16 quotes
The production of security should, in the interests of the consumers of this intangible commodity, remain subject to the law of free competition.
The Production of Security (1849)
If there is one well-established truth in political economy, it is this
The Production of Security (1849)
War has been the necessary and inevitable consequence of the establishment of a monopoly on security.
The Production of Security (1849)
This form of the organization of production has been named communism.
The Production of Security (1849)
The interests of the consumer of any commodity whatsoever should always prevail over the interests of the producer.
The Production of Security (1849)
But whether communism is partial or complete, political economy is no more tolerant of it than it is of monopoly, of which it is merely an extension.
The Production of Security (1849)
Whether communism is partial or complete, political economy is no more tolerant of it than it is of monopoly, of which it is merely an extension.
The Production of Security (1849)
The moral foundation of authority is neither as solid nor as wide, under a regime of monopoly or of communism, as it could be under a regime of liberty.
The Production of Security (1849)
Everywhere, men resign themselves to the most extreme sacrifices rather than do without government and hence security, without realizing that in so doing, they misjudge their alternatives.
The Production of Security (1849)
No government should have the right to prevent another government from going into competition with it, or to require consumers of security to come exclusively to it for this commodity.
The Production of Security (1849)
But why should there be an exception relative to security? What special reason is there that the production of security cannot be relegated to free competition? Why should it be subjected to a different principle and organized according to a different system?
The Production of Security (1849)
The moral authority of governors rests, in reality, on the self-interest of the governed. The latter having a natural tendency to resist anything harmful to their self-interest, unacknowledged authority would continually require the help of physical force.
The Production of Security (1849)
Either communistic production is superior to free production, or it is not.If it is, then it must be for all things, not just for security.If not, progress requires that it be replaced by free production.Complete communism or complete liberty: that is the alternative!
The Production of Security (1849)
In all cases, for all commodities that serve to provide for the tangible or intangible needs of the consumer, it is in the consumer's best interest that labor and trade remain free, because the freedom of labor and of trade have as their necessary and permanent result the maximum reduction of price.
The Production of Security (1849)
If one takes the thought into one's head that the leaders of the people do not receive their inspirations directly from providence itself, that they obey purely human impulses, the prestige that surrounds them will disappear. One will irreverently resist their sovereign decisions, as one resists anything man-made whose utility has not been clearly demonstrated.
The Production of Security (1849)
In the entire world, there is not a single establishment of the security industry that is not based on monopoly or on communism. […] Political economy has disapproved equally of monopoly and communism in the various branches of human activity, wherever it has found them. Is it not then strange and unreasonable that it accepts them in the security industry?
The Production of Security (1849)