--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The state is the most destructive…" description: "\"The state is the most destructive institution human beings have ever devised - a fire that, at best, can be controlled for only a short time before it ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d0/robert-higgs-12637_confinement_the-state-is-the-most-destructive-instit_1806089.jpg" --- # The state is the most destructive institution human beings… ![“The state is the most destructive institution human beings have ever devised - a fire that, at best, can be controlled for only a short time before it o'erleaps it's improvised confinements and spreads its flames far and wide.” quote by Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d0/robert-higgs-12637_confinement_the-state-is-the-most-destructive-instit_1806089.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d0/robert-higgs-12637_confinement_the-state-is-the-most-destructive-instit_1806089.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d0/robert-higgs-12637_confinement_the-state-is-the-most-destructive-instit_1806089.jpg) > “The state is the most destructive institution human beings have ever devised - a fire that, at best, can be controlled for only a short time before it o'erleaps it's improvised confinements and spreads its flames far and wide.” [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The state is an inherently destructive force that quickly exceeds any control we impose. **In simple terms:** Government power tends to become uncontrollable. Key Takeaway Limit state power and monitor its growth. Themes politics government power danger Mood critical analytical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - policy making - civil liberties - public protest - legal reform Key Concepts institutional theory political economy Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards can prevent state overreach? - When is state intervention justified? A Different Perspective Some argue strong states can provide stability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Confinement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confinement/) [Controlled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/controlled/) [Destructive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destructive/) [Destructive Institution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destructive-institution-2074034/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Flames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flames/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Institution Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/institution-human-2074036/) [Institutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/institutions/) [Short time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-time/) [Spread](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spread/) [Spreads Flames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spreads-flames-2074035/) [State Destructive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/state-destructive-2074033/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Wide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wide/) ## Related quotes > [The home is a human institution. All human institutions are open to improvement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-perkins-gilman/the-home-is-a-human-institution-all-human-institutions-are-open-to/) [Charlotte Perkins Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-perkins-gilman/) > [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Even painless research is fascism, supremacism, because the act of confinement is traumatizing in itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/even-painless-research-is-fascism-supremacism-because-the-act-of/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [If you ever meet someone who cannot understand why solitary confinement is considered punishment, you have met a misanthrope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-king/if-you-ever-meet-someone-who-cannot-understand-why-solitary/) [Florence King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-king/) > [Needle and thread flesh and bone Spit and sinew, heartbreak is home. Your suture lines, they sparkle like diamonds Bright stars to light my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/needle-and-thread-flesh-and-bone-spit-and-sinew-heartbreak-is-home/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [As we have seen, WikiLeaks is a robust organization. During my time in solitary confinement in the basement of a Victorian prison, we continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/as-we-have-seen-wikileaks-is-a-robust-organization-during-my-time-in/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [ During this period (of technological confinement / \[and language\]) the human mind has been placed in its narrowest confines it has experienced since consciousness… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berry/during-this-period-of-technological-confinement-and-language-the/) [Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/) > [The secret to responsible trust is acceptance. Acceptance is taking from God's hand absolutely anything He gives, looking into His face in trust and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-swindoll/the-secret-to-responsible-trust-is-acceptance-acceptance-is-taking/) [Charles R. Swindoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-swindoll/) > [People aren't wired to be alone. Even in the stressful population of prison, solitary confinement is still considered a cruel punishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/people-aren-t-wired-to-be-alone-even-in-the-stressful-population-of/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [ “The \[human\] animal cannot cope with \[dense confinement\]; indeed, it is programmed to resist it. It must resist it, in the interest of survival.