Of government, at least in democratic states, it may be said briefly that it is an agency engaged wholesale, and read more

Of government, at least in democratic states, it may be said briefly that it is an agency engaged wholesale, and as a matter of solemn duty, in the performance of acts which all self-respecting individuals refrain from as a matter of common decency.

When the same man, or set of men, holds the sword and the purse, there is an end of liberty.

When the same man, or set of men, holds the sword and the purse, there is an end of liberty.

Equality of the general rules of law and conduct, however, is the only kind of equality conducive to liberty and read more

Equality of the general rules of law and conduct, however, is the only kind of equality conducive to liberty and the only equality which we can secure without destroying liberty. Not only has liberty nothing to do with any other sort of equality, but it is even bound to produce inequality in many respects. This is the necessary result and part of the justification of individual liberty: if the result of individual liberty did not demonstrate that some manners of living are more successful than others, much of the case for it would vanish.

The state is the great fiction by which everybody tries to live at the expense of everybody else.

The state is the great fiction by which everybody tries to live at the expense of everybody else.

If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal.

If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal.

The celebration of unbounded individualism means, beyond some point, the acceptance of force- either private (crime, riot, vigilanteism) or public read more

The celebration of unbounded individualism means, beyond some point, the acceptance of force- either private (crime, riot, vigilanteism) or public (authoritarianism).

The inner censor of the mind of the true believer completes the work of the public censor; his self-discipline is read more

The inner censor of the mind of the true believer completes the work of the public censor; his self-discipline is as tyrannical as the obedience imposed by the regime; he terrorizes his own conscience into submission; he carries his private Iron Curtain inside his skull, to protect his illusions against the intrusion of reality.

The first lesson of economics is scarcity: There is never enough of anything to satisfy all those who want it.The read more

The first lesson of economics is scarcity: There is never enough of anything to satisfy all those who want it.The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics.

The thing I enjoyed most were visits from children. They did not want public office.

The thing I enjoyed most were visits from children. They did not want public office.