On the record
I cannot delegate to another man any right to make laws--that is, laws of his own invention--and compel me to obey them.
Said by
Lysander Spooner
Source
gutenberg.orgLysander Spooner: “I cannot delegate to another man any right to make laws--that is, laws of his own invention--and compel me to obey them.”
Editor's note · Context
Spooner expresses his belief that no one can delegate the authority to create laws to another person.
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More from Lysander Spooner
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.
They do not tell us that we are the freest and happiest people on earth, inasmuch as each of our male adults is allowed one voice in ten millions in the choice of the men, who are to rob, enslave, and murder us.
They do not tell us that they have established infallible supreme courts, to whom they refer all questions as to the legality of their acts, and that they do nothing that is not sanctioned by these courts.
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.