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Disputed quotes — Étienne de La Boétie

1530–1563 France

← All quotes by Étienne de La Boétie

1 quote

The fundamental political question is why do people obey a government. The answer is that they tend to enslave themselves, to let themselves be governed by tyrants. Freedom from servitude comes not from violent action, but from the refusal to serve. Tyrants fall when the people withdraw their support.

Disputed

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Étienne de La Boétie (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.