Controlled Quote by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon
“To be governed ... is to be watched, inspected, directed, indoctrinated, numbered, estimated, regulated, commanded, controlled, law-driven, preached at, spied upon, censured, checked, valued, enrolled - by creatures who have neither the right, nor the wisdom, nor the virtue to do so.”
About This Quote
Source Political Treatise: General Idea of the Revolution in the Present State of France, 1848
The passage critiques pervasive state surveillance and control, questioning legitimacy of authority.
In simple terms: State watches and directs citizens without right.
Key Takeaway
Question authority and protect personal freedom.
Themes
politics
surveillance
authority
freedom
ethics
Mood
critical
concerned
Type
philosophical
political
When to use this quote
- government policy
- digital monitoring
- public discourse
Key Concepts
social contract
power dynamics
civil liberties
Questions to Reflect On
- What safeguards can limit state overreach?
- Is any surveillance ever justified?
A Different Perspective
Balancing security and liberty is complex.
![“The faults of which we ask you [God] the remittance, it is you who make us commit them; the traps of which we implore you to deliver us, it is you who has set them for us; and the Satan which surrounds us, this Satan, it is you.” quote by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/4df/pierre-joseph-proudhon-11634_asks_the-faults-of-which-we-ask-you-god-the-r_28053.jpg)
