On the record
And whenever any one becomes capable of taking reasonable care of himself, and not until then, he is entitled to his freedom, be his age more or less.
Said by
Lysander Spooner
Source
gutenberg.orgLysander Spooner: “And whenever any one becomes capable of taking reasonable care of himself, and not until then, he is entitled to his…”
Editor's note · Context
Spooner argues that true freedom is contingent upon an individual's ability to care for themselves.
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More from Lysander Spooner
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 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.
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.
In short, they acknowledge themselves hostes humani generis: enemies of the human race.