On the record
And hence they cannot be presumed to have consented to be taxed for the maintenance of any laws, except such as they are themselves ready to aid in enforcing.
Said by
Lysander Spooner
Source
gutenberg.orgLysander Spooner: “And hence they cannot be presumed to have consented to be taxed for the maintenance of any laws, except such as they are…”
Editor's note · Context
He states that individuals cannot be presumed to consent to laws they do not support, advocating for fair representation.
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More from Lysander Spooner
In short, they acknowledge themselves hostes humani generis: enemies of the human race.
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 all liberty and order would be destroyed, that society itself would go to pieces, and man go back to barbarism, if it were not for the care, and supervision, and protection, they lavish upon 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.