On the record
It is a falsehood to call them laws; for there is nothing in them that either creates men's duties or rights, or enlightens them as to their duties or rights.
Said by
Lysander Spooner
Source
gutenberg.orgLysander Spooner: “It is a falsehood to call them laws; for there is nothing in them that either creates men's duties or rights, or…”
Editor's note · Context
Spooner contends that human-made laws do not define rights or duties, rendering them ineffective.
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More from Lysander Spooner
They neither ask, nor expect, any mercy, if they should ever fall into the hands of honest men.
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.
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.
On the contrary, they acknowledge themselves robbers, murderers, and villains, pure and simple.