On the record
And the protection of these separate, individual rights is the one only legitimate purpose, for which anything in the nature of a governing, or coercive, power has a right to exist.
Said by
Lysander Spooner
Source
gutenberg.orgLysander Spooner: “And the protection of these separate, individual rights is the one only legitimate purpose, for which anything in the…”
Editor's note · Context
Spooner defines the protection of individual rights as the sole legitimate purpose of government.
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More from Lysander Spooner
Therefore all their laws, as they call them,--that is, all the laws of their own making,--have no color of authority or obligation.
What else than ignorance of the law is it that excuses persons under the years of discretion, and men of imbecile minds?
When two men meet one upon the highway, or in the wilderness, have they a right to dispose of his life, liberty, or property at their pleasure, simply because they are the more numerous party?
Why should they not have such an administration of justice as they desire, and can understand?