On the record
The government can enforce none of its laws, (by punishing offenders, through the verdicts of juries,) except such as substantially the whole people wish to have enforced.
Said by
Lysander Spooner
Source
gutenberg.orgLysander Spooner: “The government can enforce none of its laws, (by punishing offenders, through the verdicts of juries,) except such as…”
Editor's note · Context
Spooner argues that the government can only enforce laws that have widespread public support.
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More from Lysander Spooner
They do not carry their heads high, above all other men, and demand our reverence and admiration, as statesmen, patriots, and benefactors.
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 neither ask, nor expect, any mercy, if they should ever fall into the hands of honest men.
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.