They do not tell us of the almshouses, hospitals, schools, churches, etc., which, out of the purest charity and benevolence, they maintain for our benefit, out of the money they take from us.
Lysander Spooner: “They do not tell us of the almshouses, hospitals, schools, churches, etc., which, out of the purest charity and…”
Editor's note · Context
This quote critiques the idea that government institutions are purely benevolent.
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When they have once taken our money, they have the decency to get out of our sight as soon as possible; they do not persist in following us, and robbing us, again and again, so long as we produce anything that they can take from us.
They neither ask, nor expect, any mercy, if they should ever fall into the hands of honest men.
They do not attempt to deceive us, or mislead us, or reconcile us to their doings, by any such pretences, impostures, or insults as these.
For all these reasons, they are not only modest and sensible, but really frank, honest, and honorable villains, contrasted with these courts of injustice, and the lawmakers by whom these courts are established.