--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The purpose of government is for those…" description: "\"The purpose of government is for those who run it to plunder those who do not.\" — Thomas DiLorenzo" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/thomas-dilorenzo-40243_government_the-purpose-of-government-is-for-those-w_951597.png" --- # The purpose of government is for those who run it to… ![“The purpose of government is for those who run it to plunder those who do not.” quote by Thomas DiLorenzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/thomas-dilorenzo-40243_government_the-purpose-of-government-is-for-those-w_951597.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/thomas-dilorenzo-40243_government_the-purpose-of-government-is-for-those-w_951597.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/thomas-dilorenzo-40243_government_the-purpose-of-government-is-for-those-w_951597.png) > “The purpose of government is for those who run it to plunder those who do not.” [Thomas DiLorenzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-dilorenzo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Government, by nature, exploits those without power, turning governance into a tool for plunder rather than service. **In simple terms:** Governments often take from the powerless. Key Takeaway Question authority and demand accountability. Themes power exploitation politics ethics justice Mood critical skeptical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - voting - activism - policy analysis - public debate Key Concepts state control economic disparity civil liberty Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards can prevent governmental abuse? - Can power be balanced without dismantling institutions? A Different Perspective Some argue governments can protect rights and provide public goods. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Purpose of government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose-of-government/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) ## Related quotes > [“I think the purpose of government is for a population to accomplish its mutually agreed-upon goals without every citizen having to accomplish those goals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-peate/i-think-the-purpose-of-government-is-for-a-population-to-accomplish/) [Robert Peate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-peate/) > [The purpose of government is to reign in the rights of the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-clinton/the-purpose-of-government-is-to-reign-in-the-rights-of-the-people/) [Bill Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-clinton/) > [The purpose of government is to enable the people of a nation to live in safety and happiness. Government exists for the interests of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-purpose-of-government-is-to-enable-the-people-of-a-nation-to-live/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The sheer number of government employees and welfare recipients effectively transforms the purpose of government from maintaining order to confiscating as much as possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bovard/the-sheer-number-of-government-employees-and-welfare-recipients/) [James Bovard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bovard/) > [The purpose of government is to rein in the rights of the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/the-purpose-of-government-is-to-rein-in-the-rights-of-the-people/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [I am more interested in the purpose of government than its mechanics-though the means should at least be good enough to lead to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aminu-kano/i-am-more-interested-in-the-purpose-of-government-than-its-mechanics/) [Aminu Kano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aminu-kano/) > [Surely by now there can be few here who still believe the purpose of government is to protect us from the destructive activities of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/surely-by-now-there-can-be-few-here-who-still-believe-the-purpose-of/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [The fundamental purpose of government is to protect its citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlen-specter/the-fundamental-purpose-of-government-is-to-protect-its-citizens/) [Arlen Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlen-specter/) > [The good of the people must be the great purpose of government. 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He lies well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/he-is-almost-a-statesman-he-lies-well/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [If you believe in democracy, why shouldn't you know what the government is doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-believe-in-democracy-why-shouldn-t-you-know-what-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I mean those people who are interested in good government will certainly contribute in order to make certain there's some counter-balance to those whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-breyer/i-mean-those-people-who-are-interested-in-good-government-will/) [Stephen Breyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-breyer/) > [We can't have a government that will collapse in three months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-varadkar/we-can-t-have-a-government-that-will-collapse-in-three-months/) [Leo Varadkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-varadkar/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) [Browse all 21,248 Government quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The purpose of government is for those who run it to plunder those who do not.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas DiLorenzo" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dilorenzo/the-purpose-of-government-is-for-those-who-run-it-to-plunder-those/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Government" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dilorenzo/the-purpose-of-government-is-for-those-who-run-it-to-plunder-those/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/thomas-dilorenzo-40243_government_the-purpose-of-government-is-for-those-w_951597.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/thomas-dilorenzo-40243_government_the-purpose-of-government-is-for-those-w_951597.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/thomas-dilorenzo-40243_government_the-purpose-of-government-is-for-those-w_951597.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The purpose of government is for those who run it to plunder those who do not.” — Thomas DiLorenzo", "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": "Thomas DiLorenzo", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-dilorenzo/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The purpose of government is for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dilorenzo/the-purpose-of-government-is-for-those-who-run-it-to-plunder-those/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dilorenzo/the-purpose-of-government-is-for-those-who-run-it-to-plunder-those/#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 } } ] } ```