappropriately hostile' response - that is to say, more than fair criticism or even fair anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-receive-something-we-might-euphemistically-call-an-inappropriately/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [For some reason, we are truly convinced that if we criticize ourselves, the criticism will lead to change. If we are harsh, we believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/for-some-reason-we-are-truly-convinced-that-if-we-criticize-ourselves/) [Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/) > [I reject criticism because the last thing I wanted was to sit there and look at people talking. I think people are conditioned to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-tyrnauer/i-reject-criticism-because-the-last-thing-i-wanted-was-to-sit-there/) [Matt Tyrnauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-tyrnauer/) > [I'm more comfortable modelling as a man because I don't get any criticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rain-dove/i-m-more-comfortable-modelling-as-a-man-because-i-don-t-get-any/) [Rain Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rain-dove/) > [I don't mind positive criticism, but when it is negative and personal, it is quite hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inzamam-ul-haq/i-don-t-mind-positive-criticism-but-when-it-is-negative-and-personal/) [Inzamam-ul-Haq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inzamam-ul-haq/) > [Judge a person not by his ability to make money but by his ability to retain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/judge-a-person-not-by-his-ability-to-make-money-but-by-his-ability-to/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Everything is allowable in literature, but what is not allowable in criticism is objection on the grounds of probability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/everything-is-allowable-in-literature-but-what-is-not-allowable-in/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [Lots of relationships fail because we spend more time pointing out each other's mistakes and not enough time enjoying each other's company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/lots-of-relationships-fail-because-we-spend-more-time-pointing-out/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If our aim is to praise, we should forget to criticize; if our aim is to criticize, we should remember to praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-our-aim-is-to-praise-we-should-forget-to-criticize-if-our-aim-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [No man can be criticised but by a greater than he. Do not, then, read the reviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/no-man-can-be-criticised-but-by-a-greater-than-he-do-not-then-read/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [People believe that criticism should be objective, whatever that means, but I really don't understand what people mean by that. I guess if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/people-believe-that-criticism-should-be-objective-whatever-that-means/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [I welcome criticism. I come from a - I wouldn't say mean, but you've got to have tough skin to be in my family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saweetie/i-welcome-criticism-i-come-from-a-i-wouldn-t-say-mean-but-you-ve-got/) [Saweetie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saweetie/) > [The good author is he who contemplates without marked joy or excessive sorrow the adventures of his soul amongst criticisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-good-author-is-he-who-contemplates-without-marked-joy-or/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) [Browse all 3,954 Criticism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The greatest danger to the State is independent intellectual criticism.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Murray Rothbard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/the-greatest-danger-to-the-state-is-independent-intellectual-criticism/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Criticism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/the-greatest-danger-to-the-state-is-independent-intellectual-criticism/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b8/murray-rothbard-1563_criticism_the-greatest-danger-to-the-state-is-inde_663953.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b8/murray-rothbard-1563_criticism_the-greatest-danger-to-the-state-is-inde_663953.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b8/murray-rothbard-1563_criticism_the-greatest-danger-to-the-state-is-inde_663953.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The greatest danger to the State is independent intellectual criticism.” — Murray Rothbard", "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": "Murray Rothbard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The greatest danger to the State...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/the-greatest-danger-to-the-state-is-independent-intellectual-criticism/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/the-greatest-danger-to-the-state-is-independent-intellectual-criticism/#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 } } ] } ```