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Quotes from The System of Liberty: Themes in the History of Classical Liberalism — George H. Smith

born 1949 United States

← All quotes by George H. Smith

7 quotes

The physical capacity to coerce others can never generate a moral obligation to obey the dictates of [government] power.

The System of Liberty: Themes in the History of Classical Liberalism (2013)

Taxes, then, are a necessary means for the maintenance of political power, so the laws, first and foremost, must enforce compulsory taxation.

The System of Liberty: Themes in the History of Classical Liberalism (2013)

Taxes forcibly transfer wealth from producers to legislators, who justify their expropriations under cover of law.

The System of Liberty: Themes in the History of Classical Liberalism (2013)

Those in government are especially susceptible to the corruption of power, because government is institutionalized coercion.

The System of Liberty: Themes in the History of Classical Liberalism (2013)

They found that they were no longer regarded as liberals per se but as old liberals – a qualification that had bed foisted upon them by self-proclaimed new liberals.

The System of Liberty: Themes in the History of Classical Liberalism (2013)

[G]overnment should only concern itself with matters of justice (i.e. the protection of rights) while leaving more tangential matters to the voluntary decisions and actions of individuals.

The System of Liberty: Themes in the History of Classical Liberalism (2013)

As Herbert Spencer was to point out in the following century, feudal serfs were required to turn over one-third of their produce to their overlord. This means that any citizen who is required to pay a tax rate greater than one-third is worse off in this respect than the lowly serf.

The System of Liberty: Themes in the History of Classical Liberalism (2013)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: George H. Smith (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.