On the recordJanuary 1, 1791
They are followed and obeyed, because it is the interest of the parties so to do, and not on account of any formal laws their governments may impose or interpose.
Said by
Thomas Paine
Source
gutenberg.orgThomas Paine: “They are followed and obeyed, because it is the interest of the parties so to do, and not on account of any formal laws…”
Editor's note · Context
In "Rights of Man," Paine contends that people obey the laws of trade and commerce due to mutual interest, not solely because of government mandates.
Share
More from Thomas Paine
Jan 1, 1791
The meaning, then, good people, of all this, is: That government is governed by no principle whatever; that it can make evil good, or good evil, just as it pleases.
Jan 1, 1791
They had a cause at stake, on which depended their freedom or their slavery.
Jan 1, 1791
The American constitutions were to liberty what a grammar is to language: they define its parts of speech, and practically construct them into syntax.