On the record
The governments spurned the idea that they were dependent on the will or consent of their people for their political power.
Said by
Lysander Spooner
Source
gutenberg.orgLysander Spooner: “The governments spurned the idea that they were dependent on the will or consent of their people for their political…”
Editor's note · Context
Spooner argues that governments often disregard the consent of the governed in their exercise of power.
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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.
In short, they acknowledge themselves hostes humani generis: enemies of the human race.
For all these reasons, they are not only modest and sensible, but really frank, honest, and honorable villains, contrasted with these courts of injustice, and the lawmakers by whom these courts are established.
They do not attempt to deceive us, or mislead us, or reconcile us to their doings, by any such pretences, impostures, or insults as these.