--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Without popular fear, no government would…" description: "\"Without popular fear, no government would endure more than twenty-four hours.\" — Robert Higgs" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/robert-higgs-12637_endure_without-popular-fear-no-government-would_2824396.jpg" --- # Without popular fear, no government would endure more than… ![“Without popular fear, no government would endure more than twenty-four hours.” quote by Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/robert-higgs-12637_endure_without-popular-fear-no-government-would_2824396.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/robert-higgs-12637_endure_without-popular-fear-no-government-would_2824396.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/robert-higgs-12637_endure_without-popular-fear-no-government-would_2824396.jpg) > “Without popular fear, no government would endure more than twenty-four hours.” [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. Power depends on public fear; without it, governments collapse quickly. **In simple terms:** Fear sustains governments. Key Takeaway Recognize fear’s role in politics. Themes politics power fear Mood anxious critical Type political analytical When to use this quote - elections - author protests - policy making Key Concepts social control legitimacy Questions to Reflect On - How does fear influence political stability? - Can fear be reduced without destabilizing? A Different Perspective Fear can be manipulated, leading to oppression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Endure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endure/) [Endure Hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endure-hours-3613406/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Fear Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear-government-253621/) [Four](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/four/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Government Endure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government-endure-1526599/) [Hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hours/) [Popular Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/popular-fear-3613405/) [Twenties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twenties/) ## Related quotes > [All endeavour calls for the ability to tramp the last mile, shape the last plan, endure the last hours toil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/all-endeavour-calls-for-the-ability-to-tramp-the-last-mile-shape-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [A house divided against itself cannot stand." I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/a-house-divided-against-itself-cannot-stand-i-believe-this-government/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I'm a believer but to reach the top I have to believe more, endure more. When I do two hours of practice, I need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gael-monfils/i-m-a-believer-but-to-reach-the-top-i-have-to-believe-more-endure/) [Gael Monfils](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gael-monfils/) > [I believe this Government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-believe-this-government-cannot-endure-permanently-half-slave-and/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [When the people fear a government, they're a tyranny. When a government fears the people, there is liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-basil-barnhill/when-the-people-fear-a-government-they-re-a-tyranny-when-a-government/) [John Basil Barnhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-basil-barnhill/) > [I have been in Congress for more than a half century. I have lived through times of fear and times of hope. Of despair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-byrd/i-have-been-in-congress-for-more-than-a-half-century-i-have-lived/) [Robert Byrd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-byrd/) > [When we do not understand something, a common reaction is to fear it. In government, this is the usual, and encouraged, reaction. The reaction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcafee/when-we-do-not-understand-something-a-common-reaction-is-to-fear-it/) [John McAfee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcafee/) > [The corporation that shrinks from the light" would have anything to fear from government. About the welfare of such corporations we need not be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/the-corporation-that-shrinks-from-the-light-would-have-anything-to/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [The essential psychological requirement of a free society is the willingness on the part of the individual to accept responsibility for his life. -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-essential-psychological-requirement-of-a-free-society-is-the/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [When the people fear the government there is tyranny, when the government fears the people there is liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/when-the-people-fear-the-government-there-is-tyranny-when-the/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The years of imprisonment hardened me ... Perhaps if you have been given a moment to hold back and wait for the next blow,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winnie-madikizela-mandela/the-years-of-imprisonment-hardened-me-perhaps-if-you-have-been-given-2/) [Winnie Madikizela-Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winnie-madikizela-mandela/) > [“Nonviolent struggle both requires and tends to produce a loss (or greater control) of fear of the government and its violent repression. That abandonment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-sharp/nonviolent-struggle-both-requires-and-tends-to-produce-a-loss-or/) [Gene Sharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-sharp/) > [Does the government fear us? Or do we fear the government? When the people fear the government, tyranny has found victory. The federal government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/does-the-government-fear-us-or-do-we-fear-the-government-when-the/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Today the nations of the world may be divided into two classes - the nations in which the government fears the people, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/today-the-nations-of-the-world-may-be-divided-into-two-classes-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I do worry that as we try to fix this long-term debt and deficit situation that we don't destroy the market incentives for biomedical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-frazier/i-do-worry-that-as-we-try-to-fix-this-long-term-debt-and-deficit/) [Kenneth Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-frazier/) ## 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 Endure quotes > [So many things beat upon us in a lifetime that simply enduring may seem almost beyond us… But the test a loving God has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/so-many-things-beat-upon-us-in-a-lifetime-that-simply-enduring-may/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/this-is-no-time-for-ease-and-comfort-it-is-time-to-dare-and-endure/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked "What is a hero?" ...My answer was that a hero is someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/when-the-first-superman-movie-came-out-i-was-frequently-asked-what-is/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) [James Nayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nayler/) > [A great read; an exciting, frightening account of organized crime today. But like all important works of nonfiction, it goes further… This book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-ly-hayslip/a-great-read-an-exciting-frightening-account-of-organized-crime-today/) [Le Ly Hayslip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-ly-hayslip/) > [It is easy enough to say that man is immortal simply because he will endure: that when the last ding-dong of doom has clanged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-is-easy-enough-to-say-that-man-is-immortal-simply-because-he-will/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [It is well for a man when he has learned to endure what he cannot change, and to give up with dignity what he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/it-is-well-for-a-man-when-he-has-learned-to-endure-what-he-cannot/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [The art of life is to know how to enjoy a little and to endure very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-art-of-life-is-to-know-how-to-enjoy-a-little-and-to-endure-very/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Life is not a PG feel-good movie. Real life often ends badly. Literature tries to document this reality, while showing us it is still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/life-is-not-a-pg-feel-good-movie-real-life-often-ends-badly/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [It is impossible to build enduring institutions without solid values. For us, the fundamental value is that associated with democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-henrique-cardoso/it-is-impossible-to-build-enduring-institutions-without-solid-values/) [Fernando Henrique Cardoso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-henrique-cardoso/) > [I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/i-will-love-the-light-for-it-shows-me-the-way-yet-i-will-endure-the/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [“This is how they are able to continue and endure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/this-is-how-they-are-able-to-continue-and-endure/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [There are many who say they want to be victorious Christians, but few are willing to endure the discipline necessary to make one a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/there-are-many-who-say-they-want-to-be-victorious-christians-but-few/) [Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/) > [“Whatever befalls us, we will endure it together. I clutch my longbow and dagger close to my side. My last thoughts linger on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-noce/whatever-befalls-us-we-will-endure-it-together-i-clutch-my-longbow/) [Mark Noce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-noce/) > [“One by one, I'll face the tasks before me and complete them as best I can. Focusing on each stride forward, but at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/one-by-one-i-ll-face-the-tasks-before-me-and-complete-them-as-best-i/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) [Browse all 2,549 Endure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Without popular fear, no government would endure more than twenty-four hours.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Higgs" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/without-popular-fear-no-government-would-endure-more-than-twenty-four/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Endure" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/without-popular-fear-no-government-would-endure-more-than-twenty-four/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/robert-higgs-12637_endure_without-popular-fear-no-government-would_2824396.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/robert-higgs-12637_endure_without-popular-fear-no-government-would_2824396.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/robert-higgs-12637_endure_without-popular-fear-no-government-would_2824396.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Without popular fear, no government would endure more than twenty-four hours.” — 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": "Without popular fear, no government would...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/without-popular-fear-no-government-would-endure-more-than-twenty-four/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/without-popular-fear-no-government-would-endure-more-than-twenty-four/#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 } } ] } ```