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-livingston-from-rogue-primate-an-investigation-into-human-domestication/the-human-animal-cannot-cope-with-dense-confinement-indeed-it-is/) [John Livingston, from "Rogue Primate: An Investigation Into Human Domestication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-livingston-from-rogue-primate-an-investigation-into-human-domestication/) > [Each man is his own prisoner, in solitary confinement for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/each-man-is-his-own-prisoner-in-solitary-confinement-for-life/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [The premise of Kiss has always been to not live within the confinements and boundaries other people set for themselves. We set our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-stanley/the-premise-of-kiss-has-always-been-to-not-live-within-the/) [Paul Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-stanley/) > [Something in our nature cries out to be loved by another. Isolation is devastating to the human psyche. That is why solitary confinement is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-chapman/something-in-our-nature-cries-out-to-be-loved-by-another-isolation-is/) [Gary Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-chapman/) > [The novel is the dream release, the suspension of reality that history needs to escape its own brutal confinements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-novel-is-the-dream-release-the-suspension-of-reality-that-history/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [In relating the circumstances which have led to my confinement within this refuge for the demented, I am aware that my present position will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/in-relating-the-circumstances-which-have-led-to-my-confinement-within/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) ## More by Robert Higgs > [Recipients of transfers set a bad example for others, including their children, other relatives, and friends, who see that one can receive goods, services,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/recipients-of-transfers-set-a-bad-example-for-others-including-their/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [In debates between anarchists and statists, the burden of proof clearly should rest on those who place their trust in the state. Anarchy's mayhem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/in-debates-between-anarchists-and-statists-the-burden-of-proof/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [“Anarchists did not try to carry out genocide against the Armenians in Turkey; they did not deliberately starve millions of Ukrainians; they did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/anarchists-did-not-try-to-carry-out-genocide-against-the-armenians-in/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [We need to have a modicum of faith in people's common sense, creativity and will to survive and prosper even in the face of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/we-need-to-have-a-modicum-of-faith-in-people-s-common-sense/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [To continue on the road we Americans have traveled for the past century is ultimately to deliver ourselves completely into the hands of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/to-continue-on-the-road-we-americans-have-traveled-for-the-past/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [Inflation is not a benign element in the economy's operation. It is, as it has always been, the most dangerous and destructive form of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/inflation-is-not-a-benign-element-in-the-economy-s-operation-it-is-as/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [Until the 1930s, the Constitution served as a major constraint on federal economic interventionism. The government's powers were understood to be just as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/until-the-1930s-the-constitution-served-as-a-major-constraint-on/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [No doubt, anarchy, once established, might not last forever. But if your house is on fire, the sensible course of action is to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/no-doubt-anarchy-once-established-might-not-last-forever-but-if-your/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [By adopting programs to distribute substantial amounts of income, a nation guarantees that its government will become more powerful and invasive in other ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/by-adopting-programs-to-distribute-substantial-amounts-of-income-a/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [All nonstate threats to life, liberty, and property appear to be relatively petty and therefore can be dealt with. Only states can pose truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/all-nonstate-threats-to-life-liberty-and-property-appear-to-be/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [This is the true lesson of our history: war, preparation for war, and foreign military interventions have served for the most part not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/this-is-the-true-lesson-of-our-history-war-preparation-for-war-and/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [Liberty in the United States will never be reestablished so long as elites and masses alike look to the president to perform supernatural feats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/liberty-in-the-united-states-will-never-be-reestablished-so-long-as/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [The beginning of political wisdom is the realization that despite everything you’ve always been taught, the government is not really on your side; indeed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/the-beginning-of-political-wisdom-is-the-realization-that-despite/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [“When the contentious questions are mainly economic (put aside such inflammatory but mainly noneconomic matters as capital punishment or abortion) they tend to fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/when-the-contentious-questions-are-mainly-economic-put-aside-such/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [For members of the political class, the crucial question is always: how can we push out the frontier, how can we augment the government's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/for-members-of-the-political-class-the-crucial-question-is-always-how/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) [Explore all 54 Robert Higgs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) ## More Confinement quotes > [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [The