On the recordJanuary 1, 1791
Had governments agreed to quarrel on purpose to fleece their countries by taxes, they could not have succeeded better than they have done.
Said by
Thomas Paine
Source
gutenberg.orgThomas Paine: “Had governments agreed to quarrel on purpose to fleece their countries by taxes, they could not have succeeded better…”
Editor's note · Context
Paine cynically observes that governments, through their conflicts and taxation, have effectively plundered their own nations as if by design.
Share
More from Thomas Paine
Jan 1, 1791
The present age will hereafter merit to be called the Age of Reason, and the present generation will appear to the future as the Adam of a new world.
Jan 1, 1791
In contemplating revolutions, it is easy to perceive that they may arise from two distinct causes; the one, to avoid or get rid of some great calamity; the other, to obtain some great and positive good; and the two may be distinguished by…
Jan 1, 1791
It serves to keep up deceitful expectations which prevent people from looking into the defects and abuses of government.
Jan 1, 1791
Discussion and the general will arbitrates the question, and to this, private opinion yields with a good grace, and order is preserved uninterrupted.