Power always has to be kept in check; power exercised in secret, especially under the cloak of national security, is read more

Power always has to be kept in check; power exercised in secret, especially under the cloak of national security, is doubly dangerous.

All revolutions...have been led by persons who knew oppression well, but not on their own skin.

All revolutions...have been led by persons who knew oppression well, but not on their own skin.

No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent.

No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent.

If none were to have Liberty but those who understand what it is, there would not be many freed Men read more

If none were to have Liberty but those who understand what it is, there would not be many freed Men in the world.

If history could teach us anything, it would be that private property is inextricably linked with civilization.

If history could teach us anything, it would be that private property is inextricably linked with civilization.

Given that some social processes must convey inherent constraints, the choice is among various mixtures of persuasion, force, and cultural read more

Given that some social processes must convey inherent constraints, the choice is among various mixtures of persuasion, force, and cultural inducement. The less of one, the more of the others. The degree of freedom that is possible is therefore tied to the extent to which people respond to persuasion or inducement.

War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means.

War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means.

If we would have civilization and the exertion indispensable to its success, we must have property; if we have property, read more

If we would have civilization and the exertion indispensable to its success, we must have property; if we have property, we must have its rights; if we have the rights of property, we must take those consequences of the rights of property which are inseparable from the rights themselves.

The idea that the sole aim of punishment is to prevent crime is obviously grounded upon the theory that crime read more

The idea that the sole aim of punishment is to prevent crime is obviously grounded upon the theory that crime can be prevented, which is almost as dubious as the notion that poverty can be prevented.