novel is the dream release, the suspension of reality that history needs to escape its own brutal confinements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-novel-is-the-dream-release-the-suspension-of-reality-that-history/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Something in our nature cries out to be loved by another. Isolation is devastating to the human psyche. That is why solitary confinement is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-chapman/something-in-our-nature-cries-out-to-be-loved-by-another-isolation-is/) [Gary Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-chapman/) > [The premise of Kiss has always been to not live within the confinements and boundaries other people set for themselves. We set our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-stanley/the-premise-of-kiss-has-always-been-to-not-live-within-the/) [Paul Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-stanley/) > [Each man is his own prisoner, in solitary confinement for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/each-man-is-his-own-prisoner-in-solitary-confinement-for-life/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [ “The \[human\] animal cannot cope with \[dense confinement\]; indeed, it is programmed to resist it. It must resist it, in the interest of survival.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-livingston-from-rogue-primate-an-investigation-into-human-domestication/the-human-animal-cannot-cope-with-dense-confinement-indeed-it-is/) [John Livingston, from "Rogue Primate: An Investigation Into Human Domestication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-livingston-from-rogue-primate-an-investigation-into-human-domestication/) > [People aren't wired to be alone. Even in the stressful population of prison, solitary confinement is still considered a cruel punishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/people-aren-t-wired-to-be-alone-even-in-the-stressful-population-of/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [The secret to responsible trust is acceptance. Acceptance is taking from God's hand absolutely anything He gives, looking into His face in trust and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-swindoll/the-secret-to-responsible-trust-is-acceptance-acceptance-is-taking/) [Charles R. Swindoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-swindoll/) > [ During this period (of technological confinement / \[and language\]) the human mind has been placed in its narrowest confines it has experienced since consciousness… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berry/during-this-period-of-technological-confinement-and-language-the/) [Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/) > [As we have seen, WikiLeaks is a robust organization. During my time in solitary confinement in the basement of a Victorian prison, we continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/as-we-have-seen-wikileaks-is-a-robust-organization-during-my-time-in/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [Needle and thread flesh and bone Spit and sinew, heartbreak is home. Your suture lines, they sparkle like diamonds Bright stars to light my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/needle-and-thread-flesh-and-bone-spit-and-sinew-heartbreak-is-home/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [If you ever meet someone who cannot understand why solitary confinement is considered punishment, you have met a misanthrope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-king/if-you-ever-meet-someone-who-cannot-understand-why-solitary/) [Florence King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-king/) > [Even painless research is fascism, supremacism, because the act of confinement is traumatizing in itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/even-painless-research-is-fascism-supremacism-because-the-act-of/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [In relating the circumstances which have led to my confinement within this refuge for the demented, I am aware that my present position will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/in-relating-the-circumstances-which-have-led-to-my-confinement-within/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [“...bars can't build better men and misery can only break what goodness remains.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-turton/bars-can-t-build-better-men-and-misery-can-only-break-what-goodness/) [Stuart Turton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-turton/) [Browse all 121 Confinement quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confinement/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The state is the most destructive institution human beings have ever devised - a fire that, at best, can be controlled for only a short time before it o'erleaps it's improvised confinements and spreads its flames far and wide.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Higgs" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/the-state-is-the-most-destructive-institution-human-beings-have-ever/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Confinement" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/the-state-is-the-most-destructive-institution-human-beings-have-ever/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d0/robert-higgs-12637_confinement_the-state-is-the-most-destructive-instit_1806089.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d0/robert-higgs-12637_confinement_the-state-is-the-most-destructive-instit_1806089.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d0/robert-higgs-12637_confinement_the-state-is-the-most-destructive-instit_1806089.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The state is the most destructive institution human beings have ever devised - a fire that, at best, can be…” — Robert Higgs", "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": "Robert Higgs", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The state is the most destructive...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/the-state-is-the-most-destructive-institution-human-beings-have-ever/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/the-state-is-the-most-destructive-institution-human-beings-have-ever/#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 } } ] } ```