On the record
If a government has the right to prohibit, or qualify, any one of these contracts, it has the same right to prohibit, or qualify, all of them.
Said by
Lysander Spooner
Source
gutenberg.orgLysander Spooner: “If a government has the right to prohibit, or qualify, any one of these contracts, it has the same right to prohibit, or…”
Editor's note · Context
Spooner asserts that if a government can regulate one contract, it can regulate all, threatening individual freedom.
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More from Lysander Spooner
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.
In short, they acknowledge themselves hostes humani generis: enemies of the human race.
They do not carry their heads high, above all other men, and demand our reverence and admiration, as statesmen, patriots, and benefactors.
On the contrary, they acknowledge themselves robbers, murderers, and villains, pure and simple.