Posted by Randy Barnett:
Lysander Spooner Quote of the Day:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2008_08_03-2008_08_09.shtml#1218041760
In editing Lysander Spooner's 1886 [1]A Letter to Grover Cleveland for
a conference I am organizing, I happened upon the following colorful
observation I thought others might enjoy:
To say, as the advocates of our government do, that a man must give
up some of his natural rights, to a government, in order to have
the rest of them protected the government being all the while the
sole and irresponsible judge as to what rights he does give up, and
what he retains, and what are to be protected � is to say that he
gives up all the rights that the government chooses, at any time,
to assume that he has given up; and that he retains none, and is to
be protected in none, except such as the government shall, at all
times, see fit to protect, and to permit him to retain. This is to
suppose that he has retained no rights at all, that he can, at any
time, claim as his own, as against the government. It is to say
that he has really given up every right, and reserved none. . . .
It is especially noticeable that those persons, who are so
impatient to protect other men in their rights that they cannot
wait until they are requested to do so, have a somewhat inveterate
habit of killing all who do not voluntarily accept their
protection; or do not consent to give up to them all their rights
in exchange for it.
If A were to go to B, a merchant, and say to him, "Sir, I am a
night-watchman, and I insist upon your employing me as such in
protecting your property against burglars; and to enable me to do
so more effectually, I insist upon your letting me tie your own
hands and feet, so that you cannot interfere with me; and also upon
your delivering up to me all your keys to your store, your safe,
and to all your valuables; and that you authorize me to act solely
and fully according to my own will, pleasure, and discretion in the
matter; and I demand still further, that you shall give me an
absolute guaranty that you will not hold me to any accountability
whatever for anything I may do, or for anything that may happen to
your goods while they are under my protection; and unless you
comply with this proposal, I will now kill you on the spot," � if A
were to say all this to B, B would naturally conclude that A
himself was the most impudent and dangerous burglar that he (B) had
to fear; and that if he (B) wished to secure his property against
burglars, his best way would be to kill A in the first place, and
then take his chances against all such other burglars as might come
afterwards.
Our government constantly acts the part that is here supposed to be
acted by A. And it is just as impudent a scoundrel as A is here
supposed to be. It insists that every man shall give up all his
rights unreservedly into its custody, and then hold it wholly
irresponsible for any disposal it may make of them. And it gives
him no alternative but death.
If by putting a bayonet to a man's breast, and giving him his
choice, to die, or be "protected in his rights," it secures his
consent to the latter alternative, it then proclaims itself a free
government, � a government resting on consent!
References
1. http://www.lysanderspooner.org/LetterToGroverCleveland.htm
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